The power of this iconic place was not enough to enable progress commensurate with the challenges at stake.
Tensions quickly arose between countries in the North, focused on reducing CO2 emissions, and countries in the global South, heavily impacted by global warming, which were calling for more aid to help them adapt. In the end, a tripling of adaptation aid was included as a target in the final text. However, the planned source of these funds and the planned financing mechanisms remain unclear.
Above all, while the 2023 COP in Dubai had at least managed to include ‘phasing out fossil fuels’ as a shared goal, this reference has now disappeared in the Amazon! In protest, some countries almost refused to sign the agreement. It was only saved at the last minute by a reference to the ‘consensus of the United Arab Emirates’ in the final text.
Should we therefore despair of the COPs?
No, because despair would mean giving up. And, in fact, we know that without the COPs, the global climate situation would be worse. Even if insufficient, Belém has enabled some progress, such as the mechanism for a just ecological transition in favour of countries whose economies are impacted by the abandonment of fossil fuels. A group of countries, led by Colombia, have decided to create a voluntary process that is more ambitious than the COPs. In a tense global context, the COPs remain forums for multilateralism. And the signing of the agreement underlines this desire, fragile but still real, to move forward together.
However, COPs often reflect citizens’ expectations. Governments will only move forward if they feel a certain amount of pressure from their populations. Therefore, every citizen, by engaging with others, has a role to play. Religious life also has a role to play. Before Belém, religious institutes began advocating for climate justice. It is important that they continue to maintain this active vigilance and that we, the Helpers, remain attentive to these issues.
While reminding us that urging states to take action can only be achieved by also changing our own behaviour. This encourages us to constantly seek ways to do our part by adopting a more modest lifestyle that is more respectful of Creation.
Hélène Noisette, Bobigny (suburb of Paris), lecturer in social and environmental ethics at Loyola Paris Faculties
