2 min read Drilled Down

Drilled Down: A Deep Dive into the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (IPCC Mitigation Report, Part 4)

Drilled Down: A Deep Dive into the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (IPCC Mitigation Report, Part 4)

A few days after every IPCC report is released the good folks at the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) publish a detailed account of what went on in the negotiations. Do they include absolutely everything? No. But dang do they spill some tea. You can read the whole thing yourself here, but here are the bits that jumped out at me most:

  • Caribbean Nations to Everyone Else: We're Literally Drowning Here, Are You Kidding Me with this Shit? According to the ENB, Caribbean nations were pushing hard for the Summary for Policymakers to highlight the very real danger—particularly to island nations—of blowing past the target of keeping warming to 1.5 degrees or less. "Saint Kitts and Nevis said at least one of the pathways to mitigation outlined in the SPM must capture the goals of the Paris Agreement, underscoring that exceeding 1.5°C comes with extreme risks," the ENB notes. Seems pretty fucking reasonable. "Antigua and Barbuda objected to scenario categorizations used in the SPM that are not in line with the Paris Agreement and suggested removing the 1.5°C label from high-overshoot pathways that substantially exceed 1.5°C for several decades," the report continues. "Saint Lucia lamented that not even the most ambitious scenario category captures Paris Agreement Article 4, specifying net-zero GHG emissions in the second half of the century. Jamaica said the SPM must provide concrete quantitative statements on obstacles to mitigation, including financing for fossil fuels." Yes please.
  • The approval process for the Summary for Policymakers really was as tense as it seemed. At the halfway point in the approval process, only 3 percent of the SPM had been approved (it took Working Group II the same amount of time to approve 22 percent of their report, by comparison).
  • Yes, Saudi Arabia was the one pushing for more mentions of carbon removal tech alongside emissions reductions & renewable energy tech. "In further deliberations on a sentence referring to the global spread of climate policies and cost declines of existing and emerging low emission technologies and of mitigation efforts and sustained reductions," the ENB reads, "authors considered a suggestion by SAUDI ARABIA, opposed by FRANCE and GERMANY, to include reference to abatement technologies alongside low emission technologies, and sustained reductions 'and removals.' Ultimately the text was changed to refer to “varied types and levels of mitigation efforts.” There are more than half a dozen other examples in the report of Saudia Arabia pushing "abatement technologies," so carbon dioxide removal, a technology that is not currently available at scale and may never be. (more on the very weird role CDR played in this report soon!)
  • Key message from the Ukrainian delegation: Russia's invasion of Ukraine “is a consequence in many senses of the use of fossil fuels. We do our work here in Ukraine for all humanity in the world.” The group's spokesperson said this report makes it now impossible to refute that far more finance is still invested in fossil fuels than in climate change mitigation, saying it will arm everyone with evidence to convince others to stop buying oil, coal and gas. (Good thing Biden got that LNG announcement out before this I guess?)

You might also like...

Aug
27
COP28 and the Limits of Eco Modernism

COP28 and the Limits of Eco Modernism

Lately I've been looking through old emails from when I reported a lot on cleantech. It's
10 min read
Apr
21
Happy Earth Day: Let's Move Past the "Moral Case" for Fossil Fuels

Happy Earth Day: Let's Move Past the "Moral Case" for Fossil Fuels

When global leaders first began meeting to discuss an international effort on climate change, fossil fuel companies and right wing
14 min read
Jan
27
Gas Knew, Too + Everything You Need to Know on Climate This Week

Gas Knew, Too + Everything You Need to Know on Climate This Week

As the whole gas stove "culture war" rages on, it's important to remember that gas companies
6 min read
Dec
15
Highlights from the House Oversight Committee's Climate Disinformation Documents

Highlights from the House Oversight Committee's Climate Disinformation Documents

This fall the House Oversight Committee held its third hearing on climate disinformation. You can read more about the hearing
12 min read
Nov
28
Drilled Down: Old School Climate Denial Is Back

Drilled Down: Old School Climate Denial Is Back

Two things the media and much of the climate movement tends to dismiss as long past—old-school climate denial and the coal lobby—are still around and having a bit of a renaissance.
13 min read