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SPOTLIGHT
The Biden administration’s temporary pause in new methane gas export (LNG) permitting provides an important signal in the fight for fossil fuel phase out, particularly when fossil fuel speculators have the most to gain at the expense of consumers and local communities. And yet it also signifies the long path ahead for the US to meet its climate goals, with frontline activists having to continue their decades-long fight against export terminals already built or under construction.
Moreover, while new methane export terminals are on hold domestically, the US is sending mixed signals internationally. The US Export-Import Bank is currently considering financing a methane terminal in Papua New Guinea, an oil pipeline in Bahrain, and an offshore pipeline in Guyana. In just the past year, it approved nearly $100 million for an oil refinery in Indonesia, $400 million for US methane, and a loan guarantee for an oil project in the Bahamas. All these publicly funded fossil fuel projects led to the resignation of two of the bank's climate advisory board members on Monday.
Reforming international financial architecture to facilitate the phaseout of fossil fuels remains a hot topic. A new report by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center highlights the need for urgent debt relief in 62 climate-vulnerable countries, and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute found US fossil fuel subsidies totaled $757 billion in 2022 alone.
In a fireside chatwith the Center for Global Development, World Bank President Ajay Banga criticized the more than 1,100 rules that the International Development Association has to follow in his continued push to address climate change and poverty hand-in-hand.
WORTH 1000 WORDS
ON OUR RADAR
The Guardian has an excellent piece analyzing what a second presidency for Donald Trump, who is currently fighting multiple lawsuits and 92 indictments across four states, may mean for the climate. With the The Heritage Foundation-funded “Project 2025” as a blueprint, expectations are that this term will be more methodical, meticulous and extreme. In addition to dismantling climate bills and federal agencies, he intends to crackdown on government scientists and kickstart a frenzy of new oil and gas projects. And internationally? Though the plan doesn’t explicitly call for withdrawing from the United Nations or Paris Agreement unless “such institutions act against U.S. interests,” it does state that, “USAID should cease its war on fossil fuels.”
NEWS
Climate Diplomacy
COP28: Access and exclusion: What COP28 revealed about the dynamics of global climate diplomacy (The Conversation)
COP29: UN climate chief's blunt message: Fewer loopholes, way more cash to really halt climate change (AP News), Policy experts say the UN climate talks need reform, but change would be difficult in the current political landscape (Inside Climate News)
Islands leaders: Tina Stege: We put our heart and soul into climate negotiations ... it’s about survival for us (Financial Times), Palau becomes first nation to ratify UN High Seas Treaty (Barron's)
New US climate envoy: John Podesta is a DC veteran. Can he make climate deals on the world stage? (Grist), Top Republican warns Biden on Podesta ducking confirmation (E&E)
International Finance
Green Guarantee Company: The trick that makes climate investing in poor countries less risky (Bloomberg)
US-China: Top U.S. Treasury officials to visit Beijing for economic talks (The New York Times)
World Bank:Exclusive: World Bank to offer countries access to emergency funds from existing loans (Reuters)
Public $ and human rights: IFC under pressure to offer compensation to alleged Bridge victims (Devex), EBRD under pressure over human rights complaints (Devex)
Adaptation $: ADB up climate mitigation, adaptation funding to $10B (Phnom Penh Post)
Background on adaptation: Assessing the global progress on climate adaptation (Earth.Org)
Impacts
Loss and Damage:Rich nations miss loss and damage fund deadline (Climate Home),New UN database to help countries tap climate loss and damage fund (Context), A giant fund for climate disasters will soon open. Who should be paid first? (Nature), Why Kenya is hopeful but hesitant about the Loss and Damage Fund (African Arguments)
Just transition:Coal miner starts building South Africa’s biggest wind farm (Bloomberg)
Indigenous rights:Ignoring Indigenous rights is making the green transition more expensive (Grist)
Biodiversity:Q&A: What progress has been made on protecting nature a year on from COP15? (Carbon Brief)
At a glance: New data from WEDO’s Gender Climate Trackershows that women’s participation continues to lag behind that of men's in COP. During COP28, only 2% of delegations had equal numbers of men and women and less than one in five (19%) heads of delegation were women. In the past decade, this gender disparity has scarcely improved.