Global IssuesCOP20—Lima Climate Conference
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Introduction
December 1 – 14, 2014, Lima, Peru was the venue for the 20th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the 20th Conference of the Parties — or COP 20.
The purpose of this conference was to create a universal agreement on climate change action and begin the process of financing mitigation.
Meeting outcome
The meeting ended with all nations agreeing to cut back greenhouse gas emissions. Known as the Lima Accord, this treaty is not legally binding and countries do not have to specify how much they will cut back, instead agreeing to report their plans back by March 2015.
While for many it sounded like a successful outcome, others were disappointed, such as poor countries struggling to rebuild from current impacts of climate change who were alarmed at the disappearance of loss and damage commitments from the final text which has been part of the discussion for years.
The global climate movement, 350.org, summarized the disappointments and hopeful aspects of the meeting outcome, noting
- The new agreement does not reflect the urgency of the climate crisis
- Some good agreements – but no measures to ensure implementation
- Least developed and vulnerable nations left out in the cold
- Divestment (from fossil fuel reliance) is more important than ever
- Global momentum for real solutions is stronger than ever and will keep on going.
In trying to put a positive spin on the overall disappointment they felt, they concluded, In the end, a global climate treaty is just one tool to combat climate change. Real change is going to continue to come from the grassroots. The UN Climate Talks continue to be a place where the world’s countries comes together to debate this crisis and people are putting in enormous efforts to make sure Paris [the next global meeting] won’t be like Copenhagen
which was full of disappointments despite big promises.
Samantha Smith, Leader of WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Initiative, was quite scathing of the meeting outcome saying that political expediency won over scientific urgency
. She also noted that Developed country governments couldn’t even manage to explain how they will deliver the long-promised US$100 billion per year in climate finance by 2020. In a move that seemingly dismissed the plight of the most vulnerable countries, they completely removed any meaningful language about ‘loss and damage’.
Mainstream media reporting
As with almost every previous meeting (with occasional exceptions), mainstream media reporting was very poor given the importance of this global issue. Where the meeting was reported it was generally towards the end, and just sound bite type summaries saying all countries agreed to emission cuts and that this was a major improvement.
While the treaty continued to say it honors the long-standing common but differentiated responsibilities
the mainstream media reporting (as in most years) has typically failed to provide explanation and context of this principle that has been an important part of these talks for over 2 decades; that poor and developing countries should not bear the same responsibilities as the developed ones (because they are not the cause of the anthropogenic carbon emissions over the previous decades that have led to this, which is detailed much more on this site’s page on climate justice).
A hint towards this principle may have been presented as a viewpoint of China or India, given the impression they are being obstacles, rather then explaining this principle in more context.
That was just one of the issues skirted over or omitted from common reporting. Others included issues on financing, technology support for poorer nations, etc. Behind the scenes, for decades, rich countries have stalled on these things or actively avoided trying to share technology etc, which is barely reported.
Every year, this criticism is made of mainstream reporting, so without following these negotiations each year, it can be easy to come away with the impression that this meeting had a positive outcome.
But as this discussion hosted by Democracy Now! shows, there were a number of important issues of contention:
In context: common but differentiated responsibilities
Many years ago all nations agreed that climate change was largely the result of actions from today’s industrialized nations, as carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — stays in the atmosphere for decades. Yet, the poorest would end up suffering the most for a problem they largely did not cause. The approaches to mitigation (emissions reduction) would therefore be different for those groups of countries — the common but differentiated responsibilities principle.
It is in this context that the discussion for loss and damage has come about. And it is something that rich countries are keen to get rid of .
The years of resistance on this issue (and many others) means each time it is discussed again the reactions seem to get even more hostile. Combined with the lack of detailed context in the mainstream media coverage of this aspect, it then becomes easier each time to see culprits as China and India given their enormous greenhouse emissions in recent years, compared to the far greater amount by the industrialized nations over the longer period. See this site’s section on climate justice for more detailed background.
And as this site has said for years on the climate justice page, the rich nations are delaying any meaningful action until it is eventually — and disproportionately — paid for the by the developing nations. New Delhi based Nitin Sethi, associate editor at Business Standard, interviewed in the earlier mentioned video says the same thing, but more frankly:
There is no action that’s going to happen between now and 2020. All of that was to be done by the developed countries. They [rich nations] basically have just said at Lima that
we are not going to do any more than what we’re doing so far, and the burden can shift onto the post-2020 era, where other developing countries have to share it.So, to me, it indicates really negotiation in bad faith.
More information
As the conference is still underway as this page is written, more information will be added here after the event is over.
For more about the issues from other organizations, here are some starting points:
News stories from IPS
Below is a list of stories from Inter Press Service related to the Lima climate conference and its aftermath.
