A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Loopholes in the UN Climate Plan?

Climate negotiators’ pledges to address climate change at the U.N. conference in Dubai by committing to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 may be less solid than they appear. Scientists argue that these promises lack clear definitions and are filled with loopholes.

Two studies presented during the conference itself highlighted the significant challenges in achieving the 1.5-degree target, including disagreements over how to measure global average temperatures which could delay the formal recognition of exceeding the threshold by up to a decade. Such a delay may result in a temperature overshoot, necessitating expensive and unproven actions to reverse the increased warming.

The commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 also faces headwinds, because the U.N.’s rules for calculating offsets are considered contradictory and prone to abuse. The evident discrepancy between scientific methodologies and negotiators’ approaches raises concerns about the genuine commitment of governments to adhere to the results of the former, potentially jeopardizing the goal of achieving true net-zero emissions.

LISTEN |Relief, Recovery, and Peace: David Nicholson on COP28’s New Theme

Cooperative Farming Bolsters Climate-Resilience for Bangladesh’s Coastal Female Farmers

Can climate-tolerant livelihood practices be initiated at the grassroots? The Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) project, a collaboration between the Bangladesh government and UNDP, is attempting to find out.  

The project allows eight women in that country to come together to form a group, receive funds from the Climate Resilient Fund, lease arable land, and engage in climate-resilient agriculture. The result in this case was improved income and livelihoods.

Overall, the project has helped form around 2,013 groups of female farmers in Bangladesh, providing them with technical support and linking them to market opportunities. This practice also helps to build a safety net for cases when extreme events impact the community’s farmland and the livelihood of farmers.

READ | Gender Equality and Food Security in Rural South Asia: A Holistic Approach to the SDGs

A Key Architect of the Loss and Damage Fund Discusses the Bridgetown Agenda

When Avinash Persaud served as the special climate envoy to Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, he was instrumental in driving through a landmark loss and damage fund at COP28, by securing a compromise during the negotiations. This fund aims to provide dedicated financing for countries to reconstruct and rehabilitate from climate shocks.

As Persaud starts a new role as Special Advisor on Climate Change at the Inter-American Development Bank, he is also reflecting on his role in developing the Bridgetown Agenda—a reform initiative for the international financial system to address climate change and mounting debt.

The Bridgetown Agenda focused on measures to support climate-vulnerable countries, including increasing fiscal liquidity, promoting green private finance, debt restructuring, and development lending. Persaud emphasizes the importance of multilateralism, the need for a loss and damage fund to address the impacts of extreme weather events, and the challenge of balancing the interests of rich and poor nations in climate negotiations.

READ | Understanding Loss and Damage from Climate Change