Category: Previous Issues Articles

Food is generally a hot topic at COP: whether it’s about the quality, availability or price, – from meat-heavy menus at Katowice to empty restaurants at Sharm-el-Sheikh. But yesterday, the COP28 Presidency broke new ground by launching the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action. The stated aim of the Declaration is to harness the profound potential of agriculture and food systems to drive “powerful and innovative responses to climate change and to unlock shared prosperity for all”. But the reality falls very short of the profound transformation necessary for food systems to be truly integrated into climate action.

The Declaration has been endorsed by 134 countries including China, Brazil, the United States and the EU. ECO commends their commitment to pursue engagements to “integrate agriculture and food systems into National Adaptation Plans and Nationally Determined Contributions” by COP30, and the recognition of the Right to Food.

What bugs ECO is that one key element to food systems transformation remains unmentioned: that it is absolutely necessary to tackle the fossil fuel intensive fertiliser industry. Could the silence have something to do with the fact that Fertiglobe, the largest nitrogen fertiliser platform in the world, is based in the UAE?  
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In the run up to these negotiations, a lot of fingers remained pointed at the COP28 presidency for their ties to fossil fuels. That’s why ECO was so excited to read the joint summary from the COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber and IEA chief executive Dr. Fatih Birol which affirmed the reality that “fossil fuel demand and supply must phase-down this decade to keep 1.5ºC within reach”. While we need to phase out fossil fuel production fully by well before 2040 in wealthy nations and well before 2050 worldwide, action this decade is crucial. That means stopping new expansion now, and cutting fossil fuel production by at least 40% by 2030.

ECO is less impressed, however, with the COP28 Presidency and IEA Executive Director’s vague call for oil and gas companies to “decarbonise existing operations”. Between 80 and 90% of these companies’ emissions come from their customers burning the oil and gas they produce. Cutting oil and gas companies’ operational emissions is like trying to solve lung cancer by getting cigarette companies to produce tobacco more efficiently. 

Many countries who purport to be climate champions are simultaneously accelerating approval of new fossil fuel projects. This is especially true for the US, Canada, Norway, Australia, and the UK – five of the world’s richest countries who between them are responsible for over half of the world’s planned oil and gas field developments from now until 2050. 
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The YMCA may be fully booked, but this week, the fun place to be is in the negotiations on the NCQG, along with tomorrow’s HLMD.

At the SB meetings in June, ECO wrote a little song to bolster the efforts of delegates working on the NCQG.

We’ve reproduced it here, with some updates – it’s guaranteed to keep you humming until the closing plenary. Hopefully, the lyrics will motivate developed country delegates to recognize that pledges to the L&D Fund will ring hollow if developed country Parties can’t agree that loss and damage should be a dedicated part of the NCQG, not just adaptation and mitigation.

(Verse 1)
Parties, there’s a place you must go,
We say Parties, where public finance must flow,
We say Parties, get your thinking head on
For NCQG at the C-O-P.
 
Parties, it must be needs-based and strong,
We say Parties, the time to delay has now gone.
We say Parties, science-led is the best,
For the goal to pass the smell test.
 
(Chorus 1)
It’s fun to work on the N-C-Q-G,
With clear sub goals that all must agree;
NAPs and NDCs, L and D,
You can succeed in your C-O-P.
 
(Verse 2)
Parties, whose historic responsibilities abound,
We say Parties, with so much climate risk around,
We say Parties, public finance is the quest,
This is C-B-D-R at its best. 
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Talk about starting with bang! The Presidency set an initial signpost themself, into showing their resource commitment cards and making some initial pledges, cajoled a handful of developed countries to match them. ECO cautiously congratulates the UAE presidency for achieving an unprecedented feat of adopting a big decision on day 1. While the decision on the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund is historic, let’s be honest, this is not the fund the times and affected communities are calling for. 

ECO has some serious concerns regarding the lack of scale, reference to equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (because hey, loss and damage is the result of serious climate inaction by the biggest polluters). The language was weakened by the developed countries to dilute their responsibility as those who have contributed the most. 

Where are the needed human rights guidelines, a clear replenishment cycle, and the shared governance with frontline communities and civil society needed to ensure the fund is fit for purpose? Critically they are missing from the Fund. 

And then there’s the decision to set up the Fund Secretariat under the World Bank. ECO knows this risks undermining the Fund’s ability to empower communities who need it the most with direct access to its resources, by hosting it in an institution that doesn’t have a real framework or history of providing remedies and support to harmed communities – and on the contrary through continued, policy advice and own investments perpetuate the fossil fuel driven growth approach that causes losses and damages in the first place. 
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We congratulate parties on the decision to operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund, including the pledges already made towards the capitalization of the Fund. 

While we celebrate this decision, even if imperfect, at the very start of this COP, it is important to remind parties that the work is far from over.  The litmus test for the success of this COP is an agreement for the full, fast, fair, and funded phase out of all fossil fuels. 

The pledges made towards the Loss & Damage Fund, while welcome, is a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of funding needed. 

It is immoral therefore that rich nations cannot find adequate funds for addressing climate impacts, yet could instantly find billions of dollars, not millions, but billions of dollars, to support a war on the people of Gaza, a war that has already killed nearly 20 000 civilians, mostly children, UN staff, medical staff and journalists. 

