This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including controversies surrounding the COP28 presidency and a paper suggesting fossil fuel emissions this year will reach a historic high.
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1. COP28 Al Jaber Says There Is No Scientific Evidence That Fossil Fuel Phase-Out Is Needed for 1.5C Goal: Reports
COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber said in an interview last month that claims that a fossil fuel phase-out is needed to limit global warming to 1.5C are not backed by science, deepening controversy around this year’s presidency.
The comments came during an exchange with former Irish president Mary Robinson at a live online event on November 21. “I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist. There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C,” said Al Jaber, who is the head of state oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).
Read more here.
2. More than 2,000 Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Granted Access to COP28 Climate Talks
A new analysis conducted by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition has revealed a staggering influx of fossil fuel lobbyists at the event. With at least 2,456 representatives from the world’s largest polluters granted access to the talks, concerns are mounting about the undue influence of the fossil fuel industry on crucial climate negotiations.
According to the KBPO coalition, the number of fossil fuel lobbyists attending COP28 is nearly four times higher than the previous year, when approximately 700 industry representatives attended the talks in Egypt.
The analysis revealed that the number of fossil fuel lobbyists granted access to COP28 surpasses the delegation sizes of nearly every country participating in the summit. Only Brazil and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this year’s host, have brought larger contingents. The number of lobbyists granted entry to the Dubai talks is also over seven times higher than the official representation of indigenous groups, who play a crucial role in addressing climate change impacts and advocating for their communities.
Read more here.
3. Global CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuels to Hit Record High in 2023 Amid ‘Insufficient’ Efforts to Reverse the Course
According to the Global Carbon Budget 2023, compiled by researchers from more than 90 institutions around the world and published Tuesday by the Global Carbon Project, emissions in 2023 are expected to rise in all fuel types despite declines across 26 countries, which together account for 28% of global emissions. In particular, coal emissions, which account for 41% of global emissions, are projected to rise 1.1%, owing partly to significant rises in countries like India and China and despite the US and the European Union slowly decreasing consumption.
The same applies to oil, which represents 32% of global emissions and is projected to rise 1.5% this year. Finally, increases in natural gas emissions in the US, China and India are behind the estimated 0.5% rise in natural gas emissions globally.
The paper also reinforces recent findings suggesting that, at current CO2 emissions levels, the remaining carbon budget for a 50% chance to limit global warming to 1.5C could be exceeded in seven years. Carbon budget refers to the net amount of CO2 we have left to emit before we exceed our desired global temperature increases.
Read more here.
4. Loss and Damage Fund Contributions at COP28 So Far Cover Less Than 0.2% Of Climate-Related Losses in Developing Countries
Contributions from developed nations to the Loss and Damage Fund have reached US$700 million as the first week of the UN climate summit in Dubai comes to an end, less than 0.2% of the economic and non-economic losses developing countries face every year from global warming.
On the opening day of COP28 in Dubai, wealthy nations pledged to contribute at least $260 million to the fund, surpassing the minimum threshold of $200 million required to initiate operations.
Despite already marking a significant milestone in supporting vulnerable communities, contributions so far have fallen far short of what developing nations need to tackle climate-related challenges, which is estimated at at least $400 billion per year and expected to grow as the crisis intensifies. Despite contributing the least to global warming, poor nations are the ones bearing the most brunt.
Read more here.
