
COP29 in Crisis: Small Island Nations and Climate Finance 🌍
In this interview with KFPA Evening News on Saturday, November 23, 2024, we unpack the dramatic walkout at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where negotiators from small island states and least developed nations protested against inadequate climate finance commitments. Amid growing frustrations, climate activists and leaders express concerns about the failure of wealthier nations to meet their obligations. Featuring insights from Anne Petermann, Executive Director of the Global Justice Ecology Project, we delve into: The history and challenges of UN climate conferences. The controversy surrounding carbon markets and offsetting. The unmet promises of financial aid, including the $100 billion pledge. The urgent need for equitable climate action to support vulnerable nations.
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Transcript:
David Rosenberg:
Good evening, it’s Saturday
November 23rd with Sharon Sabota
I’m David Rosenberg and this is the KPFA evening news.
Saying their climate finance interest are being ignored,
negotiators from small island states
and the least developed nations
walked out of negotiations during overtime
United Nations climate talks today.
Negotiators at COP29 in Baku,
Azerbaijan were trying to hash out a deal on finance
for developing countries
to curb and adapt to climate change.
But according to messages relayed from inside,
the rough draft of a new proposal was soundly rejected
especially by African nations and small island states.
When asked if the walk out was a protest
Colombian Environment Minister
Susanna Mohammed told The Associated Press
that those who walked out were highly dissatisfied.
Meanwhile climate activists
who accused the US of not paying its fair share
echoed Washington’s climate envoy
John Podesta as he left the meeting room.
Developing countries have accused
the richer nations of trying to get their way
and a smaller financial aid package.
And smaller island nations
that are very vulnerable to climate changes
worsening effects have accused the host country
presidency of ignoring them.
Throughout the talks on Friday,
the last official draft pledge
$250 billion annually by 2035,
which is more than double
the previous goal of $100 billion
set 15 years ago.
But far short of the annual $1.3 trillion
that many experts say is needed.
And it does appear that the COP29
UN climate conference in Baku is in a bit of disarray.
So far as you just heard
environmental activists
are not too happy with the results.
Anne Petermann
is the executive director of the Global Justice
Ecology Project she says that
although
the original idea of the climate conferences was good
not much has been done since then.
Anne Petermann:
Well the entire
UN Climate COP concept
which was originally
great,
let’s get the countries of the world to commit legally
to taking action to reduce climate change threats
and actually mitigate the potential impact
and everything since
since Al Gore, really
has been about trying to figure out how to
get away from doing anything real,
how developed countries like the United States
can avoid taking responsibility.
So historically
it’s been about carbon markets and carbon offsetting
allowing big polluters to buy their way out of carbon
emission reductions
by paying somebody else to plant trees
or whatever. And now there’s –
well this has always also been
under the negotiations –
this idea that rich countries should
compensate developing countries
for the damage that’s been caused by the
historic commissions by the developed countries
and also to help them adapt
and come up with new technologies
to be able to mitigate the
the climate extremes that are coming.
And of course you know
countries like the United States
absolutely do not want to do that.
Hillary Clinton famously,
during the Copenhagen climate talks in ,
during the Copenhagen climate talks in 2015,
pledged $100 billion that
everybody’s been arguing, “Oh
where’s this hundred billion dollars?
We’ve got it get this hundred billion dollars.”
And I mean, you know,
that sounds good to people…
It sounds good
but you know
there was never an actual commitment to do that.
It was just some public relations
and it has to go through Congress
first of all, right.
Well
it would have to go through Congress and, of course,
Congress is never gonna
go along with anything like that so
it’s a nice thing to say.
But there’s actually no,
there’s nothing behind it, right.
So but ever since that
people have been sort of fixated on that number.
“Where’s this hundred billion dollars?”
“Who else is gonna step up?”
And so it’s become a larger piece of the debate.
But it really it’s…and it’s really important,
this idea of giving developing countries help
to figure out how to mitigate
what is only going to be getting worse.
But it really needs to be seen in the context of
the inability of the countries
of the countries,
the developed countries in these climate talks
actually get anything concrete
accomplished or committed. In everything since
before Paris but especially since Paris has been
completely voluntary.
