Climate justice

BEST PRACTICES

- BRIAN POE LLAMANZARES

Sustainable development seems to be struggling uphill globally at the end of 2024. A week ago, the United Nations (UN) Environment Program (UNEP)'s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee failed to arrive at a final text for an international treaty on plastic pollution. COP29 (of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) is still panned for its perceived failure in making meaningful advancements in climate justice. Of the $1.3 billion needed by 2030, developed countries committed to only $300 million by 2035. Not only is it just 23.08 percent of the scientific consensus-reached and evidence-based target, but it is also pushed back five years further. Another issue is whether committed funds are merely mostly loans, rather than grants or others less onerous, to already debt-ridden climate vulnerable countries.

There is still hope. Incremental, slow and unequal progress, even in the form of frustrating compromises, is still a win. In the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, it is "a base on which to build" and, insofar as climate financing, what's quite critical is "commitments must quickly become cash." It highlights the fact that it is vital now, more than ever, for citizens all over the world to demand accountability from governments, private corporations and from each other. It is also crucial for citizens to inspire one another and collaborate in our efforts to forge a better, more equitable and more sustainable world.