– We were not given the opportunity to submit our proposals in advance. We are not satisfied with that, says June Brian Molitaviti. She is head of research and aquaculture in the Ministry of Fisheries in Vanuatu and negotiator on behalf of the island states in the Pacific Ocean. She says that the result is that their input has not been considered before the meeting has started. – If the input had been included, we would have had time to prepare better and present material that supports us, says Molitaviti. Manuel Pulgar-Vida is currently head of climate and energy at WWF International. Ten years ago he was climate minister in Peru and chaired the climate summit in Lima in 2014. – The summit is the end of a year of negotiations, he says. It is during the year leading up to the summit that the foundations are laid for whether the meeting will be successful or not, he says. June Brian Molitaviti shows where Vanuatu is. Photo: Eivind Molde / news Denmark received criticism Who leads the climate summit largely determines whether a climate summit is considered a success or not. For example, Denmark was strongly criticized because poor management before and during the meeting led to the climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009 being considered a failure. For his part, France’s Laurent Fabius received much praise for the work that led to the Paris Agreement in 2015. An activist in Baku on Thursday. Photo: AP Kritikk from Sweden – Last year, the host nation Dubai was active and applied pressure before the meeting. We have not seen the same mobilization ahead of this meeting, says Sweden’s climate minister Romina Pourmokthari to SR. She also says that the lack of mobilization before the meeting was a direct reason why many heads of state are not present at this year’s climate summit. During last year’s climate summit in Dubai, the host nation was already able to present large payments to a fund for loss and damage after climate change on the first day. Nothing similar has been done this year. – There will be tough negotiations because the preparations associated with successful climate summits have not been made, says Pourmokthari. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal says that it is only in the last two days of the meeting that possible solutions will be negotiated. Photo: Eivind Molde / news Provoked from the start Already on the second day of the summit, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Alijev provoked many of the participants. Azerbaijan has large revenues from fossil fuels and from the pulpit he called the country’s oil and gas a “gift from God”. – Oil, gas, wheat, sun, gold, silver, copper, all these are natural resources. And countries should not be blamed for having them, and for bringing these resources to market, he said. – Accusing us of having oil is the same as accusing us of having more than 240 sunny days a year in Baku, said President Ilham Aliyev. Strong reactions The reactions were not long in coming. – Using a climate conference to promote continued production and use of oil and gas is provocative and disrespectful towards the countries on the front line of climate change. That’s what Romain Ioualalen, head of global policy at Oil Change International, said. The global Christian organization ACT Alliance issued a press release with strong criticism. – God has given humans responsibility for taking care of creation, not exploiting it. That was said by Julius Mbatia, head of the ACT Alliance’s climate programme. The “gift from God” statement also gave water to those who are critical of the leader of the summit. The Baku meeting is chaired by Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Previously, he worked for 26 years in the country’s state-owned oil and gas company. The EU’s chief negotiator Jacob Werksman says that the negotiations are going slowly. Photo: Reuters France boycotts President Aliyev has also attacked both France and the Netherlands from the podium. In a speech on Wednesday, he said they were practicing colonial rule in their overseas territories and described the EU as a symbol of political corruption. The result is that France’s climate minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher is dropping COP29, reports Politico. This means that for the first time since the Paris Agreement in 2015, France has no top representative present at a COP meeting. – These unacceptable statements risk undermining the summit’s important climate goals and the credibility of Azerbaijan as host of Cop 29, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell answers on X Thursday. CO₂ in the atmosphere measured in parts per million particles (ppm)460 parts per million particles (ppm)? Click for an explanation of parts per million, abbreviated ppmGo to news’s Climate Status Why is the graph so wavy? This is about seasons. In summer, the amount of CO₂ decreases because plants and trees absorb CO₂ from the air. In winter, the plants die, the CO₂ escapes and the graph rises. Since there are more plants and trees in the northern hemisphere, the seasons here control the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. What is the problem with a lot of CO₂ in the atmosphere? The greenhouse effect makes the earth livable, but more greenhouse gases, such as CO₂, increase this effect and make the earth warmer . The graph starts in 1960 because this was the year when the world began to measure CO₂ systematically. It happened on Mauna Loa in Hawaii and the curve shows the measurements from there. Before the world became industrialized there was around 280 ppm CO₂ in the atmosphere (year 1700). The researchers found that out by analyzing ice core samples. Will there be less CO₂ in the atmosphere if emissions are cut? No, not immediately. If we cut emissions, the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere will only increase more slowly. The reduction in emissions must be large and last a long time before we can see an effect. Imagine that the atmosphere is a bathtub and the greenhouse gases are the water you fill in. Even if you turn off the tap, the bathtub will not run out of water. This is the case with greenhouse gases and CO₂. It takes a long time for CO₂ to break down in the atmosphere. This is why the experts want technology that sucks out greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, in addition to us cutting emissions. The world’s politicians have decided that they will try to limit the warming of the world to 1.5 degrees, compared to how the temperature was before the industrial revolution. Then we must keep the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere below 430 ppm, according to the UN’s climate panel. Rejects the criticism The host itself rejects all the criticism. Azerbaijan’s negotiator Jalchin Rafiyev said on Thursday that the country has created an “inclusive process”. – We have opened our doors to everyone so that they can engage in constructive and fruitful discussions, he says according to AFP. Published 14.11.2024, at 21.35
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Strong criticism of Azerbaijan’s management of the climate summit – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
