COP 29 is done: what's next for climate action?

(Re-written with permission from Friends of the Earth)

Also see: Global opinions of COP-29 outcome

The last 10 years have been the warmest in the 174-year global record. We know that climate change is bearing down on us and that we need to act now to reduce emissions. And as a global problem, we need a globally coordinated solution. That’s why the U.N. climate talks are so important.

Each year as the Conference of Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC happens, there are repeated demands that the world act decisively.

COP29 has just finished. Its major focus was on how we will pay for the impacts of climate change. And it did deliver a long overdue agreement, including a new climate finance goal that was the centerpiece of the negotiations. The core commitment was the promise by rich countries to deliver US$300 billion per year to the developing world, by 2035. But what was needed was US$1trillion. When the threats posed by climate change are considered, COP was clearly disastrous in its lack of ambition and ‘business as usual’ domination by fossil fuel corporations and their allies in many governments.

ABOVE: final protest at COP 29.

The despair of climate-vulnerable nations was so great, they staged a walk out of negotiations. Delegations from the AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) and LDCs (Least Developed Countries) were disgusted by the agreement, saying they ‘weren’t being heard’ by rich fossil fuel emitting nations. Even the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described them as being ‘ripped off’ by nations that historically created climate change, now denying funds needed to help pay for losses and damage caused by extreme weather events, and aid them to transition away from fossil fuels.

As they prepared to leave the COP, Kirtana Chandrasekaran from Friends of the Earth International reflected:

‘COP29 was supposed to deliver the climate finance needed for adaptation, loss and damage, and the just energy transition. Instead, it saw the usual power games of rich countries desperate to shirk their historical responsibilities’.

Kholwani Simelane from Friends of the Earth Africa said:

“Without adequate climate finance, Africa’s vulnerability to climate change will worsen. Communities already grappling with poverty and inequality will face escalating challenges as they struggle to adapt to climate impacts. For countries already burdened by debt, responding to these challenges will mean diverting resources from critical services like healthcare and education, which further deepens inequality.”

ABOVE: FoE delegates at the COP discuss false climate solutions.

Against the backdrop of heightened corporate capture – with more than 1770 fossil fuel lobbyists roaming the negotiation halls – it is no surprise to see this COP further enshrine false solutions. Despite these conditions and the strict restrictions imposed on activists at the event, civil society was able to make itself heard.

Linda González, from Censat Agua Viva / Friends of the Earth Colombia said:

“COP29 has also been characterised by the strengthening of the articulation of movements from around the world to secure real climate action rooted in justice. We’re on the road now to COP30, developing a critical, transformative and emancipatory long term environmental agenda. Local groups in Brazil are already organising, peoples and communities are building and we’ll be there together, louder and stronger to demand climate justice.”

As we move to the next stage in the long struggle to achieve climate justice, we focus back on our local, state and national campaigns here in Australia.

UN Plastics Treaty: world leaders urged to “End Plastic”

As the COP closed up, UN negotiations for a global Plastics Treaty got underway in Busan, South Korea. More than 500 FoE International and FoE South Korea (KFEM) activists sent a bold message to governments with their bodies, making a human sign spelling out the words “End Plastic”. The action took place on a beach near where over 175 governments are meeting this week to finalise a new treaty to end plastic pollution. It’s the culmination of a series of aerial sign actions from Friends of the Earth groups around the world including South Korea, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Australia, working alongside communities devastated by pollution from plastic production, use, waste and recycling.

Not only does plastic pollution devastate ecosystems, harming waterways and impacting food production, microplastics are now being found in human organs, placenta and even breast milk.

With few plausible options for managing plastic waste, both in terms of recycling technology and the pure volume of plastics used around the world, one of the key demands of the UN Plastics Treaty negotiations is a cap on production.

Hemantha Withanage, the Chair of Friends of the Earth International said:

“We are united in our call for a strong treaty that tackles the plastic pollution crisis head on, demanding action that cuts plastic production at its very source. The urgency of the plastic issue can no longer be understated. Every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers, and lakes, choking ecosystems and communities.”

And as Sam Cossar of Friends of the Earth Australia noted “the Australian government as a member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution has a crucial role to play in finalising a new treaty in Busan. Australia must continue to stand strong on a global target to reduce plastic production and support finance to Global South countries to do the same.”

Our team in South Korea will be working hard this week to secure the best possible outcome in the negotiations.

You can read our initial release from South Korea here. You can follow the FoEI delegation at the Plastics Treaty on @foeasiapacific’s instagram

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all the best

Cam