Negligible progress by negotiators at SB60 is wildly out of step with the urgency of the climate crisis
BONN, Germany, June 13, 2024 —
States gathered for climate talks in Bonn once again failed to take the steps needed to urgently tackle the key drivers of the climate crisis, deliver the necessary finance, and ensure safe and open civic spaces at all climate talks, including the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The 60th session of the Subsidiary Bodies to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (SB60) took place against a backdrop of devastating climate chaos, as this week’s tragic loss of lives in Sudan’s heat wave made painfully clear, increasing restrictions on freedom of assembly and protest globally, and an ongoing genocide in Palestine.
2024 is a critical year for climate action: wealthy countries need to put real money on the table for communities most impacted by the climate crisis and to enable a truly just transition and phaseout of all fossil fuels. Governments are also slowly starting to develop their next climate plans which need to be tabled in 2025.
The climate talks in Bonn were a key opportunity to advance decisions to be taken at COP29 in Baku in November. However, this year’s talks—considered an annual milestone for climate discussions—fell short of even the lowest expectations. Wealthy states that refuse to take responsibility and pay up the trillions needed to ensure that developing countries can adapt to the climate crisis, remedy the harm that it is causing, and enable a just transition to a safe climate future, blocked any progress. With less than six months before COP29, there has been a glaring lack of commitment to deliver for those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Erika Lennon, Senior Attorney, issued the following statement:
“Discussions on Paris Agreement carbon markets continue to leave open loopholes that threaten to repeat harms that have plagued carbon markets for decades. As market proponents press for talks to conclude and activities to begin, this is especially worrying. Carbon markets are being promoted as climate finance, but carbon credits that give a free pass to polluters through offsets cannot be considered true climate finance. And they must not be used as an escape hatch or excuse to avoid their financial obligations. Wealthy countries largely responsible for the climate crisis are overdue on their payment and must agree to put real money on the table, amounting to trillions annually.
“The UN climate talks must deliver just and adequate climate action. This includes a meaningful phase-out of all fossil fuels. Dangerous schemes like carbon offsets, CO2 ‘removal’, and geoengineering only serve to delay effective climate action, bring serious new risks, and distract from solutions that are proven and available at scale.“
Lien Vandamme, CIEL’s Senior Campaigner, issued the following statement:
“For the climate talks to deliver just and effective action, the voices of those most impacted by climate harms and the fossil economy must be at the negotiating table, and human rights and fundamental freedoms must be protected and upheld before, during, and after the upcoming climate talks. Bonn did not provide guarantees that this would be the case for future UNFCCC meetings.
“This is particularly important in the context of COP29 , as yet another petrostate with a deeply repressive government is tasked with presiding over the climate negotiations. That the annual climate summit will once again be hosted by a state aggressively supporting fossil fuel expansion- expansion that benefits Global North corporations – reflects the UNFCCC’s failure to curb corporate capture of climate policy. Human rights and the need for a comprehensive conflict of interest policy for the UNFCCC should be squarely on the agenda of all governments heading to Baku.“
Echoing the voices from around the world, both inside and outside the Bonn conference halls, CIEL condemned the ongoing genocide in Gaza and joined activists and human rights defenders to remind policymakers that there can be no climate justice without human rights. We unite in solidarity with everyone killed, imprisoned, harassed, and threatened for trying to create a better world, with the people of Palestine, and with all of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
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Media Contact
Rossella Recupero, Communications Campaign Specialist: press@ciel.org