COP30
- Lindsay LaPlante
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Robin Tokmakian, LWV Portland
The United Nations Conference of the Parties 30 (COP30) on Climate Change is finally over...
Most of the week was devoted to finalizing text, which took too many late nights for the negotiations and ministers.
Along the way, there was a fire, a “people’s COP”, large disagreements, and finally an outcome that many were not happy with. Much of the negotiations were behind closed doors so they are difficult to summarize. Here are some things I took note of, in no particular order and far from comprehensive.
First: the fire. A fire broke out on Thursday afternoon in one of the pavilions. Everyone was evacuated from the space and our LWV Observers exited safely. The venue was closed until Friday morning, which caused delay. The only injuries were a few people suffering smoke inhalation problems. See the article below about the fire. The video is very dramatic!
Actions by NGOs: One action stood out to me. A group of youths formed the “Carbon Market in an End-of-the-World-Market” The participants stood around carrying trays (like at a baseball game selling hotdogs) “selling” items labeled as:
Imaginary trees to achieve perfect reports without worrying about actual reduction in emissions
Soap for greenwashing and cleaning up the a company’s reputation
Tractor to run over the rights of local communities
Eucalyptus spray for using the mono-culture as carbon models
On Friday, there was a “People’s COP” run by the various NGO constituencies (Youth, Women, Environment, Labor, Disabled, Indigenous Peoples). There was lots of anger about all of the wars in the world and how they compound the push for a greener world. All speakers were very passionate. It makes it hard to see any good in the world. And, once again, it was pointed out the the developed world has no problem spending trillions on war but not on addressing climate issues.
Negotiations: The exploitation of mineral extraction in the developing countries is being moved to the forefront. It didn’t make the final text but the increasing need for these minerals in EVs is driving the conversation.
In the end, the delegates agreed to a higher funding level, but not until 2035!! (It was 2030 before.) The Arab Group (and its sister group the like-minded Developing Countries, run by Saudi Arabia) and Russia were strongly opposed to much of the efforts for a more ambitious outcome. They blocked a specific outcome on fossil fuels.
In the final plenary, the President of the COP quickly gaveled (approved) the texts without letting countries interrupt. At the end of one section, many countries from Latin America, along with Switzerland and the EU, complained that the text approved was different than that agreed to in the early morning hours. The plenary was suspended but in the end, nothing changed. Much of the concern was related to the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). The text initially contained a list of 100 adaptation indicators that had been agreed to (for the most part) over several years. The text presented at the plenary contained only 50 or so. The change had not been discussed and upset many.
The 1.5°C goal was reiterated somewhat in the text, along with reference to the “best available science” in many locations of the approved texts.
There was no official sign-off on a roadmap for eliminating fossil fuels or a roadmap to address deforestation. Unofficially, the COP president (from Brazil) said he would gather people in the coming year to address these two topics. There was lots of clapping in the room for this proposal, but it seems to me that it may go nowhere.
Robin Tokmakian, LWVUS UN Observer for Climate
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