Will Western countries and developing countries find an agreement on paying for climate damage? And will the countries of the world keep the 1.5 degree goal alive?
In the international climate negotiations in Egypt, the countries of the world have two things to agree on above all others. Both issues have been on the agenda of meetings for years, so there are no easy solutions to them even now.
1. Will Western countries pay for the climate damage they cause in developing countries?
The first question is whether Western countries, including the EU and Finland, will pay for the damages caused by climate change in developing countries.
These include floods, droughts, crop losses, hurricanes.
Developing countries have demanded a new fund in Egypt’s climate talks, into which Western countries would put money and developing countries could get money from there to compensate for the damages.
The EU has decided to support the fund, on one condition.
The EU wants all large, high-emitting countries to agree to the role of payer. In addition to Western countries, this applies to China, India and Brazil, among others.
For example, China is still considered a developing country in the classification of the climate agreement, even though it is the world’s largest emitter of climate emissions. China would like to be on the side of the recipients of the money and not on the side of the payers.
Developing countries want the fund, because over the decades, richer Western countries have caused climate change through the use of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, which is now being suffered the most in developing countries.
2. Will the 1.5 degree goal be maintained or will it be allowed to get out of hand?
Another big main topic at the climate meeting in Egypt is curbing global warming, as always.
Now it seems that the goal could be maintained at the level of the speeches. However, the measures are not enough, but lead to a warming of 2.6 degrees.
In the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, the countries of the world agreed to keep global warming below 2 degrees, but aim for below 1.5.
It calls for halving global warming emissions by 2030 and reducing emissions to zero by 2050. The current emission reduction promises lead to a warming of the climate by about 2.6 degrees.
However, only about 30 countries out of 200 have tightened their promises during the year on how much they will reduce emissions in order to maintain the 1.5 degree limit. For example, the EU, including Finland, still has its own debate about how much and where to reduce emissions.
Some glimmers of hope have been seen in Egypt. Among the large and significant emitting countries, India gave its promise in Egypt to end the use of coal. Brazil’s new president has promised to bring his country back into the fold of climate diplomacy and has even promised to save the Amazon rainforest.
Both of the main issues of the meeting are unfinished. Secretary General of the UN Antonio Guterres has repeatedly encouraged countries to find good solutions. At the beginning of the meeting, he said that humanity has a choice between a joint climate package or a joint decision on suicide.
The meeting should end today, Friday, but it will stretch into overtime.
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