September has been a very busy month for “climate geeks.” The inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) was followed by a G20 Leaders Dialogue, the United Nations General Assembly, the Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit, a conference on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and Climate Week in New York. Phew!
Attempts to ratchet climate ambition, getting more money to the developing world, and closing the financing gap through international financial reform have been major themes throughout.
Tens of thousands of activists marched in the streets from New York to Manila demanding governments and businesses stop extracting fossil fuels. But the G20 couldn’t agree on fossil fuel phaseout, and opted for softer language on scaling up renewable energy.
UN Secretary General António Guterres made sure climate justice and credible plans to achieve net zero were the centerpiece of his Climate Ambition Summit on Wednesday by only allowing “first movers and doers” to speak. Guterres warned that humanity had “opened the gates of hell” by not acting faster on climate change, and decried the “naked greed” of fossil fuel interests working to delay such action.
Among the 100 applications received, 32 speakers qualified, representing only 11% of the world’s carbon pollution. Kenyan President William Ruto called for a universal tax on fossil fuels: “Neither Africa nor the developing world stands in need for charity or handouts…what we need is fairness.”
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley highlighted debt cancellation and the need for the climate crisis to be taken as seriously as the Ukraine conflict: “It is painful to continue to see that you are asking us to increase borrowing to build resilient infrastructure for something that we did not do. And then at the same time, you want to also ensure that you have a loss and damage fund that does not have the adequate means for grant funding to be able to help countries rebuild. It is unconscionable, and it is almost a crime against humanity.”
Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano said fossil fuels undermine all seventeen of the Sustainable Development Goals: “That includes our targets on health, on poverty reduction, and our peace and security.”
Meanwhile, none of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council were present, though the French foreign minister had been scheduled to speak but had a conflict. US Climate Envoy John Kerry was in the audience, while UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak back home announced a walkback on key green policies, including a loosening of “climate aid” definitions to meet UK financing targets without actually increasing funding.
California Governor Gavin Newsom was in attendance and was met with an enthusiastic round of applause from the room (and across group chats) after making it clear that “this climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis” and that “the oil industry has been playing each and every one of us in this room for fools.” Outside, President Biden focused on domestic actions – including the announcement of the American Climate Corps and a $4.6 billion climate grant program for cities, states and tribes.
On Tuesday, Biden also spoke before the General Assembly and warned of “what awaits” without fossil fuel reduction (not elimination), touted the Inflation Reduction Act, and promised to support expanding World Bank financing to low- and middle-income countries to help achieve SDGs - a point Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated during the SDG Summit. Another US announcement that day was made by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, releasing new principles for financial institutions making voluntary net-zero commitments.
Many other UN events also focused on finance. From the SDG Summit and talks about the debt crisis and SDG stimulus, to the High Level Dialogue for Financing Development where an international tax convention was a major focus, and the V20 meeting on building a resilient global financial system for vulnerable countries. Even the “Summit on Addressing the Existential Threats posed by Sea-level Rise” had a finance component, with Germany and the Open Society Foundations together pledging over $3 million to support Pacific Islands.
The climate week continues, but top of mind remains the figure that COP28 president and oil chief Sultan Al-Jaber shared in his speech at the Climate Ambition Summit: 22 billion metric tons. That’s how much carbon dioxide the world has to cut in the next seven years to reach climate targets, which will cost up to $5 trillion a year. “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of this challenge,” he said, “Let’s go after the gigatons, not each other.”