Anoop Khajuria
As the world prepares for the UN Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, the news of Trump’s victory could be a blow to global climate justice leading to an alarming and irreparable consequence for people around a rapidly heating world. Trump, during his campaign for his election to the White House, termed climate change a hoax, the greatest scam, promising electorates to save funds on clean energy, stop just transition, and promise “drill baby drill” slogans unleashing the wave of increased production of fossil fuels.
The world is already gasping for clean air and water amidst the clamour of small developing island nations to save them from ever-increasing sea levels. The developed Nations which are also the major CO2 emitters are not adhering to their carbon emission cut goals while the global mean temperature is threatening to cross the 1.2 degree C mark, very close to the Paris Agreement restriction of 1.5 degrees C by 2030. But this means global temperature increase is bringing unprecedented disasters across the globe in the form of heat waves, forest fires, tropical cyclones, floods, earthquakes, and rains.
After 30 years of demands from developing Nations, an agreement was finally agreed at Sharm-Al-Sheik, Egypt, the venue for COP 27. There was firm resolution to establish a loss and damage fund. Since the inception of the Industrialization in global north, many species of flora and fauna have been lost due to the changing patterns of weather and the global south has suffered huge losses of bio-diversity besides extensive human and infrastructural losses.
COP 28 held in the United Arab Emirates, adopted the decision on the operationalization of the new funding arrangements, including a fund, for responding to loss and damage. The decision was adopted by all parties. The Dubai negotiations were momentous as they marked the conclusion of the first global stocktaking of the World’. It was also hailed for unprecedented recognition for linking efforts to address the climate and biodiversity crises. The ever-increasing pollution alongside these make up the triple planetary crisis – the three main interlinked environmental issues plaguing humanity.
In Baku, parties should ensure that the commitments made by the members are taken forward to their logical conclusion. For the loss and damage fund, USD 700 million has been pledged to several countries, including UAE, Germany, United Kingdom, EU& Japan.
The purpose of the fund is to assist the developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in responding to economic and non-economic loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and slow onset events. Another decision that was taken in Dubai on the Santiago network for averting, minimizing, and addressing loss and damage was to catalyze the technical assistance of relevant organizations, Bodies, Networks, and Experts for the implementation of relevant approaches associated with climate change impacts.
With Donald Trump’s election as the President of the USA, and the COP29 Presidency lying with an oil-rich autocracy Azerbaijan, the expectations for the Nation’s leadership are understandably limited. Last year’s COP28 in Dubai, had concluded with 200 countries agreeing to shift away from fossil fuels – a consensus hailed by many as “the beginning of the end” for the fossil fuel era. However, no meaningful progress has been made so far, and Azerbaijan’s agenda for COP29 does not mention the agreement. The failure to build on last year’s deal will be a significant setback. Now, with Donald Trump back in the White House, it raises fear and anxiety that the World’s second largest carbon emitter may once again exit the world stage on climate.
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