By Aksyon Klima Pilipinas
The 30th UN climate negotiations (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, was supposed to redefine the global climate agenda from words to meaningful, concrete, and significant actions. This is vital for the most vulnerable countries like the Philippines to avoid or reduce the climate change impacts it has been forced to endure for years.
In this regard, COP30 fell short of what is needed to achieve climate justice, albeit with small steps forward.
We welcome the decision to establish a Just Transition Mechanism, or the Belem Action Mechanism, as the civil society groups would call it, a platform for international cooperation for initiatives on just transition, including the protection of workers and enabling energy transitions. It also contains provisions that center energy transitions in justice and equity, while recognizing numerous human rights and the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent as part of attaining more ambitious climate action. This is another clear indicator of the influence of civil society in accelerating climate action and advancing justice, similar to the creation of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
The biggest failure of this conference is the lack of a commitment to truly begin the end of the fossil fuel era. Not even mentioning “fossil fuels” in the so-called Mutirão decision is ignorance of the sources of greenhouse gases that causes more extreme impacts that the Philippines and other developing vulnerable nations are all too familiar with.
The 1.5°C global warming target under the Paris Agreement has been breached, at least in the short term. With each COP that the fossil fuel dilemma is unaddressed or purposely ignored comes a shrinking window to still limit warming back to 1.5°C or lower and rising economic and non-economic losses and damages for the Philippines.
We are extremely disappointed with the failure of the Philippine government to join more than 80 nations that support the global call to transition away from fossil fuels. This silence contradicts its overarching calls for climate justice to the global community and, as a country whose energy sector is highly privatized and still dominated by fossil fuel corporations, it sends the message that it prioritizes energy security and profit over the security and well-being of its most vulnerable communities.
While watered down from the needs of developing nations, the tripling of adaptation finance by 2035 is still a step forward to provide much-needed support for adaptation programs and projects. This should aid in the implementation of the National Adaptation Plan, especially in terms of ecosystem-based approaches and/or nature-based solutions that have never been more needed in our country.
With COP30 over, our eyes are now back into what the Philippine government does next. There is no climate justice without good governance. We need both now more than ever.