Originally published on Global Voices

Green Line app operators on duty, taking calls about environmental crimes in the Dominican Republic. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Environment of the Dominican Republic, sent to Raíz Climática, used with permission.

This article by Carolina Pichardo and Jesús Gómez first appeared in Raíz Climática on October 30, 2025, in Spanish. An edited version is republished on Global Voices with permission.

When we think of justice, we often picture courts dealing with corruption, theft, and homicide cases, but we rarely consider that those who cut down trees, pollute waterways, or traffic in endangered species are also prosecuted. According to Jhonnatan Manuel Cabrera, head of the Office of Access to Public Information of the Dominican Republic’s Judicial Branch, as of September of this year, 118 cases have been brought to justice for violations of Law 64-00 on Environment and Natural Resources.

This is where a network of three institutions, both state and judicial, comes into play. Their functions, although different, are linked by the common denominator of environmental protection and complement one another in the pursuit of environmental crimes. These crimes, although increasingly frequent, are also being reported more frequently thanks to increased environmental awareness.

What is an environmental crime?

According to the DR’s Article 175 of Law 64-00 of the Ministry of Environment, anyone who “damages the national system of protected areas, cuts or destroys trees in protected forest areas and in fragile zones; who hunts, captures or causes the death of species declared to be in danger of extinction or legally protected; who uses explosives, poisons, traps or other instruments or devices against species; who pours toxic and dangerous substances into bodies of water, releases them into the air or deposits them in places not authorised for this purpose, or in authorised places without permission or clandestinely” is committing an environmental crime.

The country’s Ministry of the Environment is not working alone in this fight; it manages the Green Line app, the main channel for citizen communication and reporting of illegal activities that harm the environment. In the same vein, the National Environmental Protection Service (SENPA), a specialised body within the Ministry of Defense, coordinates joint operations with the Ministry of the Environment and the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office for Environmental Protection. This alliance allows the unit to act with legitimacy, legal rigor, and institutional support.

Magistrate Francisco Contreras Núñez, who heads the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office, the National Environmental Protection Service and the Green Line all agree that the most common environmental crimes are indiscriminate logging, noise pollution, hunting, fishing, and trafficking/commercialisation of protected and endangered species; extraction of aggregates without the proper permits, mainly along riverbanks, pollution of rivers, burning of protected areas that often leads to forest fires, the manufacture of charcoal and illegal construction of infrastructure and transport of material without the corresponding environmental permits.

In the five-and-a-half years spanning 2020 to September 2025, as detailed in the request signed by SENPA’s Director of Operations Erwin Rommel Vargas González, 9,350 crimes were listed for tree felling and 2,620 for makeshift dumps and water pollution. Between 2023 and mid-2025, the Ministry of Environment seized 63,613 unidentified units of sand, 16,449 sacks of coal, and 416,087 pieces of wood. Additionally, in the first quarter of 2025, 647 pounds of parrotfish — the sale of which is prohibited — were seized, as well as 40 pounds of other fish. Official sources confirmed that as of September 22, SENPA had led at least 165,514 environmental operations between 2020 and mid-2025, with 2024 being a bumper year that accounted for 22 percent of the total.

In the first six months of 2025, there were roughly 10,940 security and control patrols, and 1,161 vehicles were seized. The materials they contained — wood, coal, tools, and the vehicles themselves — were handed over to the appropriate authorities for evaluation, legal disposal, or reuse in institutional programmes, with everything being documented transparently and in accordance with the law. Noise pollution is also considered an environmental crime.

Green Line, meanwhile, indicated that the largest number of environmental complaints came from the National District, Santo Domingo, Santiago, Dajabón, and La Altagracia.

The Ministry of the Environment’s Directorate of Social Participation shared that in 2023, the main environmental complaint was for air pollution, with 664 cases. In 202, the trend was repeated, this time with 576 complaints. However, as of October 15, 2025, the most frequently reported type of offence nationwide was solid waste pollution from farms — pigsties, chicken coops — with 308 cases. Green Line attributes these figures to the growth of unregulated agricultural activities, especially in rural areas where livestock farming exists without adequate waste management systems.

