Loss and Damage Fund – an early milestone at COP28
Remarkably early for climate protection negotiations, an important decision was made surprisingly on the first day in Dubai – the establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund. This significant move brought an early win to the negotiations and shielded the sensitive topic of climate-related damage and losses from tricky trade-offs in the final days of negotiations. Technical pre-negotiations for the fund for climate-related damage and losses had been under way for two years. These negotiations are characterised by their complexity and controversy, and in November had come close to collapsing before COP28. The success of the fund now being established is the result of around 30 years of efforts by many communities, including the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Sarah Louise Nash (political scientist at UWK) has been following these discussions for nearly ten years and emphasises the significance of the decision: "The establishment of a fund is an important procedural step that finally takes seriously the concerns and demands of many affected countries. A framework is now in place, and it remains to be seen whether enough funding will flow to support and compensate people who are particularly affected by the impacts of climate change."
First Global Stocktake – a tough nut right to the end
The first Global Stocktake – that is, the first assessment of global greenhouse gas trends since the Paris Agreement in 2015 – drew an alarming conclusion: with a mean temperature increase of +3°C (by 2100), we are moving the Earth's climate away from a state that is optimal for human civilisation. www.ccca.ac.at From a physical science perspective, it is therefore clear that a phase-out of fossil fuels is necessary in order to meet the Paris Agreement. The final text of the Global Stocktake, however, does not say that. Max Nutz (climatologist at GeoSphere Austria) comments: "Science serves as a foundation, but no longer has a voice in the negotiations." This means that, despite the limited space, scientific and political discussions remain far apart. "It is important to emphasise, though, that it takes enormous diplomatic effort and a great deal of work from negotiating leads to produce a shared output when nearly 200 countries have such differing interests and positions," Nutz points out. Given the prevailing political circumstances, the outcome of the Global Stocktake is therefore quite an achievement. For the first time, a move away from fossil fuels is enshrined in the closing statement, which is also a landmark for national climate protection policy in Austria. Implementation must ultimately happen at the local level. At present, climate protection measures in Austria fall far short of delivering the country's contribution to the targets set in 2015.
The climate conference beyond the political negotiations
With over 90,000 participants, COP28 in Dubai was – fittingly for the city – extraordinarily large. The many political negotiations are at the heart of the conference, but the annual UNFCCC conferences have also become an important venue for global collaboration in science and business. It is, however, highly concerning that fossil fuel interests and nuclear energy companies were strongly represented – particularly within the Green Zone, outside the political negotiating rooms – with over 2,000 lobbyists in attendance.
Text by Sarah Louise Nash, University for Continuing Education Krems and Max Nutz, GeoSphere Austria
