The organisers of the Dubai summit have been working on a new version of the global stocktake after the first draft met with strong criticism
Leo Hickman of Carbon Brief is pointing out that the document “calls on” parties to “contribute to the following global efforts,” writes Bibi van der Zee. In “UNFCCC legal jargon, this is known to mean an ‘invitation’ or ‘request’”, he says. “And, even more crucially, it is the *weakest* of all the various terms used for such exhortations”.
«calls on…»
This is the crucial term here.
In UNFCCC legal jargon, this is known to mean an «invitation» or «request»
And, even more crucially, it is the *weakest* of all the various terms used for such exhortations#COP28 pic.twitter.com/KOfPIblSY5— Leo Hickman (@LeoHickman) December 13, 2023
He links to a older post where his colleague Simon Evans shows that the UN has set out these terms formally.
Asked to grade the new text, if the previous draft was an F, the analysts/campaigners ranged from B to C, writes Nina Lakhani.
Catherine Abreu, founder and Executive Director of Destination Zero, said:
“The text does give a clear signal on the need to transition away from fossil fuels in a just and equitable manner, and calls on parties to begin doing that. In this critical decade, that being said, it does not yet represent the highest level of ambition outcome that we were looking forward to here at.
“The text does give some indication of the level of finance required to enable the energy transition, it also gives some acknowledgement of the fact that countries will be moving in this energy transition at different paces. However, it does not yet give us a clear enough sense of who needs to be taking the lead in the energy transition, and that is the developed countries particularly those that are legacy fossil fuel producers. And it should be clearer on who provides the necessary finance for the energy transition, and again that money needs to be coming from developed countries.”
Some are very critical of what they see as the influence of lobbyists on the process. We have reported on this extensively – the record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at Cop28, as well as those from the big meat and diary and the carbon capture industries, and the billionaires present who made their fortunes from polluting industries.
Rachel Rose Jackson, director of climate research and policy at Corporate Accountability, who has done research into lobbying, said:
“A Cop flooded by more than 2,400 fossil fuel lobbyists and overseen by a fossil fuel executive delivered a text that might contain some key words, but on closer inspection is littered with their polluting rubbish, false solutions, and dangerous distractions that guarantee the continuation of the fossil fuel era. The United States, UK, EU, Norway, and others self-proclaim themselves climate ‘champions’, but yet again are twisting the outcomes of these talks so they don’t have to wean themselves off their fossil fuel addiction.
