Developing countries left ‘disappointed’ at climate talks

• Developing countries express disappointment at lack of progress in assisting vulnerable countries cope with effects of global warming.
• Developed nations want dedicated finance infrastructure to assist impoverished countries.
• Poor countries want the issue discussed at the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheik in November.

BONN (Germany) — As climate talks in Germany came to a close on Thursday, developing countries expressed “disappointment,” with concerns mounting over a lack of progress in assisting vulnerable countries cope with the effects of global warming.

The technical discussions supposed to establish the framework for critical United Nations negotiations later this year were stuck in arguments as the world’s attention was pulled to other issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and spiralling food, energy, and economic crises.

Representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in Bonn inspired by the ambition shown six months ago in Glasgow at the UN COP26 conference, where countries rallied behind the urgent issue of climate change.

“Probably the expectations were very high after that sense of emergency had been built,” said Preety Bhandari, senior climate expert at the World Resources Institute.

However, even on the emissions-cutting objectives that governments have acknowledged are required to fulfil the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the gathering produced little meaningful progress.

Finance is a persistent thorn in the side, with a pledge of $100 billion per year starting in 2020 to assist developing nations in adapting to a warmer world remains unfulfilled.

Another bone of contention at the discussions has been the poor pace of work on “loss and damage,” despite the growing assault of consequences already being felt by vulnerable countries, such as floods, heat waves, and storms.

Developing countries desire a dedicated finance “infrastructure” to assist impoverished countries that are least responsible for climate change in dealing with its consequences.

However, wealthy nations, particularly the European Union and the United States, have resisted this proposal, claiming that financing can be channelled through an existing network of humanitarian, development, and climate organisations.

As the Bonn discussions came to a close, poor countries gathered to express their dissatisfaction with the slow progress on loss and damage, which is now being handled as a rolling “conversation” that will end in 2024 with no clear resolution.

They want the issue to be discussed at the COP27 summit in November in Sharm el-Sheik.

Speaking on behalf of the G77 and China’s major developing countries, Pakistan’s envoy said the group was “dissatisfied,” while Zambia, speaking on behalf of Africa, said the continent was “concerned by the lack of progress.”

“We are frustrated by the lack of real progress,” stated the Alliance of Small Island States’ representative from Antigua and Barbados (AOSIS).

Countries are still waiting for assurances that “the finance we require today will be supplied quickly, or at any time by 2025,” he said.

‘Hypocritical’

Wealthy countries are wary of any indication of legal culpability that could leave them liable for billions, if not trillions, of dollars.

The European Union assured delegates that it had “engaged constructively” and would do so again.

However, advocates argue that the current system places the fiscal burden on the most vulnerable.

Harjeet Singh, Senior Climate Impacts Adviser at Climate Action Network International, claimed that the EU “consistently delayed” discussions on loss and damage insurance, accusing the group of taking a “hypocritical posture.”

“If the EU wants to be a climate leader, it must stand with the most vulnerable in their struggle for justice,” he said.

Bhandari stated that if countries do not give more weight to both adaptation and mitigation, action on reducing emissions could stop, and that it will be up to political leaders to revive the momentum in the run-up to the Paris Climate Conference.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, over 1.2 degrees Celsius of warming has been enough to unleash a flood of disasters around the globe.

As the effects build, Alden Meyer, a senior associate at E3G, said it has reached a “boiling point,” adding that countries can see the billions that the US and EU are mobilising for the Ukraine conflict.

“It’s not as if the funds aren’t available. He told AFP, “It’s a question of priorities.”

“And it doesn’t go unnoticed if you say climate change is an existential issue but treat other things as far more essential in terms of where you spend your money.”