COP27 final week and loss and damage funding

Good Morning,

It is the second and last week of the COP27 climate conference. The issue of loss and damage funding is at the agenda for the first time, and it has risen to the top of political priorities at COP27. Loss and damage refer to the diverse effects of climate change on ecosystems and societies that cannot be avoided by mitigation or adaptation.

The question of loss and damage funding is an especially burning in the global south. Developing countries are historically responsible for only a fraction of the climate-warming emissions while already facing the most severe climate change-related consequences. At the same time, these countries have the least resources to respond to the immense costs of natural catastrophes. The unprecedented drought in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia and the devastating floods in Pakistan are just some examples of the acute climate change-related crises facing the global south.

Demanded by more than 130 developing countries, the issue of loss and damage funding has risen to the top of political priorities at COP27. How have rich nations responded to the matter?

• EU and the U.S. are open to discussing the fund but refuse any outcome that could make rich nations legally liable to pay for climate-related damage, based on their high historical greenhouse gas emissions

  • Germany, Austria, and the U.S are among the countries that have pledged to fund a few hundred million dollars for poorer nations; that being far off the hundreds of billions that vulnerable countries need to cope with escalating droughts, floods, and rising seas each year.

Representatives from vulnerable areas have said the progress is far from enough, and some observers warn that failure to agree on such "loss and damage" funding could sour the U.N. talks and thwart other deals.

Some countries are also seeking deals outside of the formal talks: for instance, Germany and a group of climate-vulnerable countries launched a "Global Shield" scheme on Monday to attempt to improve insurance for climate disaster-prone countries.

Let's jump into this week's major headlines.

EU's Carbon Allowance (ETS) price development

UK's Carbon Allowance (ETS) price development

Major News Roundup

Reuters | The world population surged past 8 billion people on Tuesday. According to the U.N., climate justice gets harder and resource pressure will be especially daunting in African nations, where populations are expected to boom.

Reuters | Lula's COP27 visit seen as restoring Brazil's climate credibility. In his first international trip after being elected on Oct. 31, Lula plans to deliver a speech with the message that "Brazil is back" as a leader confronting climate change.

The Guardian | India is committed to clean energy but continues to boost coal production. Just before the COP27 conference, India launched a historical coalmine auction, where 141 new sites for coalmines will be sold off to the highest bidder.

Reuters | U.N.: World making little progress on food waste. Every year, the world throws away around 931 million tons of food, most of it ending up in landfills, where it decomposes to produce around a tenth of the world's climate-warming gases.

HS | EU countries to conclude on carbon sinks. The EU countries have pledged carbon dioxide removals of 310 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030, which is around 15 % more than today.

Latest environmental news from Finland

HS | The city of Helsinki hopes to extend the Nuuksio national park. According to the proposal, some of the recreational areas surrounding Nuuksio would be added to the national park. The proposal aims to help preserve and maintain the national park.

Yle | Rolling blackouts for winter 2022 possibly only at an hour's notice. Intentional electrical power shutdowns should be used as a last resort. The weather in winter, as well as the supply of domestic energy, play a key role in energy sufficiency in the upcoming months.

Yle | Kokkola planning the largest green hydrogen plant in Finland

Yle | Henri Backman was elected the new president of The Guides and Scouts of Finland

Climate Pledges and action

Reuters | U.S., Japan, and partners mobilize $20 bln to move Indonesia away from coal power. The funding consists of public and private finance to help Indonesia shut down coal power plants and bring forward the sector's peak emissions date by seven years to 2030.

Reuters | Mexico vows to double renewable energy capacity by 2030. Mexico has pledged to deploy a further 30 gigawatts in renewable energy capacity by 2030, the nation's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, as America's third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter works with the United States to meet new climate goals.

The Guardian | Media groups demand imposing a climate tax on fossil fuel giants. The Guardian and dozens of international media titles publish a joint editorial article calling for a windfall tax on the biggest fossil fuel companies. The funds raised should be redistributed to poorer, vulnerable countries, the editorial says, as they are suffering the worst impacts of the climate crisis despite having done the least to cause it.

HS | The world's largest floating wind turbine started producing power in Norway.

The Guardian | Peruvian Amazon Indigenous leaders to lobby banks to cut ties with a state oil firm. Leaders from the Achuar and Wampis peoples say the state company Petroperú is responsible for oil spills in their territory that violate their human rights by polluting their water sources and irreparably damaging their fishing and hunting grounds.

Latest from the academics on environment, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration

Methane emissions from 15 meat and dairy companies rival those of the EU. The combined methane emissions of 15 of the world’s largest meat and dairy companies are higher than those of several of the world’s largest countries, including Russia, Canada, and Australia, according to a new study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and Changing Markets Foundation. The analysis found that emissions by the companies – five meat and 10 dairy corporations – equate to more than 80% of the European Union’s entire methane footprint and account for 11.1% of the world’s livestock-related methane emissions. (The Guardian)

University of Melbourne: probable maximum flood events will significantly increase over the next 80 years. The flood capacity of dams could be at greater risk of being exceeded, due to out-of-date modeling for potential maximum rainfall, according to the study, which will be published in the Water Resources Research journal. (Science Daily)

Half of replanted tropical trees don't survive. A UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology showed that on average, about half of trees planted in tropical and sub-tropical forest restoration efforts do not survive more than five years. The team found that, on average, 18% of planted saplings died within the first year, rising to 44% after five years. However, survival rates varied greatly amongst sites and species, with some sites seeing over 80% of trees still alive after five years, whereas at others, a similar percentage had died. The study was published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. (Science Daily)

Open sustainability positions

Picture of the week: Endangered jaguar cubs and their mother find new home in Argentine national park after a successful effort at breeding them in captivity

References: COP27 final week and loss and damage funding

• Analysis: In final week of COP27 climate talks, success hinges on 'loss and damage' – Reuters

• How can loss and damage finance reach those enduring climate catastrophe? – IIED