The expansion of agricultural and urban settlements also puts pressure on forested areas — people log for land use or firewood, and the lack of emissions control from workshops, ovens, and small industries increases the number of complaints about air pollution. There is also “a sustained trend in reports of illegal logging and air pollution, the latter mainly associated with the operation of power plants, industrial chimneys and informal workshops, which reflects a greater public awareness of deforestation and air quality issues,” according to Green Line.

What happens when an environmental complaint is filed?

Green Line allows citizens to report any environmental crime directly and accessibly, thus promoting their participation in the conservation, protection and improvement of the environment and natural resources. By connecting citizens with the state system that manages these illegal activities, it strengthens collaboration in defence of the DR’s natural heritage. Head office-based app operators have liaisons in provincial offices across the country, who are responsible for receiving complaints in person, by phone, via WhatsApp, and from Green Line’s webpage and social media accounts.

These liaisons coordinate with technicians in the provinces, who then conduct surveys and follow up on complaints within their respective areas. Each complaint takes anywhere from 10–15 business days to be processed, which is also the timeframe for the initial site visit. Timeframes vary, however, depending on the type of complaint and whether it requires further investigation.

Citizens often provide their name and contact information, but they also have the option of keeping their complaint confidential. The app allows users to submit completely anonymous reports and check their status using a unique code. In situations involving conflicts that directly affect the complainant, the ministry aims to establish contact in a controlled and respectful manner. Once a violation is confirmed, a report of the findings is sent to the Directorate of Inspection as a complex case, to which the corresponding sanctions are applied in accordance with current regulations.

In certain cases, like smoke emissions from power plants or other specified illegal activities, a period for readjustment is granted. Once this deadline has passed, a new inspection is carried out to verify that the indicated measures have been implemented within the established timeframe. If compliance is confirmed, the case is closed; otherwise, the corresponding sanctions are applied and the process comes to an end.

Success stories

On July 7, 2025, community organisations and concerned citizens publicly denounced the alleged systematic destruction of sea turtle nests and endangered species, attributed to the operations of the Hotel Sirenis and the Matute Hotel Group, in the tourist area of ​​Uvero Alto in La Altagracia.

The hotel allegedly used heavy machinery to collect sargassum on the beach shore without proper authorisation from the environmental authorities, causing the destruction of sea turtle nests, including the Hawksbill species, by crushing the buried eggs. Their actions also caused irreversible damage to the coastal ecosystem, affecting the fauna and natural dynamics of the beach, as well as posing a risk to the environmental balance of the coast through the extraction and displacement of sand, which aggravates erosion.

The Environmental Law, as well as the technical provisions issued by the Vice Ministry of Coastal and Marine Resources, prohibit the use of heavy machinery within the high tide zone. They also stipulate that sargassum collection must be carried out only with specialised equipment, and strictly regulate the schedules, methodologies and areas of intervention in sensitive areas. The actions of the hotel were further compounded by the absence of an accredited environmental manager, which represented a direct threat to the integrity of coastal and marine ecosystems.

Green Line recommended the initiation of an administrative sanction process according to the seriousness of the facts verified; the stoppage of activities until a coastal environmental remediation plan was presented, and — because of the impact on areas of high ecological vulnerability — due process for the restoration of the affected area was exhausted, and the case referred to the Vice Ministry of Coastal and Marine Resources and the Directorate of Biodiversity.

In another case, the trade and possession of parrotfish and conch in a closed period was reported in a restaurant called Pescadería L&R. A technical commission from the Environment Department went to the site on September 3, where they verified that both species were being sold in violation of Decrees 281-23 and 266-25 — 28 pounds of parrotfish and 15 pounds of conch were seized, commercial activities were halted, and the establishment temporarily closed. The case was referred to the Specialised Prosecutor’s Office for due judicial processing, and the report sent to the ministry’s legal directorate.

Another incident, which happened in February 2025, involved environmental pollution in the Río Verde after someone was caught dumping contaminated water into the river. According to the community report, the individual fled the scene after being confronted by local residents. During the inspection, the technical team discovered a pig farm with a total population of 1,154 fattening pigs without the presence of mothers or sires, as its production model was established exclusively for fattening. The enterprise was located in a building constructed with blocks, cyclone mesh and wood, with a zinc roof. Hygiene was poor because of the presence of internal puddles and waste accumulation.

