Participants at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai cannot find a person responsible for the planet

The two-week 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) taking place in Dubai, which has already been attended by many world leaders, was an attempt to agree on new measures to combat the global climate crisis, the threat of which, despite previous agreements, is increasingly more real. Meanwhile, statements from conference participants indicate that, while they agree on the need to prevent climate catastrophe, they increasingly disagree about who and how should bear the main responsibility for saving the planet.

“Technologically neutral” Russia

Vladimir Putin’s visit to the United Arab Emirates for talks with the country’s President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi brought unexpected intrigue to the work of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which has also been taking place in the UAE since the end of last week. Given that the largest emirate of the UAE, Dubai, was the venue for the conference, which will end on December 12, Western media rushed to speculate whether the Russian leader might take an unscheduled participation in COP28. The intrigue, however, was quickly resolved: after negotiations in Abu Dhabi, Vladimir Putin immediately left for Riyadh.

Meanwhile, the UN climate summit, held at the Dubai Expo City complex, was previously attended by US Vice President Kamala Harris, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula and Silva, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as well as the presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan Alexander Lukashenko and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The scale of the problem was outlined in his address by the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Simon Steele.

Mr. Steele noted that if the world community does not unite around a green agenda, then in six years the Earth will not be able to cope with harmful emissions.

Global temperatures will rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius, the limit that countries around the world agreed not to exceed when they signed the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The Russian delegation at the conference in Dubai is headed by the President’s special representative on climate issues, Ruslan Edelgeriev. At the same time, as the discussion progresses, Russian officials make more and more statements about what kind of solution to the global climate crisis Moscow sees. “We believe it is unacceptable to impose unilateral restrictive measures on financing and technology transfer for development, as well as low-emission projects that achieve climate goals. Advanced climate-neutral technologies should be available to all countries,” warned Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladimir Ilyichev, speaking at the COP28 conference. He said the COP28 outcome document “must make it clear that countries must be given the freedom to choose their own climate change mitigation measures in accordance with their specific national capabilities.” “We advocate technological neutrality – an approach that does not depend on technology and involves the use of various decarbonization solutions,” added Vladimir Ilyichev.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who is also taking part in COP28, also gave his assessment of ways to correct the climate situation.

“Our agenda is financial instruments, these are green bonds, these are tax preferences, these are budget spending. The most important thing we are talking about is that it is impossible to solve the climate issues of some countries at the expense of others. We will defend our agenda,” the Ministry of Finance’s Telegram channel quotes Anton Siluanov’s statement.

As for the possibility of Russia’s participation in financing international initiatives aimed at combating climate change, this option is not excluded. “But it is important for us to have access to the management of resources that accumulate in the fund if Russia finances it. Lately we have seen that they are trying to exclude Russia from participating in international formats of such discussions. Therefore, we want to figure it out and understand to what extent Russia will be represented in the management of the fund’s resources,” the head of the Ministry of Finance told the agency TASS on the sidelines of COP28.

Indignation Foundation

The decision taken at the COP28 summit to create a Fund for Compensation for Developing Countries, which Anton Siluanov mentioned, has already raised numerous questions and doubts about its feasibility and practical value.

The main idea of ​​the Reparations Fund is to develop a financial mechanism that will help the most vulnerable countries cope with the damage caused by climate change. According to the UAE and Germany, hosts of the climate conference, which have already promised to contribute $100 million to the fund, its volume should be tied to the increase in costs caused by natural disasters, rising sea levels and melting glaciers.

It is assumed that the new structure will operate under the auspices of the World Bank and make payments to developing countries. Funds should come from rich industrial countries, growing economies, and fossil fuel producers, including the Gulf states. Considering that contributing funds to the fund is voluntary, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze, who is taking part in the conference, called on all interested countries to make a contribution to it. It is expected that the initial volume of the fund will be about $300 million. The UK has previously announced a desire to contribute $75 million, the USA has announced $24.5 million, and Japan has announced $10 million.

However, the Dubai resolution on the Reparations Fund does not mention the final scale, details of its replenishment, or the amount of future investments.

Moreover, even if rich countries were to make larger donations to the new fund than the symbolic donations they are currently pledging, the funds raised would still fall short of covering the enormous costs that would be required to get the climate crisis off the ground.

Citing UN data, the newspaper The Guardian recalls that the cost of climate-related damage to developing countries is currently estimated at $400 billion annually, and this amount may only grow. “The creation of the fund is a historic, hard-fought agreement. It demonstrates recognition that such damage is not a distant risk, but part of the lives of almost half the world’s population,” said Avinash Persaud, adviser to the Prime Minister of Barbados.

However, the speech of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had previously launched numerous initiatives to implement the green agenda, turned out to be much more alarmist. “We do not have enough time to correct the mistakes of the last century, when a small part of humanity wasted natural resources, for which all humanity, especially the peoples of the Global South, have to pay. Thinking only about selfish interests will lead the world into darkness,” warned Narendra Modi.

According to him, India has become one of the few countries that has come close to reducing carbon emissions to zero levels. The Republic met its required emissions reduction target 11 years ahead of schedule and was able to reduce its use of fossil fuels nine years ahead of schedule.

While the Indian Prime Minister popularized his country’s experience, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber called for active cooperation from oil companies in the fight against climate change. The idea that oil giants should turn to a green agenda was heard in other speeches.

In turn, the G7 countries issued a separate statement in Dubai, managing to insert a mention of Ukraine into it.

“At COP28, we are pleased to formally launch a new, expanded partnership on clean energy in recognition of Ukraine’s recent progress on key energy sector reforms and the significant investment by international partners in Ukraine’s clean energy future,” the G7 statement said. “

The most unexpected thing was the speech of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. According to him, the root cause of the climate threat lies in the desire of individual countries for military superiority, and the green agenda in the context of confrontation in the world is generally meaningless. “The climate is changing, and scientists are making the most dire predictions. It is good news that we are hearing them and responding, but to effectively address the threat we must be honest and open about its root causes. First of all, this is a feeling of lack of moderation, a desire for geopolitical superiority, especially military superiority, of those who provoke and incite hotbeds of war in different parts of the planet,” said the Belarusian leader.

At the same time, Alexander Lukashenko drew the attention of the conference participants to the “invaluable ecosystem services” provided by Belarus to the continent – the preservation of swamps and forests, which are the “lungs of Europe.” “We are developing green and nuclear energy, minimizing the risks of climate change. Paradoxically, in response we receive new economic sanctions, barriers to international trade, and restrictions on access to technology. And not only us,” the Belarusian president noted sadly.

Sergey Strokan