Global Issues
COP20—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.
Fresh Lens For Nuanced Multifaceted Climate Solutions Needed
- Inter Press Service
SRINAGAR, December 4 (IPS) - “I see more philanthropic support aligning with systems thinking, linking climate stability, biodiversity protection, Indigenous leadership, and community resilience,” says Michael Northrop, Program Director at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
COP30 Was Diplomacy in Action as Cooperation Deepens—Says Climate Talks Observer
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 24 (IPS) - As observers at the Conference of Parties closely monitored proceedings in Belém, many, such as Yamide Dagnet, approached the UN Climate Summit as an implementation COP. They are advocating for tangible signals to ignite crucial climate action before the climate crisis reaches irreversible levels.
Belém COP30 delivers climate finance boost and a pledge to plan fossil fuel transition
- UN News
In a pivotal outcome at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, countries agreed on a sweeping package to scale up climate finance and accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement – but without a clear commitment to move away from fossil fuels.
Can industrial growth and climate action go hand in hand?
- UN News
Do higher living standards in developing countries have to mean more polluting, fossil-fuel dependent industries? Or is a low-carbon alternative possible? As the world grapples with climate change, economic inequality, and rapid technological shifts, next week’s Global Industry Summit will tackle these questions, bringing together governments, business leaders, and innovators to shape solutions that balance prosperity with sustainability.
From COP28 to Belém – Climate Security is Health Security
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 20 (IPS) - Around the world, the climate crisis is fast becoming the biggest public-health threat of the century. Extreme heat now kills more Europeans than any other natural disaster. Floods in Asia displace millions and contaminate water supplies. Mosquito-borne diseases once confined to the tropics are appearing in southern Europe and the United States.
In the Amazon, a school becomes a beacon of climate resilience
- UN News
The boat ride from Belém to Barcarena is a journey through shimmering waterways and emerald forest, where the Amazon meets the Atlantic in a sweep of beauty. But beneath the postcard-perfect scene, climate change is quietly rewriting the rules of life.
Why Climate Finance Is Vital for the Implementation of NDCs in Africa
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 18 (IPS) - Funding cuts from the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe have left a funding gap in climate change programmes across Africa.
Pan-African Activist Advocates for Climate-Resilient Food, Education Systems at Belém Talks
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 18 (IPS) - “I am the founder of the ‘I Lead Climate Action Initiative,’ which is a Pan-African movement that carries out grassroots-based climate action to address the climate crisis in Africa. We advocate for the restoration of Lake Chad, the world’s largest environmental crisis through research and engagement,” says Adenike Titilope Oladosu.
‘No Land Rights, No Climate Justice,’ Say Activists at Peoples’ Summit
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 17 (IPS) - Brazilian Indigenous leader and environmentalist Cacique Raoni Metuktire appealed for support for Indigenous peoples and their land. From the podium of the Peoples’ Summit, Cacique Raoni warned negotiators at the UN climate conference in Belém that without recognizing Indigenous peoples’ land rights, there will be no climate justice.
Innovative Approaches to Climate, Peace and Security: Opportunities for India–Germany–Australia Collaboration
- Inter Press Service
Emerging research on the nexus between climate, peace and security (CPS) supports the integration of climate adaptation and mitigation methods to advance sustainable peace. While climate change itself may not be the direct cause of conflict, its cascading effects such as resource scarcity, displacement, and economic stress could become focal points of tension.
Shepherded by Anxious Security in Humidity-fueled Heat, Activists Plead for Climate Justice
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 14 (IPS) - Farmer and climate activist from Nigeria, Melody Areola, is beating the heat in Belém and voicing farmers’ rights in climate discussions. As the UN Climate Conference, COP30, in Brazil approaches the end of its first week, activists like Melody are making their voices louder.
‘Just Transition Must Make Climate Work for People Living its Consequences’
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 14 (IPS) - An open letter by more than 1,000 organizations from 106 countries, including trade unions, Indigenous leaders, feminist and youth movements, Afro-descendants, peasant groups, environmental advocates, disability networks and community organizations, to all States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is calling for a people-centered Just Transition.
Belém’s Hunger, Poverty Declaration Places World’s Most Vulnerable Populations at Centre of Global Climate Policy
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 14 (IPS) - A young woman at COP30 speaks about retracing her father’s footsteps. At only 16, her father and her grandfather were among the first families displaced by an unfolding climatic crisis of erratic weather and worsening climate conditions that goes on to date from their ancestral village in Sundarbans. Nearly 60 years later, she is on a mission to reclaim her ancestral lands.
Latin America: a Test Case for Aligning Climate Action, Food Security and Social Sustainability
- Inter Press Service
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, November 14 (IPS) - The urgency of linking climate action with social and wider environmental priorities is clear. Climate change, environmental degradation and violent conflict are often deeply connected and even mutually reinforcing. At the same time, climate action can either support or undermine efforts to improve social justice and halt environmental degradation.
