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Managing tensions between developing, developed nations post-COP26
Despite 12 years of promise-making, developed countries still deny having agreed upon a definition of their climate financing promise.
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Climate activists, including Dominique Palmer (right), gather at a demonstration demanding that large financial firms defund fossil fuels outside the headquarters of Standard Chartered bank in London on Oct. 29, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, the United Kingdom. (AFP/Tolga Akmen)
Weeks after the conclusion of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), skepticism remains widespread over the meeting’s so-called achievements. Did the parties keep the 1.5 degree Celsius goal alive?
Before COP26, the world was moving toward an additional 2.7 degrees of warming by the end of the century. With updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and various pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is believed that the world is now on the path to a 2.3 degree temperature rise. It is well recognized that closing the gap and keeping the 1.5 degree cap alive will only survive if promises are kept and commitments translate into rapid action.
However, COP26 seems to have been a battleground for two groups: developed countries versus developing countries. Everyone seems to be wanting the same thing (which is for the world to be saved) but very few are aboard the same train. This dynamic has drawn more attention to the escalating tensions that might lead to a breakdown of trust between parties.
The most important trust-breaking issue has to do with climate financing. Developed countries once again failed to deliver the promise of US$100 billion in climate financing to assist less developed countries in the fight against climate change. The number is miniscule compared to the estimated $2 trillion to $4 trillion per year of climate financing needed to keep the 1.5 degree target within reach. It is kept as a mere icon of the good faith and trust of developing countries.
Yet, that trust has been broken. Despite 12 years of promise-making, developed countries still deny having agreed on the definition of this climate financing promise. Without a clear and transparent definition of climate financing, it is easy to greenwash high-interest projects as climate-related or count them as grants rather than loans.
Another source of tension seems to be predominantly rooted on the justice issue, in which the responsibility and capacity to address the climate crisis should be in balance.
However, the reality on the ground is different. Developing and especially poor countries are responsible for only a small fraction of the cumulative greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and yet they are the ones living the nightmare of the climate crisis. With warmer climates, weather becomes unpredictable, happens over wider regions and creates more severe impacts that may lead to a higher chance of having multiple crises at once.
