Two Fossils Awards: Developed Countries for lack of Loss and Damage climate finance, and Austria for facilitating coal subsidies

Some unusual suspects today. While everyone was looking at SBSTA discussion on to 'note' or 'welcome' the IPCC special report on 1.5C, these bad boys snuck in and whisked away the Fossil of the Day awards.

The first Award went to the developed countries of the Executive Committee (Excomm) of the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) on Loss and Damage. Five years old and still not a penny of climate finance. How miserly the parents are.

But the Climate Action Network is gracious and sang them a Happy birthday message.

The second Fossil Award to Austria for subsidising coal. Yes, you heard me right, Austria, not Australia! Austria has the presidency of the European Council and wants to subsidize existing and new coal plants for the next 17 years through backdoor mechanisms. Really Austria, you know you can't compete with Australia when it comes to coal (Cough Cough).

Here be the award commendations for today:

US clean coal side-event with Australian ambassador disrupted at COP24

The Australian Ambassador for the Environment, Patrick Suckling, appeared on a panel for a US government side-event pushing clean coal technologies as climate solutions. The session on Monday 10 December was called: "U.S. Innovative Technologies Spur Economic Dynamism - Promoting innovative approaches".

One must ask was Ambassador Suckling's presence sanctioned at Ministerial level? His attendance on the panel is hardly good diplomacy for Australia, even given the Liberal Government support for coal and weak climate targets and climate policy.

After about 9 minutes the first speaker was disrupted and youth and civil society delegates unfurled a banner and made their own testimonies on the disruptive and dangerous nature of coal for health and climate.

They chanted "Keep it in the ground" and "Shame on you", before leaving the session. After they left, there were very few people to listen to the myths being spouted of clean coal.

London Assembly passes climate emergency motion

The London Assembly has passed a motion by a vote of 12 votes for, 0 against, for declaring a climate emergency. The motion by UK Greens Councillor Caroline Russell urges that the Mayor should "declare a Climate Emergency, supported by specific emergency plans with the actions needed to make London carbon neutral by 2030".

This follows on from the City of Bristol declaring a climate emergency on 13 November 2018, the first UK council to declare a climate emergency. The Bristol motion was passed unanimously. Consequently, the city council set an ambitious goal of making Bristol carbon neutral by 2030.

Caroline Russel also referred to David Attenborough speech to the United Nations climate change conference COP24 meeting in Katowice, Poland, in which he warned, "If we don’t take action the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon." The IPCC 1.5C climate science report published in October was also referred to in motivating rapid social transformation needed for meeting the Paris Agreement climate targets and avoiding dangerous climate change..

What is in a word? Lots when it comes to welcoming the IPCC special report on 1.5C to #COP24

During negotiations on Saturday at the UN climate change conference fossil fuel major countries blocked welcoming the IPCC Special report on 1.5C target for informing the negotiations. Blocking countries were Saudi Arabia, USA, Kuwait, and Russia.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on 1.5C was initiated by the Conference of the Parties as part of the Paris Agreement in 2015.

The report was based on over 6000 peer reviewed papers. The Summary for Policy makers document of the report was approved by a meeting of government representatives on the IPCC.

USA gets the Fossil Award for arguing against inclusion of mention of human rights

Eleanor Roosevelt would be turning in her grave at the current US Administration antics at COP24.

Yes, the USA picks up today's Fossil award for their arguments on excluding mention of human rights in the Paris rulebook, when they are specifically mentioned in the preamble of the Paris Agreement.

Concerns were raised earlier about whether human rights were being included in Paris Agreement rulebook at COP24.

And the USA has chosen to follow through by stepping up and challenging the inclusion of a reference to the preamble, saying it was attempting to operationalize something that by definition wasn’t operational.

Fossil Awards: to Germany over progress on emission targets, and Switzerland over climate finance

Two Fossil Awards today.

The first placed Fossil Award to Germany for failing to make substantial progress on it's 2020 targets, failure to progress phaseout of coal as promised.

The second Fossil Award to Switzerland over being on of the loudest and most consistent blockers on climate finance during these negotiations and the provision of new and additional funding.

Are human rights being included in Paris Agreement rulebook at COP24?

Civil society organisations fought hard at the United Nations Climate Change conference COP21 in Paris in 2015 for human rights obligations to be included as part of the Paris Agreement text. This was an important recognition of social justice in addressing climate change.

However, it appears there has been little mention or discussion of inclusion of human rights obligations in negotiations this week in Katowice, Poland at the current United Nations climate change conference, COP24. Time is fast closing and final draft texts are nearing completion before the ministerial meetings of the Conference of Parties takes place early next week.

It is highly important that human rights obligations are included in relevant portions of the Paris Agreement rulebook presently being negotiated.

Arab group wins (again) #FossiloftheDay at COP24 for being not okay with IPCC 1.5C report

Well the Arab Group is off to a great start this Conference of the Parties (COP) in Poland with a second fossil award.

This time it was for Kuwait wanting to delete specific references to findings in the IPCC 1.5°C Special Report in negotiations in the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damage.

Saudi Arabia and the Arab Group scored a Fossil award yesterday for trying to kill ambition and prevent more transparency. Looks like we have a first candidate in this years race for the Colossal Fossil

Here is the official media release by Climate Action Network:

Guest Post: Carbon emissions will reach 37 billion tonnes in 2018, a record high

Pep Canadell, CSIRO; Corinne Le Quéré, University of East Anglia; Glen Peters, Center for International Climate and Environment Research - Oslo; Robbie Andrew, Center for International Climate and Environment Research - Oslo, and Rob Jackson, Stanford University

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuels and industry are projected to rise more than 2% (range 1.8% to 3.7%) in 2018, taking global fossil CO₂ emissions to a new record high of 37.1 billion tonnes.

The strong growth is the second consecutive year of increasing emissions since the 2014-16 period when emissions stabilised, further slowing progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement that require a peak in greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. Strong growth in emissions from the use of coal, oil and natural gas suggests CO₂ emissions are likely to increase further in 2019.

Saudia Arabia and the Arab Group, and Brazil win Fossil Awards at COP24

and on the second Fossil of the day ceremony of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP24 meeting in Katowice, Poland....

No surprise here to find our old blocking friend Saudi Arabia reappearing, and on behalf of the Arab group, no less, for trying to kill ambition and prevent more transparency.

And a late runner has entered the competition. Oh Brazil, how could you? It seems the new President has plans for the Amazon rainforest that involve deforrestation and will also drive massive impacts on indigenous people of the Amazon. Seriously not good for climate or people.