Migration Remittances: Pursuit of Greener Pastures Opens Door for Climate Financing
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 22 (IPS) - COP29 delegates have elaborated on how Africa’s dependency on agriculture is becoming increasingly untenable amidst alarming levels of global warming, wrecking havoc on the sector. Coastal communities, pastoralists, and those in the drylands are in the thick of the climate chaos.
UN's OCHA Calls to Correct the Imbalance in Climate Finance Allocation
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 22 (IPS) - As climate-induced disasters continue to wreak havoc worldwide, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a UN body specializing in emergency response, has issued a clarion call for an ambitious and fair global climate finance goal at COP29. Grey Puley, Head of the Climate Team at OCHA, highlighted the pressing need for enhanced disaster risk reduction and climate resilience measures, particularly in vulnerable and conflict-affected regions.
Where Is Mental Health in Global Climate Negotiations?
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 22 (IPS) - The mental health impacts of climate change are not widely discussed, but increasing evidence shows how climate change is affecting mental health and raising the risk of new mental health challenges. Experts say that existing systems are not equipped to cope with the current and additional challenges related to health and mental health caused by climate change.
COP29 draft deal proposes wealthy nations give $250 billion in climate finance
- UN News
A new draft finance deal delivered to harried negotiators in Baku on Friday – the final scheduled day for the UN climate talks that have been under way for the past two weeks – proposes rich countries commit $250 billion a year to help vulnerable nations cope with our warming planet and to accelerate the global switch to renewable energy.
Who Should Pay for Climate Loss and Damage?
- Inter Press Service
DAKAR, Senegal, Nov 21 (IPS) - At the UN climate change conference in Baku (COP29), government officials are scrambling for an agreement on a new climate financial package. There is a well established consensus that the climate crisis is exacerbating the hardships of vulnerable communities around the world. The question now is who's going to pay for the staggering costs?
Healing Minds, Empowering Women: Ghanas Climate Change Battle
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 21 (IPS) - As climate change wreaks havoc across the globe, its effects are most acutely felt by those living in vulnerable coastal and rural communities.
COP29 countdown: Failure on climate finance ‘not an option’, says Guterres
- UN News
UN Secretary-General António Guterres made a strong call to action as COP29 approaches its crucial conclusion in Baku, imploring world leaders and negotiators on Thursday to overcome their disagreements and reach an historic climate finance deal. “I sense an appetite for agreement,” he said.
COP29 Focus On Climate Migration as Hotter Planet Pushes Millions Out of Homes
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 20 (IPS) - Migration is growing as the planet gets even hotter. Climate change is fuelling a migration crisis and millions of people in vulnerable nations are continually being uprooted from their homes. The climate and migration nexus are undeniable and the global community has turned to the Baku climate talks for urgent and sustainable solutions.
Saint Kitts and Nevis: Leading the Charge for Climate Justice, Renewable Energy
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 20 (IPS) - At COP29, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the smallest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, stands as a beacon of climate action and renewable energy ambition.
Baku talks heat up: New climate finance deal, urban challenges in COP29 spotlight
- UN News
As intense round-the-clock COP29 climate talks enter their final stretch in Baku, delegates on Wednesday are eagerly awaiting updates on the progress of negotiations regarding a new climate finance target. Meanwhile, high-level discussions also continued, with a focus on key issues such as urbanization, transport, and tourism.
Embedding Education into Climate Finance Will Deliver Desired Learning, Climate Action Outcomes
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 20 (IPS) - Education is under threat as multiple crises push children out of school and into harms way. COP29 Baku could break historical barriers that hold back education from playing a unique, critical role to accelerate the ambition of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement, protecting people and planet from life-threatening risks of climate change.
Pakistan’s Climate Minister Pitches for ‘Climate Diplomacy’ at COP29
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 19 (IPS) - Romina Khurshid Alam, the Coordinator to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Climate Change, praised the resilience of the people of her country in the face of climate disasters and has put her faith into diplomacy to achieve climate justice.
Money Talks: Why COP29 New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance Matters
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 19 (IPS) - The industrial revolution set the ball rolling towards global warming. Today, developing nations are on the frontlines of a climatic carnage and its snowballing effects. Developed nations bear a financial responsibility to provide climate finance to developing nations, as financing the transition to a low-carbon economy is an urgent, critical matter.
Explainer: Taxes on Cryptocurrencies and Plastics To Boost Climate Finance
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 19 (IPS) - The global climate aid fund is not the only option discussed at the World Climate Change Conference (COP29). Imposing a new tax on cryptocurrencies and the plastics industry could help close the money gap needed to address the impacts of climate change, especially in the countries of the Global South.
COP29 gets boost from Rio as G20 leaders back scaling up climate finance from ‘billions to trillions’
- UN News
The high-level diplomatic push for climate action shifted southward on Tuesday as G20 leaders meeting in Rio sent a clear signal to negotiating teams at stalled UN climate talks in Baku on the need to rapidly and substantially ‘scale up climate finance from billions to trillions from all sources.’
