Climate leaders urge for COP reform, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week
The COP29 talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, have come under scrutiny. Image: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
- This weekly round-up contains the key nature and climate news from the past week.
- Top nature and climate news: "Call for COP reform"; $1 trillion a year in climate finance needed; World's largest coral found.
1. COP talks 'need reform' climate leaders tell UN
In a letter to the United Nations (UN), a group of climate leaders have called for reform of the Conference of the Parties (COP) talks.
They stated that "its current structure simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity".
A shift is needed from "negotiation to implementation" at the talks, to ensure the energy transition is accelerated and fossil fuels are phased out, they say.
The signatories outlined seven key measures for reform:
- Improve the selection process for COP presidencies, excluding countries that do not support the phase-out or transition away from fossil energy.
- Streamline for speed and scale by making COP meetings smaller, more frequent and solutions-driven.
- Improve implementation and accountability with enhanced reporting and benchmarking.
- Ensure robust tracking of climate financing to ensure accountability and mobilize the necessary resources.
- Amplify the voice of authoritative science by creating a permanent scientific advisory body as part of the COP structure.
- Recognize the interdependencies between poverty, inequality and planetary instability by appointing a Climate-Poverty Policy Envoy.
- Enhance equitable representation through improving the management of corporate interests within COPs proceedings.
2. Developing nations need $1tn a year in climate finance by 2030
Poor countries need $1 trillion a year in climate finance by 2030, five years earlier than rich countries are likely to agree to at UN climate talks, a new study from the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance has found.
This capital can help poorer nations cut their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to extreme weather events.
"The less the world achieves now, the more we will need to invest later," says the report, as the cost of inaction continues to rise.
Greater investment can not only help the world avoid costs such as the loss of biodiversity and physical damage from extreme weather but also "unlock the growth story of the 21st century".
3. News in brief: Other top nature and climate stories this week
The world's "largest coral" has been found by scientists in the southwest Pacific Ocean, reports the BBC. It is estimated to be more than 300 years old.
2024 has been a year "marked by minimal progress" on climate action, according to analysis by the Climate Action Tracker project. There "is a lot of action happening in the background, but unfortunately, not in the right direction", it adds.
US President-Elect Donald Trump’s promise to repeal major climate policies passed during Joe Biden’s term could cost the nation up to $50 billion in lost exports, suggests an analysis from the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab.
The licence for the development of the UK's largest untapped oil field is being challenged in court by environmental campaigners. Developer Equinor told the court that revoking it would "cost thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds", reports the BBC.
Bolivia plans to sell $5 billion in carbon offset credits to meet a goal to end deforestation in the nation by 2030, according to Reuters.
Kenyan coastal villagers hit by climate change and the impacts of drought, higher temperatures and rising sea levels have turned to seaweed farming.
What's the World Economic Forum doing about the ocean?
4. More on the nature and climate crisis on Agenda
As countries are shortly due to submit their climate action plans – Nationally Determined Contributions – in 2025, three key factors affect our ability to limit global warming: ambition, finance and accelerated action. Jorge Moreira da Silva, Under-Secretary-General of the UN, explains how we can enable successful climate action in this article.
Five environmental innovators have been awarded £1 million each for Prince William's Earthshot Prize 2024, announced on 6 November. The winners were awarded across five categories: Build a Waste-Free World; Protect and Restore Nature; Clean our Air; Revive our Ocean; Fix our Climate. From waste management to ocean protection, explore the winners here.
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Jagan Chapagain
December 17, 2024
