Last year, a report of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimated that the climate adaptation costs in the developing world amounts to around $70 billion annually.Last week, 18 Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) who usually present a common front at climate negotiations issued a statement, a large part of which is a wish list of sorts for the forthcoming UNFCCC (United Framework Convention of Climate Change) Conference of Parties (COP). The statement reiterated the group’s old grouse about the inequity in fund allocations for global warming mitigation efforts. Financial issues have been amongst the most contentious at the past COPs, at times even pushing delegates to work extra hours. Yet, the record of the premier global climate convention has been botched by its failures to meet funding goals, especially the ones pertaining to the LMDC group which represents about 50 per cent of the world’s population. Another failure at COP 27, scheduled to be held at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt on November 6-18, could dent the credibility of the UNFCCC process.
Last year, a report of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimated that the climate adaptation costs in the developing world amounts to around $70 billion annually. This figure could rise two to four times by 2030 and by about seven times by 2050. The UNEP report underlined that the challenge ahead is not only in intensifying funding but also in channeling the money to projects that achieve the desired outcomes. Of the 1,700 initiatives surveyed by the UN agency, barely three per cent reported reducing the climate risk of communities. The floods in Pakistan that claimed more than 1,300 lives and rendered more than 30 million people homeless is amongst the most recent reminders of the task at hand. After the calamity, the country did receive offers of aid from affluent nations. But the climate challenge isn’t about charity. As several Pakistani policymakers pointed out, the country, which has a minuscule GHG footprint, is “paying the price for others’ emissions”. With nature’s furies increasingly taking a toll on communities with scarcely any culpability for the world getting overheated, global agencies such as the UNFCCC cannot postpone addressing the equity issue.
Last year’s COP did achieve some notable successes. The meet succeeded in resolving the thorny issue of framing rules for trading carbon credits across borders – the issue had evaded resolution for close to six years. Over hundred nations pledged to cut 30 per cent of their methane emissions by 2030. More than 400 financial institutions overseeing $130 trillion in assets promised to align their portfolios with the target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. However, questions are being raised about the net zero emissions plans of several countries, and critics have alleged that these projects are a subterfuge for postponing immediate action. “Net zero” has become a ruse for developed countries to delay making climate finance commitments. There are fears that the Paris Plans’ target for a New Quantified Goal on Climate Finance could be delayed beyond 2025. It’s imperative that COP-27 lay such fears at rest.