By Faridat Salifu
The issue of who finances climate action is expected to be at the front burner of discussions and may spark off disagreements and controversies if world leaders are unable to agree at COP28.
Just last week, the World Bank was given the responsibility to provisionally host the fund, a situation analysts think may be detrimental to the funding agreement.
As the world meets in Dubai next week, it is not clear where the pendulum will swing as there are two opposing views as to who to finance the climate action.
The global north has insisted that China, which is listed as among the world’s heaviest polluters should contribute to the fund, a request the Asian country has vehimently opposed to.
There is also the proposal that major oil companies should pay taxes on their profits to contribute to the fund. This approach aims to hold those who have profited from the fossil fuel industry accountable for their contributions to climate change. However, resistance from these companies may also hinder the implementation of such a tax.
The discussions at COP28 are therefore expected to shape the collective response to the climate crisis. The outcomes will have significant implications for the future of fossil fuels and the transition to a sustainable energy system.
A deal to strengthen nations’ national climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which currently fall short of what is required to hit net zero and 1.5C targets, and an ambitious proposal to cut methane emissions, which account for a fifth of total greenhouse gases (GHGs), by 75% by 2030 are among the other significant issues expected top discussions in the Dubai conference.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, President-Designate of COP28, is demanding that by 2025, funding for adaption be doubled. As Al Jaber noted in his most recent guideline, these figures represent the bare minimum required to close a trillion-dollar gap in global climate finance.
“We’ll talk about taking into account every economic sector and greenhouse gas. The real test, however, will be whether fossil fuels are phased out and sufficient climate funds are raised to reduce emissions, adapt successfully, and accept responsibility for the chaos that rising temperatures cause,” Al Jaber said.
On their part, Pacific members of the HAC are calling for a complete and unqualified phase-out of all fossil fuels. They argue that this is necessary to effectively address the climate crisis.
However, not all delegations share the same stance. Some argue that embracing technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to continue using fossil fuels is the way forward.
They emphasize the deployment of all available solutions and technologies in the fight against climate change.
Critics of these technologies point out that their scalability and effectiveness are still being debated.
