It is the end of the year and for many, Christmas is in the air. ECO wished for this COP28 to deliver substance, to dive deep into what is needed and urgent in every aspect of the Dubai Agenda: from an effective and trustable Loss and Damage Fund to an adequate finance and adaptation framework and a clear and unambiguous signal to end the fossil fuel era.
After 200 years of immeasurable damage and bogus gains of the fossil fuel industry, all this seems right to have. But it looks like the Grinch (or is it just a fossil fuel lobbyist in disguise?) is whispering more closely and loudly into the negotiator’s ears. Again the cream is taken out of the cake. Empty shelves. Bare house. The substance is taken out of the Gender Action Plan, the NCQG, and might not be found at the GGA.
But there is a ray of light (…and I feeeeeel like I just got home…And I feeeeel…) when we open the window, and it is about the insistence of the Environment Minister of Colombia to put the hard issue of transforming our economy and shifting away from our addiction to fossil fuels into every conversation. It feels like a prayer for good. After 200 years, the ray will shine the light on the process for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. But wait, would that be possible? Is “o maior país do mundo” playing along? ECO heard about Brazil’s involvement with OPEC and auctioning 603 new oil and gas blocks across the country. ECO is getting confused. What is under the Christmas tree? A fossil-free world or allegiance to the industry that caused the crisis? ECO hopes this is just a Scrooge tale.
ECO dreams for COP30 to be truly transformational. Brazil has all it takes, including another inspirational woman at the helm, Marina Silva, who has just made it to Nature Magazine’s 10. After 30 years, ECO feels we are all mature enough to put life above profit and ensure justice above greed. ECO calls on the diplomacy and coherence of Brazil to help drive the process and bring Latin American and Caribbean countries with it. The wish is clear: we need to establish the Amazon as a fossil-free expansion territory and ensure indigenous people’s land rights and access to finance. We must foster Latin American and Caribbean engagement for renewable energy integration and cooperation for a post-extractive era— no more carbon gifts at the end of COP’s Eve.