THE WAR ON PALESTINE MUST END NOW. THE OCCUPATION MUST END. THERE CAN BE NO PEACE WITHOUT JUSTICE: THERE CAN BE NO CLIMATE JUSTICE WITHOUT HUMAN RIGHTS. 

#CEASEFIRENOW 
#ENDFOSSILFUELS WITH JUST TRANSITION
#FAST, FAIR, FOREVER

After two years of work since COP26, we are finally here: at the climax of the first Global Stocktake.

ECO has been following it every step of the way – the hundreds of hours of technical dialogues, the pages of submissions, and scouring through every inch of the final synthesis report.

We don’t need to spell out again what is at stake here. Look Around You! The planet is burning, and people are suffering the ravages of hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other extreme climate events. Let ECO remind you that we are not prepared for the horrors of a world warming more than 1.5°C. Yet governments are not doing enough to slash emissions and protect natural carbon stocks and sinks, and there is still not enough finance going to where it is needed.

The world’s response at COP28 is a chance to change all this. The decision on the Global Stocktake needs to do more than just take stock. It must unleash a revolution in equitable climate action. It needs to define the way forward by defining clear processes and timelines.

The outcome must set us on a path for more ambitious climate targets and accelerated implementation. Making up for the weaknesses in current NDCs means countries must commit to do better next time round.
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Today is the big day: the Leaders’ Summit! World leaders are stalking the halls and ECO is sure that they’ll be bringing new, renewable energy. There are lots of new faces here, in the biggest Blue Zone ever, so ECO is sure we won’t be hearing from the same old tired fossils. ECO is excited.

But what will these renewed, energised leaders say at the Summit?

ECO is sure that they all know fossil fuels are the largest driver of climate change, responsible for 86% of carbon dioxide emissions in the past decade, according to the IPCC. Faced with the climate emergency, the International Energy Agency has made it clear that any expansion of fossil fuels beyond existing fields and mines is unnecessary and incompatible with 1.5 °C.

Yet ECO knows that five of the world’s richest nations are on track to be responsible for 51% of all oil and gas expansion between now and 2050. 

Will those countries’ leaders (or sometimes vice-leaders) call for a phase out of all fossil fuels? Will they acknowledge that the Convention principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities require them to take the lead in ending fossil fuel production and use? That the first step to phasing out fossil fuels is to stop approving any new fossil fuel exploration and extraction? 
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Hey, world leaders, listen up! We’ve got a planet SOS on our hands, and it’s time to kick fossil fuels to the curb like yesterday’s fashion faux pas. Our health is on the line!

ECO is blowing the whistle on the dirty secret of fossil fuels – they’re making us sick! Respiratory crises, heart attacks, and a host of health hazards are on the menu. Time to swap the smog for clean energy and give our lungs a breather. Fossil fuelled fatalities hit vulnerable communities hardest. It’s time to rewrite the script and ensure everyone gets a fair share of clean air. 

Healthy just transitions and renewable energy are enablers to create quality jobs, innovation, and poverty reduction – which also boosts good health. And by the way, CCS, geoengineering and other dangerous distractions do good for no one – they won’t solve the multitude of health issues at every step from fossil fuels. Likewise, unjust extraction of critical minerals repeats the same errors of fossil fuel dependence, and large-scale bioenergy only trades one polluting fuel for another.

Some Parties are already on the right renewables train, waving goodbye to fossil fuel follies and investing in a cleaner, brighter, healthier future backed by cities, scientists, and businesses. 
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ECO welcomes you all to Dubai – The City of Gold. 

Let’s go on a treasure hunt to find the most ambitious COP outcome possible. Ready? Set? Go!

Hopefully you’re not afraid of heights, whether skyscrapers or the mountain of things left to conclude in two weeks. The risk of distractions is just as high. It would appear that a real treasure hunt is underway with negotiators having to find their way through the labyrinth of corridors, press rooms and agenda items provided, not to mention the hundreds of pledges and initiatives that promise to land all at once.

To successfully find the treasure, ECO has prepared recommendations for all delegates. Here are a few tips and clues to help you sift through the pile, get the treasure, and reach a successful outcome at COP28. 

Delegates and Heads of States: you need to know that he key to securing the grand prize is not about solitary announcements and isolated initatives, but rather about real and transformative solutions that will be enshrined in the final decision. 

1. Find an Ambitious, Just and Equitable Energy package

Such a package calls for a fair, fast, full and funded phase-out of all fossil fuels. And, yes, it includes gas too.
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ECO is getting some “déjà-vu” vibes arriving in Dubai. Not just because the desert atmosphere reminds us of last year’s COP.

ECO spent some time analyzing the draft text on carbon removals that the article 6.4 Supervisory Body has submitted to the CMA for adoption. Just like last year, ECO feels the draft is more likely to remove ambition than carbon dioxide. It is definitely not ready for negotiators to adopt the text.

The proposal is longer and more detailed than last year and several elements have been improved. But it still very much requires taking a leap of faith on putting the future of this crucial ruleset in the hands of a small group of experts operating away from the spotlight of the COP.

The list of problematic elements in the draft submitted is barely shorter than in 2022. The definition of removals keeps the door wide open for risky practices, such as counting products as safe storage for CO2. The reversal risk assessment tool is simply non-existent at this stage, despite the fact that the draft rules rely heavily on its application. So are the buffer pool arrangements. 

The postcrediting monitoring period is a welcome addition that goes further than common practice in carbon markets so far, but it remains open-ended with the possibility of it being a very short period depending on what future rules will be adopted.
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