While the great finance cook-off gets underway here in Bonn (see yesterday’s ECO), ECO is also looking ahead to see which chefs in the UNFCCC kitchen will be selected to host COP in 2026. For today’s ECO, we’ll look at what Australia is baking.
Australia is emerging as a promising contender to host COP31, but to deserve the honour, ECO believes they must be able to show in the lead up that they can deliver both results that meets the competition’s standards, and amiability in the kitchen — that is, good collaboration with their intended team partners, the Pacific.
A huge number of civil society viewers penned an open letter last week to express their concerns about Australia’s ability to compile a balanced NCQG this year. While a course of mitigation and adaptation finance on their own might have been enough to win over audiences in 2009, it’s evident to anyone watching that the climate has changed and the stakes are now much higher. ECO has made it clear that a finance goal in 2024 must contain loss and damage not just as a nice garnish, but as a key ingredient. But to date, Australia has seemed determined to leave ECO with a bitter taste, promoting an NCQG that remains two dimensional.
Just because the Paris Agreement’s mandate for the NCQG was agreed in 2015, well before the Loss and Damage Fund was established, does not mean that the climate finance goal should omit loss and damage. Rather the opposite. The mandate is clear that developing country needs and priorities are to be taken into account, and in the face of a lack of action on climate, loss and damage is emerging as one of the highest priority areas for developing countries.
Disappointingly, Australia does not even seem willing to serve loss and damage as a side to the NCQG. Despite supporting the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund last year, Australia is yet to either contribute to the Fund or serve its own dedicated Loss and Damage finance dish, even though there’s plenty of demand to see both of these announced this year.
Australia’s prospective host partners, the Pacific, have been outspoken in their desire to see loss and damage included in this year’s main course. If we are to believe Australia can truly act as team players, they must show they will listen to, and actually incorporate, the ideas their partners bring to the table. Otherwise, it will look a lot like they are relying on the Pacific’s popularity to give them an edge in the competition, while dishing out the same outdated offerings they’d have served alone.
What happens here in Bonn will be key to ensuring a successful outcome in Baku. If Australia is serious about having everyone around for dinner at COP31, ECO thinks it’s time for them to show they’ll listen to their co-hosts and deliver what the Global South wants to see. Because ultimately, will be the judge of this year’s final dish.