ECO Newsletter

 Energy is conspicuously low in Bonn. While ECO wonders if the dismal quality of the coffee is a factor, the true problem is deeper: the groundbreaking energy transition package that was agreed at COP28 seems to have gone missing just six months after Dubai.

As a result, the connection between the GST and the enhancement of NDCs has been lost in transit somewhere between Dubai and Bonn. But let ECO remind you that all those long, late nights last year had a purpose. 

Here’s the thing: Parties must respond to the COP28 Global Stocktake decision by stepping up their ambitions ahead of COP30. It’s time to put your policies in line with your talking points. Parties made the decision at COP28 that to deliver on 1.5ºC countries must accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels in a just and equitable manner, triple renewable energy capacity, and double energy efficiency improvements by 2030. Reflecting the principles of the Paris Agreement and the Convention, rich fossil fuel producers must act first and fastest – and crack open their wallets.

First, there can be no 1.5ºC-aligned NDC that does not reflect the need to transition away from all fossil fuels towards renewable energy and energy efficiency.
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Remember that treasure hunt with ECO a couple of days ago? The saga continued and ECO finally found the treasure it was looking for: the shiny COP28 Host Country Agreement! And not a moment too soon, as the hunt for the COP29 agreement has already started. But the journey isn’t complete as there is an important piece still missing.

Make no mistake – the mission is close to impossible with obstacles at every turn* for finding host country agreements, despite a commitment to make them publicly available. 

The COP28 Host Country Agreement is bright and shiny, but human rights protection aren’t among the sparkling pieces.  In fact despite last year’s hard-fought AIM conclusions, human rights are missing. There was no guarantee for COP28 participants that their human rights and fundamental freedoms would be safeguarded and promoted, and that they would be effectively protected from harassment and intimidation during their stay in Dubai. 

Now to the present moment. In line with the AIM conclusions, ECO calls on all Parties to urge the UNFCCC to make the journey more straightforward by immediately making the COP29 agreement publicly available and easily accessible. 

We hope that when we find and open it, the human rights guarantees will shine through.
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ECO was amidst the cheerful crowd yesterday at what seemed to be the end of the “Sharmonivia” agriculture marathon. But if negotiators thought they have reached the finish line, ECO is here to remind them that the past ten days were just the warm-up.  

During this warm-up in Bonn, there was finally an agreement for a roadmap to discuss – and hopefully deliver – much needed climate action for agriculture and food security. The cardio coaches (aka the co-facilitators) kept the athletes motivated by promising a refreshing snack at the finish line made up of low hanging fruit (and a few from the higher branches) referred to repeatedly over the course of the week.

The first miles of the main race will be covered in Baku where the online portal on agriculture and food security will be presented. 

The second more difficult and promising part of the marathon will be the workshop on Systemic and Holistic Approaches to Implementation of Climate Action on Agriculture, Food Systems, and Food Security to be organized in June 2025. 

Negotiators, you are in luck – ECO knows one systemic and holistic approach to deliver healthy, resilient and equitable food systems: agroecology. What will certainly not be sustainable to the pace of the runners in our race are approaches such as “climate-smart agriculture” or corporate-led techno-fixes.
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Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the World Investment Outlook.  ECO was not surprised to see that it shows rich countries are failing miserably at paying what they owe to support a just transition away from fossil fuels and toward 100% renewables globally. Meanwhile, filthy fossil fuels are still raking in over a trillion a year in cash from governments and banks alike. 

That’s why, as negotiations continue in Bonn to establish a New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), we must secure trillions each year for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage. Funding to address climate crisis impacts cannot be pitted against funding to stop climate crisis causes — there is enough to go around if we get the priorities right. 

But in Bonn we see wealthy countries once again shirking their responsibilities, claiming there isn’t enough money to cover the costs, and instead offering the equivalent of pocket change.  These rich countries have some tried and failed magical thinking to dodge the bill: a “private sector first” or “derisking” approach that puts profit before people, drowns low-income countries even further in debt to address a crisis they had no hand in creating, and uses taxpayer money to subsidize private benefits. 
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There appears to be an unholy alliance emerging of voluntary carbon market (VCM) interests desperate to expand carbon markets at any cost, corporations eager for an easier way to claim they are on track to net zero, and a fiction being accepted by some developing countries who have long been owed the finance that has proven elusive to date.

Last week, a group of 10 West African countries weighed in on the debate that exploded a couple of months ago, when the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Board of Trustees, announced that the SBTi would allow companies with science-based targets to use carbon offsets to meet their Scope 3 targets. In doing this, the Board overstepped its authority and ignored established procedures which give authority over such matters to technical bodies.

