Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Following a dramatic fire yesterday, the climate summit is due to finish this evening, but disagreements over the final text look difficult to resolve Overnight the Guardian revealed that at least 29 nations supporting a phase-out of fossil fuels at the climate summit had sent a letter to the Brazilian Cop presidency threatening to block any agreement that did not include such a commitment, in a significant escalation of tensions at the crunch talks. The leaked letter also demanded that the roadmap be included in the outcome of the talks. Dear Presidency, We wish to reaffirm our deep commitment to working hand in hand with you to ensure that COP30 becomes a true success—one that demonstrates to the world that climate multilateralism can indeed deliver the implementation results needed to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach. The legacy of the Presidency in making COP30 a milestone moment will depend on the quality—rather than the speed—of the outcome. A text that is inclusive, balanced, and ambitious would reflect the leadership needed to inspire confidence. Conversely, a weak text would be remembered as a missed and regrettable opportunity and would undermine the credibility of the process, of the Presidency, and of the regime itself. This is Brazil’s headliner, so this document is important and worth digging into. Below is a hot-take of the key elements: *Adaptation - calls for efforts to triple adaptation finance, ‘urges’ developed countries to increase provision of climate finance (para 53, Mutirão).*Finance - high-level ministerial round table to reflect on the implementation of the $300bn & $1.3 trillion and a 2-year work programme on the provision of finance (para 52, Mutirão).*Mitigation - no mention of fossil fuels or paragraph 28, but calls for launch of a ‘global implementation accelerator’ as a cooperative, voluntary initiative under the guidance of the presidencies to report back at Cop31.*NDCs - calls on countries to ‘accelerate the full implementation’ of NDCs [emissions pledges] while ‘striving to do better’ collectively and cooperatively (para 33, Mutirão).*1.5C/NDC gap - calls for a ‘Belém Mission to 1.5’ aimed at accelerating action to close the gap, also to report back at Cop31 (para 42, Mutirão).*Trade - dialogues over the next 2 years with UN trade agencies to address trade & climate, slams unilateral measures (para 55-56, Mutirão), no mentions of Brazil’s trade forum.*Transparency - acknowledges reporting creates burdens (para 56, Mutirão).Global goal on adaptation - the range of ‘indicators’ related to adaptation has been reduced and adopted, but defined as voluntary and not a basis for financial commitments; contains a placeholder for adaptation finance goal; establishes 2-year policy alignment plan (para 6, 7, 8, 21, 34, GGA). Continue reading...