COP-30 yields minimal progress without climate finance commitment, fossil fuel phaseout: Experts

Without a clear commitment to climate finance and a roadmap for the phaseout of fossil fuels, the Belem Agreement (COP-30) held last month in Brazil, completely failed, said experts on Monday at a meeting.

 

Following the delay of developed countries over climate financing, Bangladesh should build strong local adaptation measures based on its own resources to protect millions of climate-vulnerable people.

 

These observations came at the press conference titled "COP-30 Outcomes and Civil Society's Opinions on Future Actions", held at the National Press Club in the city on Monday.

 

COAST Foundation, jointly with CPD, CPRD, EquityBD, Sundarbans & Coastal Protection Movement, BCJF and Waters Keepers Bangladesh organized this event. 

 

The press conference was moderated by M. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Chief Moderator of EquityBD and executive director of COAST Foundation.

 

Participants of the recent COP 30 held in Belém, Brazil, spoke at the press conference. 

 

Jahangir Hasan Masum, Executive Director of CPD, Shamsuddoha, CEO of CPRD, and Sharif Jamil, CEO of Waters Keepers Bangladesh, spoke among others. 

 

MA Hasan of COAST Foundation presented the keynote. 

 

M Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said, as always, there was no specific financial commitment for LDCs and MVCs, there is considerable doubt whether there will be in the future. Climate finance will be mainly loan-based, with very little prospect of grant-based financing.

 

Bangladesh must continue lobbying and advocacy at the international level to reach equitable justice-based climate finance by engaging other vulnerable countries. 

 

"We need to take local adaptation measures, relying on our own resources, to protect climate-vulnerable communities' people."

 

Shamsuddoha said there is no political commitment to implement the 59 paragraphs of the Mutirao Agreement.

 

"We have not received any decision to address climate change; only discussion issues have been mentioned," he said.

 

Sharif Jamil said if climate finance cannot be ensured, how will we phase out fossil fuels? 

 

"The European Union itself did not submit NDC-03 yet, but they are the ones discussing its monitoring process; it is just ridiculous", he said.

 

Jahangir Hasan Masum said that the discussion of fossil fuels has been politically banned from the conference this time, and due to the influence of energy lobbyists, the climate discussion has now become corporate-based rather than rights-based. 

 

MA Hasan said that, vast majority of climate finance comes in the form of loans. 

 

According to various studies, for every $5.0 provided for climate finance, $7.0 has to be repaid. 

 

Bangladesh's per capita climate debt is currently $80. 

 

"Therefore, we need to move away from debt-based plans and focus on the blue economy to increase our own financing," he said.