Sunny climate stormy climate | Weekly digest #47
8 countries pledge $ 160 mn for biodiversity, CEO of COP 29 caught on camera making deals with fossil fuel groups and it snowed in a Saudi desert in the latest episode of climate weirding.
Hello folks!
Welcome to your weekly dose of climate news where I bring one sunny story that gives hope and two stormy ones that are a cause for alarm. Hope you like them!
🌞 Sunny news 🌞
1. 8 countries pledge USD 160 mn to protect biodiversity
What are we talking about?
The 16th COP (convention) for Biodiversity took place at the end of October
Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) was established in COP 15 (2022) to to support countries and communities in conserving, restoring, and ensuring the long-term health of wild species and ecosystems.
New contributions from Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Québec amounting to $ 163 mn were announced at COP16.
Why does this matter?
Loss of biodiversity is one of the biggest crisis we face. We are currently seeing species loss at such an alarming rate, that scientists have dubbed this the ‘sixth extinction’.
Biodiversity loss can disrupt ecosystems, which can lead to a loss of ecosystem services that support life. It can reduce nature's ability to adapt to climate change, threaten food security and have far reaching impacts on the food chain.
Making adequate funding available to support initiatives that can protect and restore ecosystems is critical.
The GBFF is a voluntary fund. The current amount committed is nowhere near what is needed but will hopefully set an example and encourage more countries to join, and hence is a good start.
Sources for further reading
🌩️ Stormy news 🌩️
2. COP 29 CEO caught on camera agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals
First, What is COP 29?
COP stands for 'Conference of the parties'. COP is an annual UN climate conference.
This is where countries agree on targets and actions they would take to address climate change.
The famous ‘Paris agreement’ where countries agreed to take steps to limit heating to 1.5 degrees took place in COP 21 (2015)
The 29th edition of the COP is taking place right now from 11th - 22nd November in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Read ‘An explainer on COP’ I wrote last year.
What happened?
Elnur Soltanov, Azerbaijan’s deputy energy minister and CEO of COP 29 has been filmed agreeing to facilitate fossil fuel deals.
The campaign group Global Witness posed undercover as a fake oil and gas group asking for deals to be facilitated in exchange for sponsoring the event.
Soltanov said “I would be happy to create a contact between your team and their team [Socar - Azerbaijan’s national oil and gas company] so that they can start discussions.”
He also said “We will have a certain amount of oil and natural gas being produced, perhaps for ever.”
Why does this matter?
COPs are supposed to be places where governments agree to take action to address climate change.
At COP 28 last year, the countries involved agreed to transition away from fossil fuels, and the UN body the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is clear that developing new oil and gas fields is incompatible with climate goals signed up to in the Paris agreement.
Climate activists have been asking for fossil fuels groups and their lobbyists from being banned from COPs for a long time due to their actions that undermine climate action. This is a good example of why that needs to happen.
Sources for further reading
3. A desert in Saudi Arabia sees snowfall for the first time in the latest episode of climate weirding
What happened?
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jawf region experienced heavy snowfall and rainfall reportedly for the first time in recorded history
The typically sun-scorched desert landscapes have been transformed into a winter wonderland due to an incredibly rare snowfall.
The snowfall was accompanied with strong thunderstorms, gusty winds, and hailstorms causing travel delays, poor visibility, and disruptions to daily life.
Why did this happen?
The cause of the unusual weather is linked to a low-pressure system over the Arabian Sea, which brought in moisture-rich air that collided with the region's extreme desert heat, sparking the chaotic storms.
Why does this matter?
The rare occurrence has spurred discussions regarding global weather patterns and climate change.
While isolated snowfall in certain northern regions of Saudi Arabia is not entirely unprecedented, the extent and timing of this snowfall have raised questions among meteorologists and climate scientists.
As you can see its yet another in a series of ‘climate weirding’ episodes we are seeing across the world.
The shift in weather patterns seen across various parts of the world suggests broader changes in climatic behavior that merit further research and analysis.
Sources for further reading
You can read previous editions of the newsletter -
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #46
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #45
Sunny climate, stormy climate | News Digest #44
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