COP29 Digest, Vol 4: Everything You Need to Know in Food and Climate News Today

Welcome to the final edition of Green Queen’s #COP29 Digest. Here, our editorial team curates the must-reads, the must-bookmarks and the must-knows from around the interwebs to help you ‘skim the overwhelm’.

Catch up: VOLUME 1 – VOLUME 2 – VOLUME 3

Headlines You Need To Know

The COP-related news you cannot miss.

RICH COUNTRIES PLEDGE $300B IN CLIMATE FINANCE DEAL: On the verge of the summit’s failure, talks reached the eleventh hour, with rich countries pledging $300B in climate finance for the most vulnerable nations – the main aim of COP29. But this was lambasted by the recipients, many of whom walked out of the negotiations earlier, and called the final deal unacceptable.

SAUDI ARABIA LED EFFORTS TO BLOCK FOSSIL FUEL PLEDGE: Saudi Arabia used delaying tactics and blocking manoeuvres to resist international delegates’ efforts to restate the COP28 commitment to transition away from fossil fuels. It was successful, with a decision to do so now postponed until COP30 in Brazil.

UN NET-ZERO CHAIR ‘SICK’ OF SAUDI ARABIA’S MOVE: Responding to these tactics, Catherina McKenna, Canada’s former climate change minister and the UN’s chair of net-zero emissions commitments, said she is “sick” of Saudi Arabia’s reluctance to move away from fossil fuels.

CARBON OFFSET APPROVAL SPARKS GREENWASHING: In a telltale sign of the conference’s facade of action, countries agreed on a UN-backed framework for carbon trading, allowing wealthy polluters to buy carbon credits from vulnerable nations. But critics fear this gives the former a licence to greenwash, given the dicey nature of the carbon credit market.

AZERBAIJAN BLOCKS COP29.COM DOMAIN ATTACKING FOSSIL FUELS: COP29 organisers have attempted to block campaigners from using the domain name COP29, owned by a campaign group Global Witness, which is hung it to attack the fossil fuel industry. The website is blocked in Baku.

INDIA AND CHINA SHOULDN’T BE CALLED DEVELOPING NATIONS: Delegates from some of the poorest countries at COP29 believe India and China, two of the world’s top five economies, should not be treated as developing countries (a classifications rating back to 1992). They should be contributing financially instead of receiving aid, some leaders said.

30+ NATIONS SIGN METHANE REDUCTION PLEDGE: Over 30 countries have endorsed the COP29 Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste, including eight of the 10 largest methane emitters from waste.

WHO LEADS COP29 HEALTH COALITION: The World Health Organization, the COP29 Presidency, Azerbaijan, and Spain co-hosted a high-level event that saw the official establishment of the Baku COP Presidencies Continuity Coalition for Climate and Health.

VATICAN BLOCKS WOMEN’S RIGHTS DISCOURSE: Vatican City has joined Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Egypt to block a deal that would have provided more support to women feeling the worst impacts of climate change, according to Colombia’s environment minister. It followed a row over references to transgender and gay women, which these countries want to see removed.

UK COMMITS £239M TO REVERSE DEFORESTATION: The UK has announced £239M in funding for forest-rich nations to halt and reverse deforestation, and conserve nature and wildlife.

COP29 DELEGATES TASTE CULTIVATED MEAT: Australia’s Vow, on the back of regulatory clearance in Hong Kong, served its Forged Parfait made from cultivated quail at COP29’s Singapore Evening. It followed the appearance of dishes made from Good Meat’s cultivated chicken and Solar Foods‘s air-based Solein protein in the previous two years.

Key #COP29 Reports

The food and climate reports you need to know about.

• McKinsey fuels the climate crisis: Consulting firm McKinsey has helped exacerbate clients through the clients it has worked with, an investigation by the Guardian shows. It was also found to engage with such companies despite knowing they were set to exceed the 1.5°C target.
• Climate funds failing grassroots farmers: The two global climate funds, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund, have been criticised for excluding family farmers, according to Money Well Spent?, a new report by Family Farmers for Climate Action.

Awesome Resources From Media Friends

A curation of our favourite reads from COP29 – excellent guides, explainers and op-eds from around the web.

• The Trump effect is in full swing: Donald Trump will take office again in two months, but his impact already loomed large for agrifood talks at COP29 – and not in a good way, writes Ayurella Horn-Muller for Grist.
• Explaining the deadlock on climate finance: As the clock was running out on the summit, the main point of contention holding back the climate finance goal was a paradoxical conflict, explains Semafor‘s Tim McDonnell.
• Climate taxes get real: While taxing airlines for their emissions may have seemed a fantasy, things are different at COP29, writes Pilita Clark for the Financial Times.
• Takeaways from Brazil: One of the world’s biggest polluters, Brazil has announced a new emissions reduction target. Carbon Brief has pulle dente five key takeaways from the pledge.

Lighter Green Fun

Funny stuff, weird stuff, random stuff related to COP you may enjoy.

• A visual policy debrief: Climate Incubator has teamed up with a digital artist to produce playful, visual policy debriefs of COP29.
• Sewage beer: At the Singapore counter, COP29 attendees were offered free beer from a brand called NewBrew. The catch? It was made by treating wastewater, and was a number of eco-innovations proving to be a hit at the conference.
• Fossil of the day: Climate Action Network International has been doling out Fossil of the Day awards to countries “doing the most to achieve the least”. The latest winner? Azerbaijan.

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