While they also noticed a biodigester system with an approximate area of ​​290 m², intended for wastewater and excreta management, multiple signs of inoperability were identified, including broken pipes, the biodigester’s perforated plastic dome, the methane burner turned off, and the accumulation of solid matter in the outlet pipe. The biodigester was only receiving wastewater from the front building; the rear was discharging its water through a channel directly onto the adjacent land, which borders the course of the river.

This combination of poor wastewater management and inadequate handling of pig waste created unsanitary conditions and polluted discharge into the river. This is in violation of Article 82 of the DR’s Environmental Law, which “prohibits the dumping of polluting substances or waste into soils, rivers, lakes, lagoons, streams, reservoirs, the sea and any other body or course of water.” To make matters worse, the pig farm did not have valid environmental authorisation, in violation of Article 40 of the same law, which requires prior environmental approval for operations with potential ecological impact.

Green Line’s recommendations included immediately halting the discharge of the farm’s wastewater into the Río Verde or any other water source; applying an administrative sanction proportional to the damage caused to the river, soil, and subsoil; granting a period of 30 working days for the comprehensive correction of the excreta management system and the proper treatment of wastewater and constructing a rainwater channeling system that prevents it mixing with contaminated or untreated water.

Mechanisms used to deal with environmental crimes

SENPA, which has 305 active agents spread across 12 operational regions, is trained in environmental legislation, human rights, patrolling techniques, first aid, wildlife and flora management, use of surveillance technologies, report writing, and proportional use of force.

The agency’s mission is to protect the country’s environment and natural resources through the monitoring, prevention and prosecution of environmental crimes, to guarantee compliance with the law and maintain the ecological well-being of the nation. Environmental crime investigations are conducted through patrols, citizen reports, satellite monitoring, environmental intelligence, and joint operations with other agencies, based on technical evidence, geo-referencing, and legal follow-up.

SENPA also conducts operations to prevent wildlife trafficking, rescues animals in danger of extinction, collaborates with conservation centres, monitors critical habitats, and supports protection campaigns for emblematic species such as the solenodon and the hawksbill turtle. Some of its most outstanding operations have dismantled networks of illegal logging, trafficking of species, and irregular occupations in protected areas.

By employing new technologies like drones, communication radios and mobile applications for environmental monitoring, patrols can be carried out faster, more accurately and more efficiently, but just as technology can be used for good, there are also new mechanisms designed to accommodate the breaking of environmental laws. Drones, for instance, have been used for illegal fishing and in the digital trade of wild species.

When an offender is captured, he is taken into custody, respecting his fundamental rights. After he is placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor, the case is documented, and the judicial process begins. As a technical body, SENPA assists with presenting evidence and monitoring the case file. It also operates the National School of Environmental Protection (ENPA), primarily for its own members, but through which it also offers specialised training to staff from other environmental agencies. Its curriculum includes environmental legislation, patrolling techniques, conflict management, ecological education, and environmental training.

SENPA also supports reforestation days, river and beach clean-ups, environmental education in schools, and community awareness campaigns, collaborating with the Ministry of Environment to restore degraded ecosystems. In the first half of the year, they led 40 reforestation days in which 54,440 trees were planted, and 1,399 participants took part. Its volunteer programmes and community brigades, as well as its partnerships with local organisations, allow citizens to get involved in environmental education, reforestation, and participatory monitoring.

Court cases and consequences

According to the Office of Access to Public Information, between 2020 and September 2025 — save for the year 2023, for which there is no recorded data — the Dominican judiciary processed 575 cases for violation of Law 64-00 on Environment and Natural Resources. During the same time period, 219 people were convicted for crimes related to environmental law violations.

The website of the Attorney General’s Office detailed some of these cases. In February 2022, for example, a two-million-peso bond was imposed on Agroforestal Macapi for allegedly removing material and causing forest damage in an area of San José de Ocoa. Four months later, the Sixth Court of Instruction of the National District sentenced two people to a year of suspended imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 pesos for illegally extracting and transporting sand. To compensate for the damage, the defendants had to reforest the Nizao River basin by planting 100 trees of different species within 25 days.

Authorities also ordered the closure of a pig farm for polluting the waters of the Cacique River in Moca. The manager was given a one-year suspended sentence in exchange for planting 1,000 trees and giving talks to the community about environmental pollution.