COP30: Climate crisis is a health crisis, WHO warns as philanthropies pledge $300m for solutions
- UN News
Climate change is already fueling a global health emergency, killing more than half a million people each year through extreme heat and threatening hospitals worldwide, according to a major report released on Friday at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
Brazil is Breathing Life into Climate Commitments—Human Rights Lawyer
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 13 (IPS) - Binaifer Nowrojee, a human rights lawyer and the president of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), has lauded the Brazilian government “for significant steps taken to breathe life into the climate commitments.”
Without Truth, There Can Be No Climate Justice—Experts
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, November 12 (IPS) - Concerned scientists at the UN climate conference in Belém are appealing for collective action to combat climate change-related misinformation and disinformation.
A Tale of Two Cities – Belém, Nairobi and Why Global Tax Justice Must be at Center of Climate Crisis Response
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON DC, November 12 (IPS) - The climate crisis is getting worse and requires fundamental changes to societies, economies, and our global financial architecture in response. While extreme economic inequality is on the rise – the world’s billionaires now hold more wealth in the world than every country except the U.S. and China – the impacts of climate change are also unequally felt, with the poor in the Global South and North most at risk.
‘A wave of truth’: COP30 targets disinformation threat to climate action
- UN News
Negotiators in Belém, Brazil, opened COP30 with a stark warning: the race to avert catastrophic global heating is being sabotaged by a surge of climate disinformation. The falsehoods, spreading faster than ever online, threaten to derail fragile progress on climate action.
The Top Climate Leaders Are Now in The Global South
- Inter Press Service
OSLO, Norway, November 11 (IPS) - When world leaders now gather in Belém, Brazil for the UN climate conference, expectations will be modest. Few believe the meeting will produce any breakthroughs. The United States is retreating from climate engagement. Europe is distracted. The UN is struggling to keep relevant in the 21st century.
COP30: The Age of Irrationality in Climate Policy
- Inter Press Service
LISBON, Portugal, November 11 (IPS) - I have been working on climate policy since the late 1990s. I was in the room when Europe’s early carbon market discussions were shaping the architecture that would eventually underpin the Kyoto Protocol.
From pledges to action: Leaders push for faster climate progress at COP30
- UN News
COP30 opened in Belém on Monday with a clear message: the era of half-measures is over. Climate change is here, devastating communities and driving up costs, but solutions are within reach. Clean energy is surging, resilience saves lives, and cooperation can still bend the curve further.
Safeguarding clean water access as climate threats rise
- UN News
As health emergencies multiply linked to the climate crisis, governments are joining forces with the UN to protect access to clean water, while data indicates that 118 million people in Europe alone live near healthcare facilities lacking basic sanitation.
COP30 kicks off with urgent call to deliver on climate promises and scale up finance
- UN News
Thousands of diplomats and climate experts are heading to Belém, in Brazil’s Amazon, for COP30 – the latest round of UN climate talks. Their task couldn’t be clearer: turn promises into action and agree on tougher plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
US Skips High-Level Presence at COP30 Climate Summit
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, November 7 (IPS) - “Has the world given up fighting climate change?” was a rhetorical question posed recently by the New York Times, perhaps with a degree of sarcasm. It might look that way, says Christiana Figueres, a founding partner of the nongovernmental organization Global Optimism, “as US president Donald Trump blusters about fossil fuel, Bill Gates prioritizes children’s health over climate protection, and oil and gas companies plan decades of higher production.”
New Brazil-led fund aims to put forest protection at the heart of climate action
- UN News
Tropical forests, vital allies in the fight against climate breakdown, are vanishing at an alarming rate. On Thursday, in a bid to help reverse this trend, Brazil launched a new initiative at a summit of world leaders in Belém, the gateway to the Amazon.
COP30: New Faces, Old Issues: What Must Change if Global Climate Talks Are to Deliver Justice for Africa
- Inter Press Service
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia / ABUJA, Nigeria , November 5 (IPS) - Three decades after the first Climate COP, the multilateral climate process – which was intended to serve as an instrument of justice and a guardian of the planet’s atmosphere – has fallen far short of its goals.
New climate pledges do little to correct global warming projection, UN warns
- UN News
Available new climate pledges by governments have only slightly lowered global temperature rise over the course of this century, leaving the world on the path to a serious escalation of climate risks and damages.
As COP30 Nears, We Need All Effective Climate Solutions
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Kenya, November 3 (IPS) - A new global study has challenged a key assumption in climate planning: that the planet’s geological “carbon vault” is vast enough to hold all the carbon dioxide (CO₂) we might one day choose to bury underground after we remove it from the atmosphere. It isn’t.
Children’s Education Must Be Put At The Forefront of Climate Discussions At COP30
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, October 30 (IPS) - In 2024, the climate crisis has disrupted schooling for millions of students worldwide, weakening workforces and hindering social development on a massive scale. With extreme weather patterns preventing students from accessing a safe, and effective learning environment, the United Nations (UN) and the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (EiE Hub) continue to urge the international community to assist the most climate-sensitive areas in building resilient education systems that empower both students and educators.
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