Following widespread condemnation from SBTi staff, Advisory Committee members and civil society actors concerned about the integrity of the SBTi, the Board issued a clarification. But the damage was done and VCM interests and carbon cowboys everywhere are salivating over the prospects of a new source of demand for carbon credits to revive the flagging market.

According to media reports, the West African countries sent a letter to the SBTi calling on them to allow offsets to meet net-zero commitments, and said that criticisms of offsets “were the work of « misguided activists ».
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ECO is on a search. The second week of SB60 has started and Mitigation Waldo is still at large. Of course, hiding well is in Waldo’s nature. But this time the stakes are high. Because Mitigation Waldo is key to delivering on the Paris Agreement through stronger NDCs.

ECO has looked all over SB60. Naturally, we started with the Mitigation Work Programme (MWP) since it has mitigation in its title. But will the MWP deliver on its mandate to enhance pre-2030 mitigation ambition and implementation? It seems not. At first, ECO was happy to see many Parties expressing their wish to make use of the MWP space to follow up on mitigation elements from the GST, like the transition away from fossil fuels or halting and reversing deforestation. But two Party groupings emphasised that the mandate of the MWP is to hold dialogues only, not to talk actual mitigation. That’s when we realised Mitigation Waldo wouldn’t be hanging around here. He’d also be wondering if, in the face of escalating impacts, the world can afford yet another talk shop with no concrete outcomes. 

ECO then turned to the follow-up processes embedded within the GST, starting with the Annual GST Dialogue. This Dialogue had a promising start, with rich presentations on how the GST outcome could feature in NDCs.
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Looking for horizon views and a fresh breeze after lengthy days of technical negotiations? Wanting to enjoy some time by the sea or just sail away? Then today is your lucky day because you are invited to board the ship that will bring you into poorly explored waters: the Ocean and Climate Change Dialogue. Taking place today and tomorrow from 2 to 5 pm, the ocean community will take a deep dive into 1) marine biodiversity conservation and coastal resilience and 2) technology needs for the ocean. 

If you are not an experienced sailor in these waters, don’t worry – ECO is here to provide you with a basic navigation map.

To navigate topic 1 “Marine biodiversity conservation and coastal resilience”:

• Expand discussions beyond coastal areas: High Seas and their biodiversity are critical, too!
• Link to other international agreements, such as the CBD’s Global Biodiversity Framework, the High Seas Treaty, and the London Convention / London Protocol and uphold their decisions.
• Discuss integrating marine and coastal ecosystems in NDCs and aligning with NAPs and national biodiversity plans (NBSAPs).
• Address ocean acidification and identify the knowledge, capacity, and process gaps that are impeding progress under the UNFCCC.
• Identify gaps and challenges in blue carbon accounting with a call to IPCC to expand the Wetlands Supplement (to include, among others, macroalgae forests, reefs and the seabed). 

Whenever we face a situation of danger or life-threatening circumstances, and emergency, the immediate response is « save the children first. » A historical code of conduct used in shipwrecks, guided by a very basic acknowledgement of children’s vulnerability in emergency scenarios. But that is not what we have seen at the UNFCCC.

With 32 years of delay, the UNFCCC has finally addressed the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis on children through a GST decision for an Expert Dialogue on Children and Climate Change. Calling on experts from around the world, the Dialogue was held at this SB60 session. However, one fundamental group of Experts was missing from this Dialogue: Children. Only one child was officially invited and two others were present during the day. On the positive side, 62 Parties were present and called for a decision to mainstream child rights in climate negotiations.

Although COP is not a fun and safe space for children (yet), we have to address the elephant in the room: – children represent one-third of the population and half of the world’s poor, with 75 % of them living in the Global South. Unicef Deputy Executive Director Kitty van der Heijden reminds us that children are not mini-adults.
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Ever felt dizzy from all the top-down climate decisions? Welcome to the UNFCCC Global Stocktake (GST), where the view from the top can give you vertigo. But don’t worry, ECO has a cure: a strong bottom-up approach that keeps us grounded and ready to leap forward.

Every five years, the GST should help us collectively check how we’re doing on our climate promises and leapfrog to the next level of action to phase out fossil fuels and remain below a global temperature rise of 1.5°C. But here’s the kicker: the process has been so vertical, it’s like staring up at a towering skyscraper from the sidewalk. Time to bring this skyscraper down to a more human scale and get everyone involved.

Imagine a sprawling garden where everyone – citizens, local and Indigenous communities, small-holder farmers, frontline environmental defenders, women and gender diverse individuals – get to plant their solutions and nurture them. Meaningful participation and input, rooted in the lived experiences of people already suffering from the devastating impacts of climate change, should take precedence in the GST. Gathering valuable information on challenges and inequalities, especially from marginalised groups and people in vulnerable situations, is critical to securing a just transition and not leaving anyone behind at global level.
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