This year is set to be Break the record For the hottest year ever, it was a banner year As for climate devastation: Southern Africa and South America suffer severe droughts Dangerous heat blankets large parts of Asia, Europe, and Central America, and The number of forest fires is shocking. Hurricanes consume more than 1 million hectares of land in Brazil. Intensified by abnormally hot seawater.Hit the Caribbean and Southeast America. and flooding in parts of Africa and Europe. The Arctic tundra that was once a sink for carbon emissions is now official. enough to melt and pose a risk of forest fires to be their source
Even though it’s like that But this year international environmental diplomacy has performed particularly poorly. Inflation and cost of living crisis Along with the correct political changes in many countries. As a result, negotiating major environmental spending this year is likely to be difficult. But environmental diplomacy has reached a difficult new crossroads: The science of ecological destruction has been settled. The path is hopeless. And the need for change is clear. All that’s left is to decide who should handle it.
The diplomatic season kicks off with Colombia hosting the 16th United Nations Conference on Biodiversity in October. That conference sought to halt the loss of ecosystems and species around the world. Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. And so are leftist presidents. number on weaning the country from fossil fuels and Reduce deforestation– but despite Colombia’s motivated leadership The meeting ended. Disappointment This is because the combined countries failed to agree on how biodiversity conservation goals would be monitored or paid for.
In November, over 170 countries gathered in Busan. South Korea Negotiations for the fifth and final round of the UN Plastic Pollution Treaty failed to reach an agreement. The stalemate has fallen once again. Who will bear the costs of mitigating the problem? In this case, more than 100 countries. desired Measures to control plastic production Instead of finding new ways to clean up plastic waste But that could mean destroying the profits of the plastics manufacturing industry. and petroleum producing countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia (Most plastics are made from oil and gas.) oppose such measuresblocking deals The Plastics Treaty will try again next year.
However, the most famous event is the annual United Nations climate conference. Wealthy countries have been responsible for most of the world’s carbon emissions in the past. It intends to invest real money to fund developing countries’ responses. Economists say they need at least $1 trillion a year. As one of the world’s largest carbon emitters, the United States could be expected to be a key player in creating a pool of money dedicated to slowing climate change and mitigating its effects. But the United States also has They have always been unreliable partners. in the global climate agreement and the election of Donald Trump last month. It wasn’t long before the meeting began. This means that any financial support from the US in the near future is expected to be zero dollars. “Obviously that makes many developed countries very nervous to promise numbers that they cannot deliver,” said Linda Kalcher, executive director of the European Climate Think Tank Strategic Perspective. said to me, some donor countries are in the middle of inflation and cost of living crises. Ultimately, she noted, the two countries agreed to provide only $300 billion per year in climate financing by 2035, a fraction of the total needed.
In addition to the United States Far-right populist parties are like that. receive Take a stand in Europe, and they tend to frame climate finance as “The money is donated to other countries without improving your schools,” Kalcher said. “This is a really difficult political situation” for major international climate projects. UN climate talks require countries that benefit from fossil fuels to sign the agreement as well. But in the past few years Their influence has slowed progress enough that some observers argue that the entire process is breaking down. Energy lobbyists are always on the conference’s roster. Al Gore has called to organize these meetings in petrostates such as the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.”nonsense– During this year’s negotiations A group that included former diplomatic leaders. Send a letter To the United Nations, calling for reform of key points of negotiations Including those who are allowed to participate.
Kalcher, who previously worked as a senior advisor to the UN Secretary-General on climate issues Said she still believes in the process. In the end There is no other place where countries An agreement can be made on climate and least developed countries. Most people affected by climate will have a seat at the table with industry giants. But for now Climate internationalism is in a sorry state.
It may be that the environmental universalism project has already reached the hardest part of the assigned problem. The main question that must be answered is who should pay to prevent the worst damage from climate change. When climate negotiations began more than 30 years ago The science of climate change has begun to resolve some of the most important uncertainties about the future of the planet. Science now provides a broad consensus on the causes and general trajectory of climate change. It’s a simple fact. that many countries would struggle without large amounts of funding from rich countries and are suffering enormous impacts from climate change that are not occurring. Previous climate diplomacy focused on reinforcing the basic outlines of the climate problem. and agreed that it must be fixed The world is now at the point of meaningfully changing the trajectory of ecological decline. It is necessary to transition the world away from fossil fuels. This will require a drastic change in the fossil fuel economy.
In the same way Protecting biodiversity will require major changes to economies that prioritize industries such as tourism and timber. More than mangrove forests and rain forests And controlling plastic requires controlling plastic production. It is an industry that is deeply embedded in almost every aspect of global trade. and is linked to a system of state subsidies and support for fossil fuels. One way or another Addressing these problems requires deep economic reform. Of course, creating them can guarantee the future habitability of the planet. This comes with its own clear economic benefits.
Little hope remains for environmental diplomacy. In the final weeks of President Joe Biden’s tenure, push forward The United States agreement And 37 other rich countries in the OECD would effectively stop using export credit agencies to support overseas fossil fuel projects. This decision will leave the fossil fuel economy without a single source of support. and eliminates the only remaining means remaining to the US government. Support international oil and gas development It will not change anything about the US position. As the world’s largest oil producer and gas exporter today, But it could eliminate billions of dollars in future funding for such projects overseas. And it is different from the financial commitments made at the UN climate conferences. The decision will lay down rules that proponents say could be difficult for the incoming Trump administration. to cancel– It would be a small step towards climate safety.
The world will meet again next year in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th United Nations climate talks. Trump will remain in office and likely begin the process of withdrawing the United States. Leaving the climate negotiating table, the modest results of the past year will surely cast a shadow on relations between developed and undeveloped countries. The country most at risk sees weak financial deals as a betrayal of trust: China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases; Including the largest producer of clean energy technology may step into an energy vacuum in which the United States will be left behind Or maybe not. Other major oil producing countries which was encouraged by the American withdrawal. It could detract from any show of climate solidarity. Just as they had done before.
The impasse comes as global warming is accelerating faster in some areas than scientists expected. And the emerging physical threats are reaching dangerous new levels of intensity. But global diplomacy remains the best idea to solve global problems. Countries will continue to come together. And they will try to make progress. Because for many countries facing a hopelessly cramped climate, There’s no other choice. Whether we understand this Or will we live with the consequences?
