COP28: GGA talks stall, ministers take over

The negotiations on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) at the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai completely stalled after the informal negotiations on the last day of week one (December 6) did not reach any consensus. If the GGA is not adopted at COP28, it would mean that one of the mandated outcomes for the Dubai meet would not come to fruition.

On December 8, the COP28 Presidency has put environment ministers from Australia and Chile as the coordinating team to help them get Parties together and reach a consensus on GGA. But ministers Jennifer McAllister from Australia and Maisa Rojas have their work cut out for the next 48 hours.

The COP28 presidency of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been tight-lipped about all negotiations, including those on the GGA. But negotiators and experts that Down To Earth (DTE) spoke to, said developing country blocs such as the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), the Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) and G77 and China are adamant about their expectations from the GGA being a robust framework with money included.

“Many country statements, especially by Colombia, in the stocktaking plenary event by the COP28 Presidency on December 8 also pointed this out,” Pratistha Singh, senior international policy analyst, Climate Action Network, Canada, told DTE.

“Parties feel that there is a lot of text in the draft right now and it is unbalanced. So negotiators, along with ministers, will first streamline the text and then the contentions have to be resolved,” said Singh. 

Majid Al Suwaidi, the director-general of the COP28 presidency, declared in a press conference on December 8 that COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber wants COP28 to end at 11:00 am on December 12. This means there are only four days for Parties to negotiate and agree on the text that would adopt the framework for the GGA.

The main contentions that remained in the draft text introduced on December 5 were the inclusion of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), the recognition of the gap in finance for taking adaptation measures from the developed countries to the developing countries and a financial target as part of the framework for GGA.

“Within the GGA negotiations, we have been working to achieve a consolidated position as a group, including LMDC and G77. At this agenda item, there are two important points to position. The first is the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. The second is the increase of funds and the enhancement of financing flows,” Byron J Moreno, a negotiator for Ecuador told DTE. He negotiates on all streams of adaptation, including the GGA.

“I know there are many positions and various perspectives from the countries involved in structuring these two points. What we aim for is to reach a consensus, especially when we speak in technical coordination meetings with G77. The desire is for everyone to collectively reach a consensus. There are points that are difficult to address due to resistance faced in negotiations with all parties,” he added.

The last informal consultations did not reach an agreement. In this context, the GGA consultations were elevated to the ministerial level. LMDC hopes to position financing flows and the principle of equity, taking into account strategies in financing coordination, according to Moreno. 

“This will contrast the level of negotiation processes in both LMDC and G77. We aim to structure better strategies that can achieve results in these two points: financing and equity. Therefore, I hope that in the end, an agreement is reached on the GGA and that this COP ends with positive results on this agenda item,” Moreno concluded.

One of the options on finance put up by the developing country blocs called for adaptation finance of $400 billion per year until 2030. It also highlighted that even if the developed countries doubled their financial flows to developing countries, the gap between what is needed and what is available would be bridged by only 5-10 per cent.

And these are perhaps the most crucial aspects of the GGA. Without the money flowing in from the developed countries along with the transfer of technology and building capacity, the developing countries will not be able to implement adaptation measures. Without the principle of CBDR-RC, the historical responsibilities of developed countries of spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and causing the current climate crisis does not get highlighted.

The measures that they have identified and decided upon under the other specific targets of the GGA — risk assessment, planning and implementation. Without a finance target, the GGA framework would not be as fruitful for developing countries and climate vulnerable communities within them.

Some of these communities are living in areas riddled with the double whammy of conflicts and the impacts of climate change. Such as Mozambique. The northern parts of the country are in a conflict zone with one million displaced as of April 2023.

“There is no money or any other resource for these internally displaced people to adapt to the extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, floods and droughts which are common in our country,” said Mauricio Negas, project coordinator with Helvetas in Mozambique, at a side event on GGA on December 3. Helvetas is a Swiss development organisation which has many adaptation projects in many countries of Africa, some of which are working with internally displaced people.

There are some issues with the targets as well, according to some experts. “For the thematic target on ecosystems, there is no specific language on mountain and ocean ecosystems which is crucial for countries like Bhutan, Nepal and India,” Sandeep Chamling Rai, senior advisor and global lead on adaptation with the World Wildlife Fund, told DTE.

“Some of the developed countries are also not happy with the seven thematic targets that have been made a part of the GGA framework and are there in the current text,” said Singh. These thematic targets are around natural resources, ecosystems, early warning systems and poverty.

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