‘Breaking point’ reached on climate, while ‘outdated’ global system needs urgent reform: Guterres
- UN News
In a powerful appeal to the world’s largest economies during the G20 Summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called for urgent climate action and reform of international institutions, warning that current systems are failing to meet global challenges.
New UN initiative aims to counter climate disinformation
- UN News
As the dangers posed by climate change become increasingly evident worldwide, the need for reliable and accurate information on the impact of the environmental crisis is more crucial than ever.
COP29: Ambitious Climate Finance Goal is not Enough – the Funds must also Reach the Right Communities
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 18 (IPS) - The 29th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP29) currently underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, is a key global milestone for agreeing on a new compromise to reduce emissions and to provide to the Global South the much-needed finance to address the devastating consequences of the climate crisis.
Methane Mitigation at COP-29—Pathways to Climate Action
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 18 (IPS) - Methane emissions have emerged as a focal point of discussion as global leaders congregate at COP29 in Baku to tackle the escalating climate crisis.
COP29 Must Set New Global Climate Finance Target, Says UNDP Adaptation Head
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 18 (IPS) - Empowering communities, fostering innovation and integrating socio-economic contexts into climate strategies are crucial for effective adaptation to climate change, says Srilata Kammila, Head of Climate Change Adaptation at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Peace Talks—Delegates Turn To Climate Summit for Insights Into What Really Makes People Safe
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 18 (IPS) - At a time when the COP29 summit is primarily focused on climate finance as a tool to cool catastrophically high global temperatures and reverse consequences for all life on earth, delegates—alarmed and concerned by the state of world peace and stability—are seeking ways to enhance safety.
‘Cut the theatrics’: UN climate chief tells COP29 negotiators to focus on solutions as talks enter final week
- UN News
As COP29 climate talks in Baku enter their final week, the UN climate chief told negotiators on Monday to “cut the theatrics,” get down to business and hammer out a new finance deal to compensate countries for climate-driven damages and pay for a clean-energy transition.
Children's Needs Due to Climate Change, Conflict Often Ignored in Negotiations
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 17 (IPS) - As the world grapples with ongoing armed conflicts, from Ukraine to Gaza, advocacy for a more proactive approach to understanding and effectively responding to the needs of children affected by both armed conflict and climate-induced crises is growing.
Ahead of G20 Summit in Brazil, Guterres urges bloc to take the lead on peace, climate and other challenges
- UN News
The G20 group of developed economies must be at the forefront of global efforts to bring about peace, climate action, fairer international financial institutions and equitable access to emerging technologies, the UN Secretary-General said on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.
Climate Finance Loans a Disaster for Climate-Burdened African Communities
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 16 (IPS) - African environmental activists at the ongoing climate summit (COP29) in Baku have called on climate financiers to stop suffocating poor countries with unbearable loans in the name of financing climate adaptation and mitigation on the continent.
Women, Indigenous Communities Must Lead Climate Finance Allocations at COP29—Plan International Global Director
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 16 2024 (IPS) - Plan International, a global leader in advocating for children’s rights and gender equality, sees the need for women and Indigenous people to be at the forefront of climate negotiations.
CGIAR Developing Farmers' Resilience in the Face of Climate Shocks
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 16 (IPS) - As COP29 negotiations continue in Baku, agricultural leaders are pitching the need for climate-resilient and data-driven solutions to support marginalized farmers and low-income communities.
Will COP29 deliver the trillions needed to tackle the man-made climate crisis?
- UN News
The latest round of UN climate negotiations, COP29, opened this past Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan, following a year that broke multiple extreme heat records and saw widespread climate-driven chaos – from wildfires to destructive floods and hurricanes – hit nearly every corner of the world. A major increase in financial commitments to assist vulnerable countries in mitigating and adapting to climate impacts is the main goal of this year’s conference, which has been dubbed the “climate finance COP.”
COP29: Digital tech and AI can boost climate action, but curbing the sector’s emissions is key
- UN News
Leaders in technology and the environment at COP29 in Baku endorsed on Saturday a declaration pledging to use digital technologies to accelerate climate action while reducing the carbon and pollution footprints of tech manufacturing and tackling the growing problem of e-waste.
From the Biodiversity COP16 to the Climate COP29: Building Equitable Accountability, Alignment, and Adequacy on Finance
- Inter Press Service
BAKU, Nov 15 (IPS) - The United States just went through its most consequential election. While the outcome raises questions about what the re-election of Trump means for U.S. engagement in global climate talks moving forward (in view of his previous stunt), the game is still on, with or without him. Despite the challenges, local communities, cities, states, private actors, and the public more broadly have embarked on an unstoppable journey—upholding the spirit of the Paris Agreement.
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