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SPOTLIGHT
John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua announced their retirement as US and Chinese climate envoys respectively earlier this month, marking the end of an era in global climate politics. The two have worked together for more than 25 years representing the world’s largest global emitters and were instrumental in the passage of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. The Sunnylands Agreement, signed last November, marked their final bilateral achievement that put the US and China back on the path to partnership to “accelerate the substitution” of fossil fuels with renewable energy.
Who will follow in their footsteps? China has already announced Xie will be replaced byforeign ministry diplomat Liu Zhenmin, who served as Xie’s special advisor in Dubai for COP28 and also participated in negotiations on the Paris Agreement. As for Kerry, his deputies are likely tocarry his office forwarduntil his replacement is determined by the winner of the 2024 US Presidential election. Either way, relatively fresh faces will represent the EU, US, and China at COP29, one that is sure to be, ahem, interesting.
ON OUR RADAR
Last week Azerbaijan, the petrostate hosting COP29, appointed their COP29 climate committee and was met with international backlash for not including a key stakeholder group - women. Out of all 28 members, not a single woman was included. On the other hand, the fossil fuel industry has already been represented through the COP29 president-designate, Mukhtar Babayev, who has spent 26 years working for the state’s oil company before his political appointments. It’s no surprise, although disappointing, considering the host country is heavily dependent on fossil fuels with plans to increase gas output by a third over the next decade. Following global outcry, the country announced an additional 12 women to join the committee.
WORTH 1000 WORDS
NEWS
Climate Diplomacy
Negotiations: How fossil fuels went from sidelines to headlines in climate talks (Climate Home)
COP28 Reflections: Cop28 deal will fail unless rich countries quit fossil fuels, says climate negotiator (The Guardian), Just weeks after COP28, ADNOC's oil and gas expansion plans "gain momentum" (Oil Change International)
Multilateralism in the Republican Party: US presidential candidates rally behind 'defund the UN' campaign (Devex)
International Finance
IMF/World Bank: IMF chief urges countries to shift fossil fuel subsidies to fight climate change (Reuters), World Bank, IMF look to move past old tensions on climate, debt (Bloomberg)
“Transition Finance”: Green ‘transition finance’ takes center stage in 2024, but what does it mean? (Bloomberg)
Harmful investments: How wealthy corporations use investment agreements to extract millions from developing countries (Inside Climate), Their mines ruined communities. Now they want compensation (Truthdig)
Davos: Davos puts climate on the back burner (NYT), Davos Dispatch: What's next for the Green Climate Fund? (Devex)
Impacts
Indigenous solutions: ‘It is all about listening and sharing’: Indigenous solutions to the carbon divide (The Guardian)
Shipping: The drop in Panama Canal traffic due to a severe drought could cost up to $700 million (AP)
Palestine: The not-so-hidden climate risks for Gaza's displaced (Climate Refugees), ‘The situation is dire’: Winter heaps misery on displaced people of Gaza (The Guardian)
At a glance: The IEA’s annual analysis and forecast covering 2024-2026anticipates a rise in global electricity demand, but record-breaking electricity generation from low-emissions sources is set to cover all new global demand. By 2026, nearly half the world’s electricity is anticipated to come from low-emissions sources.
At a glance: This comprehensive research offers guiding principles for enhancing the management and transparency of public debt across African economies by examining the mechanics of debt creation as well as the legal dilemmas faced by creditors and borrowers in the face of mounting public debt.
