The Global South has been historically suffering the impacts of the climate crisis and Nepal in the last few years has seen the worst climate disasters through extreme weather events.
The much anticipated United Nations Climate Conference, also labelled as Finance COP/ COP 29, ended with a fiasco leaving the Global South countries and communities in despair. The annual climate gathering in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, put a bigger question on the fate of multilateralism as again the Global North failed to deliver the adequate climate finance target demanded and needed by the Global South to tackle the climate crisis. The Global North countries were seen pushing their and fossil fuel lobbyist interests undermining the lives and livelihoods of the people and the communities. They repeatedly pushed to weaken the convention and drive the negotiation on their vested interest and undermining the quantum of finance to be mobilized from 2025 to 2035. The countries were made hostage when the conference was extended for 2 additional days and countries were forced to agree to the USD 350 billion per year target which was far more less than USD 1.3 trillion which was demanded by the Global South. It is suicidal pact for many vulnerable countries who voiced their concern till the final gamble by the COP presidency.
Failure to Connect the Reality in the Climate Negotiations
The Global South has been historically suffering the impacts of the climate crisis and Nepal in the last few years has seen the worst climate disasters through extreme weather events. The Thame Glacier Lake Outburst flood, extreme rainfall in Kathmandu and extreme rainfall in Kanchanpur, are some of the instances of the increasing climate extremities which not only had economic losses but altered the landscape and jeopardized the life and livelihoods of thousands of people. The Global North failed to accept the Loss and Damage Fund as the sub-item in the New Collective Quantified Goal where climate finance was discussed.
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After failing to deliver the people’s demand, the UN climate process has been questioned by grassroots groups and movements. However, keeping the hope alive and fighting within the Conference of Parties process, CSO groups, youths and movements have been challenging the Global North, standing up for the communities, people from the Global South, marginalized and oppressed from the Global North not letting the UNFCCC COP fail the test of humanity.
Groups and Movements Continued Fight for Climate Justice
The movements and groups fighting for climate justice hold their ground firmly and called out clear and loud to the Global North governments for their greed to the profit from fueling war, climate crisis, and undermining human rights and genocide. In addition, they continuously worked as a voice, support system and to shoulder the Global South countries to draw the red line and calling for an adequate, just, new, additional, predicted, non-debt creating climate finance.
Movements and networks continuously raised voices and demands whilst coordinating actions inside the COP focusing on financial goals, realities from the ground and calling to raise the ambition. However, the parties at COP were afraid of the coordinated voices of the people and enforced silence-imposing rules and regulations of coordinated actions inside the COP 29 venue.
The observers at the UN Climate meeting were barred to hold any action and were silenced. Despite that, civil society groups organized themselves to hold action. This silence was louder than ever, calling for climate justice.
The negotiators and the Global South leaders were continuously pushed for the bad outcome and forced to accept the weak deal. Climate justice movements continually voiced and supported the Global South not to accept the deals that are fatal to the communities and the people.
Communities Leading the Climate Action
Communities are at the front of the climate crisis and they have the knowledge and capacity to lead the path of resiliency and climate justice for all. This is a high time to have south-south cooperation among the communities and provide spaces for learning, sharing and collective work. Movements and groups working with communities should be vigilant on the government engagement at COP space, where they may undermine the community and serve in the interest of profit and Global North countries’ hidden interests. As the communities have been calling to address the root cause of the crisis, Nepal on the other hand agreed on a lucrative finance deal as a carbon trade at COP 29, which is against the principle of climate justice which many Global South countries have been rallying.
Now What?
After the betrayal in Baku, civil society groups have started to coordinate the counter summit parallel to the COP to bring the voices and the solutions led by the people. Furthermore, CSO’s are mobilizing thousands of people for the People’s climate march in COP 30 after COP 26 in Glasgow. Countries will be submitting their new nationally determined contribution which is due by February 2025 and the COP 30 possesses a significant political moment to push governments to commit to the ambitious goal. The COP at Belem and beyond must confront the profit driven, extractive economic system, elite’s economic interests and state repression and challenge the system underpinning the climate crisis.
