Climate conferences have turned into a circus of dictators. What can we do?

COP29 is finished. In case you missed it, let me catch you up to speed: The conference’s host, Azerbaijan, was caught trying to use the COP as an opportunity to sell fossil fuels. The country’s President called fossil fuels “a gift from god”. Some countries, most notably the UK announced their next round of emissions reductions targets (81% by 2035). Countries agreed to a finance deal that sets a pledge of just $300bn annually for developing countries. This final piece, while being a significant step forward in the right direction, has rightfully been called out by many countries as a “travesty of justice”.

These yearly climate conferences, which have been going on for 28 years, are at a breaking point. For the second year in a row, the conference has been hosted by a petro-state, and for the third year in the row, the host country has had questionable human rights credentials, limiting the role of civil society and the free press in the talks. Attendance has peaked – for the first time in seven years, this year’s COP was smaller than its predecessor. A report by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition highlights that fossil fuel lobbyists were given over 1,700 passes to this year’s conference – a number which amounts to more than all of the delegates from the 10 most climate-vulnerable nations combined. All this while many NGOs and countries are reconsidering their participation in the COP process, most notably, the Pacific Nation, Papua New Guinea officially skipping COP29 citing it as “a total waste of time.”

In this context, one of the most significant things to happen during COP29 was a letter, signed by a group of influential climate policy experts, calling for significant changes to the COP process as it is no longer “fit for purpose”. The group includes former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, the former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, the former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and the prominent climate scientist Johan Rockström. The letter outlines several key changes, such as a requirement for host countries to demonstrate clear support for climate action, stricter rules on fossil fuel lobbying and a focus on action and implementation. What makes this initiative so important is that it simultaneously recognises the critical diplomatic milestones that have been reached, while also calling for more. It’s easy to look at the COP, say it’s rotten from the inside and just give up. But that’s not what is being done here, and it serves as a reminder to us that some of humanity’s greatest environmental achievements have been secured through groups of people coming together to demand change.

From the smallest pond to global systems. From local groups to international negotiations. This is how we win. Countries came together in 1987 to establish the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the manufacturing of ozone-depleting substances. This was the first international treaty to address a global environmental regulatory challenge, and described by Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as “perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol”.

So what does this mean for those of us who want to secure a safe and healthy future for ourselves and future generations? It means demanding of our government to actually meet the demands of the hour and implement serious climate policy. It should be no surprise to you that Israel is not playing its part in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and is not doing what needs to be done in order to adapt to the impacts we are already experiencing and those which are still to come.

For this reason, in just a few months the Supreme Court will hear a case in which the government is being sued by its citizens (led by Green Course, School Strike for Climate and many other signatories) for violating our ‘Basic-Law’ for Human Dignity and Liberty. This case demands a real ‘Climate Act’ – not like the one that is being rushed through the Knesset at the moment which lacks strong, enforceable targets and doesn’t demand climate adaptation plans of its ministries. While international negotiations have been happening in Baku, the Knesset has been negotiating with our health, livelihoods and security in the form of this bill.

I know how bad things look right now, and how many people may not feel now is the right time to talk about climate change. We say “the war, the economy, the societal polarisation. Shouldn’t we just be focussing on these things, and deal with the climate later?” The fact of the matter is that climate change supercharges these things, they can’t be dealt with in isolation. Now is the exact time to find the courage that we need to organise and demand that our governments, national and local, start to take this issue seriously.

“You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it”. (Pirkei Avot, 2:21)

—

Jarred Abrahams is a community organizing manager at Green Course.