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climate finance
Azerbaijan's New Climate Fund, Easy on Fossil Fuel Producers, Denounced as 'Smoke Screen'
The country's new climate finance fund—an initiative watered down by fossil fuel producers—draws criticism as the oil-producing country prepares to host the U.N. climate summit in November.
Jul 12, 2024
Climate campaigners on Thursday dismissed Azerbaijan's plan for a $500 million climate investment fund, arguing that it was a small, poorly designed initiative meant to distract from the nation's oil production.
The criticism came following news that Azerbaijan, which is seeking to bolster its green credentials as it prepares to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in November, plans to raise at least $500 million of financing for clean energy investments in the Global South. The money would come from fossil fuel producers, including the state-owned Azerbaijani company SOCAR.
Azerbaijani officials considered introducing a levy on fossil fuel producers to raise money for the fund but, after facing opposition from oil-producing Gulf countries, opted for a voluntary, public-private investment model, an anonymous source toldReuters.
350.org called Azerbaijan's plan a "commercial" venture and said "we must distinguish profit-driven investments from genuine efforts," in a statement.
"The role of a COP presidency is to drive forward highly concessional climate finance, not profit from it," said Andreas Sieber, associate director of policy and campaigns. "We demand accountability through tax levies, not token charity, in this climate emergency. Those responsible for the climate crisis must pay for what they have created."
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BREAKING: @COP29_AZ plans a $500mn fund with the money of #fossilfuel industry to fund the energy transition - sounds good at first, but its a charade to distract us from the #fossil industrys deadly unwillingness to transition. Lets unpack:https://t.co/R1A6gP0x1S
— Andreas Sieber (@ClimateAndreas) July 11, 2024
Azerbaijan's new fund marks the second year in a row that an oil-producing nation has sought to deflect criticism by announcing a climate finance venture ahead of the U.N. summit.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which hosted COP28 last year, announced a far larger climate investment fund, with a $30 billion initial investment and a goal of raising $250 billion. Forbesreported after COP28 that "the reality is the fund is an investment tool with a primary purpose of profits for the investors."
Like the UAE last year, Azerbaijan faces questions as its commitment to climate action.
"Several diplomats and negotiators have privately expressed concerns that Azerbaijan, which relies heavily on oil and gas revenues, is fundamentally reluctant to address the question of how to shift away from fossil fuels," The Financial Timesreported.
In January, Azerbaijan appointed a 20-year oil and gas veteran to lead COP29 talks, drawing criticism from environmental groups. A Global Witness report revealed that the country plans not to phase out fossil fuel use, per an international agreement made at COP28, but to raise gas production by one-third in the next decade.
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In the Year of Climate Finance, We Need to See Billions Flow Towards Transforming Our Food Systems
A growing coalition of philanthropic organizations, under the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, is committing to scale up funding for agroecological food systems to address intersecting challenges across climate, food and nature.
Jun 23, 2024
This year climate finance is all the talk. As the UN Climate Conference in Bonn wraps up and the stage is set for COP29 later this year, expectations are high for governments to agree on a new climate finance package that will tackle the worsening climate and ecological crises.
In many countries, food production is the climate frontline. Nearly 95% of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) include adaptation and mitigation actions in the agriculture sector yet fail to address the full food system.
It only takes one climate disaster—a drought, flood or heatwave—for entire villages to spiral into debt, poverty and hunger, impacting regional food systems and economies.
Responding to the climate and nature crises, will require a transformation of food systems backed by a rapid redirection of funds to flip agriculture from being part of the problem to offering solutions. Last year, 25 philanthropies—coordinated by the Global Alliance for the Future of Food—called for a tenfold increase in funding towards agroecological and regenerative approaches. Philanthropy, multilateral and bilateral organizations and governments must scale and align funding to catalyze a transition to 50% regenerative and agroecological systems by 2040 and to ensure all agriculture and food systems are transitioning by 2050. Read the full report.
Right now, industrialized food systems account for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions and at least 15% of fossil fuel use. This broken system—the ‘true cost’ of food production—comes at a staggering $12 trillion a year, according to the FAOlast year. It manifests in hefty medical bills and the degradation of our soil, air, water, and biodiversity.
In this decisive decade, the way we grow, consume and package our food cannot be ignored or siloed in an all-hands-on-deck effort to meet our climate and biodiversity goals.
Moving away from a fossil-fuel based food system will not be cheap. It requires unlocking $250-430 billion per year, but this is in fact cheaper— than what is currently spent each year on harmful agricultural subsidies ($635 billion each year) and a fraction of the true cost of current food production.
Right now, investments into agroecology and regenerative approaches by the philanthropic, public, and the private sectors is estimated to be just $44 billion per year.
As representatives of leading philanthropy we are committed to scaling up funding into agroecological and regenerative approaches as a means to leverage existing policies that address the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. By embracing agroecology, communities have better control over the food they produce to future-proof their livelihoods and to make decisions to strengthen food sovereignty based on locally-tested solutions and knowledge.
There is a political appetite to make this transition and intergrate agroecological approaches into policy.
