VoltTrust is an important currency of climate diplomacy, and it has been affected time and time again. In 2015, when developing and emerging countries made carbon emission reduction pledges in Paris, industrialized countries pledged to invest 100 billion U.S. dollars in climate funds each year.As a former president of the United States Barack Obama In a speech in Glasgow on Monday, activists from developing countries chanted: “Obama, where is 100 billion?” Because so far, only a small amount of money has actually flown in.
While funding for climate change measures has increased, the proportion of funding for climate adaptation in the global South has decreased. For example, money that can be used to prevent floods or prevent heat waves. Germany announced on Tuesday that it will increase spending on climate adaptation by 150 million euros in developing countries.
According to the Ministry of Environment, the country provides a total of 2 billion euros for international climate adaptation each year. The European Commission also pledged on Tuesday afternoon to pay an additional 100 million euros for climate adaptation.
It still creaks in many places
At the same time, the countries of the global South are demanding more progress in damage and loss than in the past. The question is whether the industrialized countries that cause climate change will pay for the damage it causes. Although industrialized countries feel guilty, they also have real panic of concessions. Because this may also cause legal and financial claims from federal states and private individuals, the consequences are difficult to foresee.
The question now seems to be whether the cost of rebuilding areas damaged by climate change can be partly derived from the Climate Fund, which is designed primarily to adapt to climate change.
At the beginning of the second week of the climate conference, negotiators kept repeating the motto “Everything is decided, nothing is decided”. On Tuesday, representatives of different positions held bilateral negotiations on basic issues.
Rwanda, as the representative of developing countries, and Switzerland as the representative of ambitious countries, negotiated the time frame for the future announcement of the national contribution to carbon dioxide reduction (NDC). So far, only the island countries severely affected by climate change hope to set new goals next year.
How flexible are the rules?
British negotiator Archie Young listed the timetable, the verifiability and transparency of the NDC as the main challenges in the upcoming negotiations. These points form the core of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and have been trying to define it precisely for many years. The completion of the rule book failed in Madrid and was one of the central projects of the British presidency.
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In the evenings from Tuesday to Wednesday, before the Minister of Environment takes over on Wednesday, final negotiations should be held at the diplomatic level. It is said that only when the conflict is controllable can ministers find a more ambitious compromise. The elasticity of these rules also depends on whether the 1.5-degree global warming limit can still be achieved.
Observers report that Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Australia in particular played a blocking role in the discussion. As the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter, China is vital, but it may be ready to compromise. In particular, China has fought fiercely in the past with the transparency rules under which the NDC is declared and controlled.
NGO Criticism I In fact, the United States, which is pursuing ambitious, will be relatively cautious in negotiations. European Commissioner Frans Timmermans praised the work of diplomats and negotiators on Tuesday afternoon, but was “far away” from reaching the 1.5-degree goal. “We are running out of time,” Timmermans said. The EU is on the side of all those who are striving for higher goals.