So even if they got some commitments by countries to
pledge the billions of dollars that are necessary
of the trillions of dollars
that are necessary to help develop countries
mitigate climate change.
Odds are it’s all going to be voluntary.
We volunteer like Hillary Clinton.
We volunteer to commit $100 billion to
you know this effort sometime, one day,
maybe.
That’s Anne Peterman of the
Global Justice Ecology Project.
Good evening, it’s Saturday
November 23rd with Sharon Sabota
I’m David Rosenberg and this is the KPFA evening news.
Saying their climate finance interest are being ignored,
negotiators from small island states
and the least developed nations
walked out of negotiations during overtime
United Nations climate talks today.
Negotiators at COP29 in Baku,
Azerbaijan were trying to hash out a deal on finance
for developing countries
to curb and adapt to climate change.
But according to messages relayed from inside,
the rough draft of a new proposal was soundly rejected
especially by African nations and small island states.
When asked if the walk out was a protest
Colombian Environment Minister
Susanna Mohammed told The Associated Press
that those who walked out were highly dissatisfied.
Meanwhile climate activists
who accused the US of not paying its fair share
echoed Washington’s climate envoy
John Podesta as he left the meeting room.
Developing countries have accused
the richer nations of trying to get their way
and a smaller financial aid package.
And smaller island nations
that are very vulnerable to climate changes
worsening effects have accused the host country
presidency of ignoring them.
Throughout the talks on Friday,
the last official draft pledge
$250 billion annually by 2035,
which is more than double
the previous goal of $100 billion
set 15 years ago.
But far short of the annual $1.3 trillion
that many experts say is needed.
And it does appear that the COP29
UN climate conference in Baku is in a bit of disarray.
So far as you just heard
environmental activists
are not too happy with the results.
Anne Petermann
is the executive director of the Global Justice
Ecology Project she says that
although
the original idea of the climate conferences was good
not much has been done since then.
Well the entire
UN Climate COP concept
which was originally
great,
let’s get the countries of the world to commit legally
to taking action to reduce climate change threats
and actually mitigate the potential impact
and everything since
since Al Gore, really
has been about trying to figure out how to
get away from doing anything real,
how developed countries like the United States
can avoid taking responsibility.
So historically
it’s been about carbon markets and carbon offsetting
allowing big polluters to buy their way out of carbon
emission reductions
by paying somebody else to plant trees
or whatever. And now there’s –
well this has always also been
under the negotiations –
this idea that rich countries should
compensate developing countries
for the damage that’s been caused by the
historic commissions by the developed countries
and also to help them adapt
and come up with new technologies
to be able to mitigate the
the climate extremes that are coming.
And of course you know
countries like the United States
absolutely do not want to do that.
Hillary Clinton famously,
during the Copenhagen climate talks,
pledged $100 billion dollars that
everybody’s been arguing, “Oh
where’s this hundred billion dollars?
We’ve got it get this hundred billion dollars.”
And I mean, you know,
that sounds good to people…
It sounds good
but you know
there was never an actual commitment to do that.
It was just some public relations
and it has to go through Congress
first of all, right.
Well
it would have to go through Congress and, of course,
Congress is never gonna
go along with anything like that so
it’s a nice thing to say.
But there’s actually no,
there’s nothing behind it, right.
So but ever since that
people have been sort of fixated on that number.
“Where’s this hundred billion dollars?”
“Who else is gonna step up?”
And so it’s become a larger piece of the debate.
But it really it’s…and it’s really important,
this idea of giving developing countries help
to figure out how to mitigate
what is only going to be getting worse.
But it really needs to be seen in the context of
the inability of the countries
of the countries,
the developed countries in these climate talks
actually get anything concrete
accomplished or committed. In everything since
before Paris but especially since Paris has been
completely voluntary.
So even if they got some commitments by countries to
pledge the billions of dollars that are necessary
of the trillions of dollars
that are necessary to help develop countries
mitigate climate change.
Odds are it’s all going to be voluntary.
We volunteer like Hillary Clinton.
We volunteer to commit $100 billion to
you know this effort sometime, one day,
maybe.
That’s Anne Peterman of the
Global Justice Ecology Project.