For example, the Tanzania government has worked with national civil society organizations to develop a National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy and implementation plan. Similar agroecology strategies are being developed in other Eastern African countries, like Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Priority actions include making agroecological and bio-inputs available, ensuring avenues for knowledge exchange and skills-sharing among farmers, expanding market access for food producers, mainstreaming village land use planning, fostering investments across the value chain, and supporting coordination, capacity building and governance at all levels.
And they’re not alone. In the Andes, smallholder farmers are stewarding thousands of varieties of native potatoes, preserving their cultural heritage, supporting their livelihoods and providing food for domestic consumption while also growing new markets in collaboration with researchers, civil society experts and other food system actors. Mountains are unique ecosystems, many of which are biodiversity hotspots and home to Indigenous Peoples. Mountain ecosystems are generally forgotten in national and international discussions, but are critical to biodiversity and resilience, especially in the face of climate change. The Andes are also not an island—they are critical for the existence of the Amazon and in turn the Amazon has a dramatic influence on the climate of the Andes, highlighting the interconnectedness that very often is broken by industrial agriculture. Support for Indigenous and agroecological approaches is vital to sustain the important contributions made by smallholder farmers in building thriving and sustainable local and regional food economies.
In this decisive decade, the way we grow, consume and package our food cannot be ignored or siloed in an all-hands-on-deck effort to meet our climate and biodiversity goals. It’s a race against time and we urgently need to see the money—in the tens of billions of dollars—move towards real solutions, particularly where policies are ready to be turned into action.
We are calling on governments, the private sector and other philanthropic partners to join us in this initiative and commit to scaling up their investments so communities, Indigenous Peoples and the health and the future of all living beings and the planet are at the center of our financial decisions.
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Greta Thunberg Calls COP28 Outcome a 'Betrayal'
"This COP has once again proven that the COP processes are not working in our favor," the climate activist said.
Dec 19, 2023
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg called the outcome of the 28th United Change Climate Conference—which agreed to "transitioning away from fossil fuels" but stopped short of the phaseout demanded by civil society and climate-vulnerable nations—a "betrayal and a stab in the back."
COP28 concluded in the United Arab Emirates on December 13. The outcome, also called the "UAE Consensus," marks the first time that fossil fuels have made it into the final text to emerge from a U.N. climate summit. While some are celebrating this milestone, Thunberg was not impressed.
"The final outcome of COP28 is not a 'historic win,'" she wrote on social media Friday. "It is yet another example of extremely vague and watered down texts full of loopholes that in no way is even close to being sufficient for staying within the 1.5°C limit and ensur[ing] climate justice."
Speaking to Reuters at a protest outside the Swedish parliament on Friday, Thunberg said the agreement was the "bare minimum" and rejected the idea that it was a "first step."
"We've already had first steps and they haven't led us anywhere," Thunberg said. "The emissions are still increasing. We are experiencing record highs."
She also questioned the validity of U.N. climate negotiations.
"This COP has once again proven that the COP processes are not working in our favor," she told Reuters. "They are not designed to solve the climate crisis. They are more working as an alibi for world leaders" to hide behind their signature on a document while continuing to do nothing.
"We need drastic immediate emission cuts and binding commitments from the largest contributors of the climate crisis to finance loss and damages, adaptation, and a just transition in the most affected areas."
Thunberg's remarks build on her criticism of COPs in recent years. She stopped attending the gatherings beginning with last year's COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, which she called an opportunity for "greenwashing, lying, and cheating," according to Euronews Green.
This year, she particularly criticized the fact that members of small island states were not in the room when the final deal was adopted.
Thunberg said this was "undemocratic" and "completely unacceptable."
"We cannot talk about climate justice when without having the most affected in the room," she told Reuters.
On her Friday social media thread, Thunberg outlined what she thought successful climate action would look like.
"We need drastic immediate emission cuts and binding commitments from the largest contributors of the climate crisis to finance loss and damages, adaptation, and a just transition in the most affected areas," she said.
Thunberg's remarks add to those of many other climate activists and scientists who have criticized the deal for falling short of ensuring the 1.5°C target, inadequately funding the renewable energy transition in the Global South, and allowing dangerous loopholes such as carbon capture and storage technology promoted by the fossil fuel industry as a way to keep pumping while promising to "abate" their emissions.
"Although the text mentions a transition away from fossil fuel energy systems in a just and equitable manner, the text is full of loopholes and false solutions on unproven and expensive technology like nuclear, abatement, carbon capture and storage, transitional fuels, etc.," Philippines climate activist Mitzi Jonelle Tan said, as Euronews Green reported.
The group Scientist Rebellion put out a statement Friday calling for a global movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground.
"The United Nations climate summit, hijacked by the fossil fuel cartel, has gifted a blank check to rich countries and Big Oil to kill one billion people and force billions more to flee their homes by 2100," the group wrote. "The so-called 'historic' outcome of COP28 fails to deliver the most basic and necessary measures which would have prevented societal and 'Earth systems' collapse, as outlined by the IPCC: eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and halt all new gas and oil projects."
Their statement concluded: "It is time to listen to the scientists, hundreds of whom have been driven out of their labs and into the streets to engage in civil disobedience: If we want to avoid condemning both this generation and all that follow to the worst outcomes of the climate crisis, we must all rise together in order to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The time is now."
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