Other measures include a six-month suspended prison sentence for three men for extracting caliche without an environmental permit. They had to plant 200 trees in the Yaguasa River basin and pay a fine of three minimum wages, totaling 30,000 pesos. For extracting construction aggregates without a permit, another man had to attend 50 talks at the environmental ministry and perform 50 hours of community service.

Not all cases involve the extraction or destruction of trees. Crimes against wildlife have also been reported, like the case of two people in Pedernales trafficking eight baby parrots, deemed a protected species.

One of the country’s most high-profile environmental cases took place in October 2024, when the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office in the province of Espaillat obtained a one-year suspended prison sentence and the payment of 25 million pesos in state compensation by businessman Andrés Avelino Sarante Castillo and his company Endy Agroindustria, for dumping solid waste and contaminated water into the Licey River.

The role of the Environmental Protection Agency

Article 165 of Law 64-00 on the Environment speaks about the creation of the Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the Environment and Natural Resources, derived from the Attorney General's Office , which has among its powers “to exercise the actions and representation of the public interest, as a procedural party, in all those trials for violation of this law and other complementary legal provisions.”

Article 165 of Law 64-00 on the Environment speaks about the creation of the Office of the Attorney for the Defense of the Environment and Natural Resources. Derived from the Attorney General’s Office, it retains the power “to exercise the actions and representation of the public interest, as a procedural party, in all those trials for violation of this law and other complementary legal provisions.” In an interview, Magistrate Contreras Núñez confirmed that the entity comprises 35 members of the public ministry and has 20 offices nationwide.

The Attorney General’s Office collaborates with various stakeholders, such as the Environmental Commission of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and the Academy of Sciences, from whom they request technical reports. “In many cases,” Contreras Núñez explained, “we exhaust the alternative solutions established by the Dominican Procedural Code […] in other cases, we reach a settlement; the defendants remain subject to technical and economic obligations.” These often include financial payments and remediation of the affected areas.

On occasion, cases wind up in court, like the case against SAENA Investments for the indiscriminate felling of mangroves in the coastal area of ​​Uvero Alto, and the one against the Villa Palmeras tourism project, which carried out construction within 60 metres of the high tide line.

The office’s triumphs include the prosecution of Las Cuevas del Pomier for illegal extraction of aggregate, and the recovery of Los Haitises National Park and Loma Quita Espuela, both of which were being adversely affected by commercial operations.

Imposed penalties are typically anywhere from six days to three years of imprisonment, while fines range from 25 percent of the minimum wage to 10,000 times the minimum wage. Additional penalties may include the confiscation of materials, revocation of permits, and more. Like SENPA and Green Line, the Attorney General’s Office also receives complaints from communities and citizens, mostly through social networks, via telephone or personal channels. “In cases of personal complaints,” Contreras Núñez said, “citizens go to the different specialised departments; in remote cases, there is staff to attend to them and they are referred to the members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to begin the investigation processes.” He stressed that all complainants have the support of the Public Prosecutor’s Office as well as the country’s military corps.

System limitations

Although there has been significant progress, there is still room for improvement. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, pointed out an urgent need for additional financial and human resources, and suggested the creation of an environmental police force that could carry out preventative measures as well as work with the Public Prosecutor’s Office on environmental crimes.

Stating that the prosecution of environmental crimes must continue to be strengthened, he urged the Attorney General’s Office to create a technical unit composed of professional environmental experts — biologists, surveyors, chemists, geographers, etc. — to prepare technical reports in environmental crime cases, thereby allowing the Public Prosecutor’s Office to bring cases to court more efficiently.

Meanwhile, Green Line plans to strengthen its multi-channel service, ensuring the solid, coordinated and resilient operation of all environmental complaint channels, guaranteeing maximum accessibility and reliability, and ensuring agile and consistent response times.

Naturally, continuous training of staff responsible for handling complaints would improve the quality of service, infusing it with a focus on ethics, transparency and respectful treatment of users. There are also suggestions to make the registration and records system more robust in order to monitor the progress of each environmental complaint and ensure a response within a maximum of 15 days, while keeping the complainant informed of the status.

Raising public awareness through increased communication and education campaigns that promote citizen participation and commitment to environmental protection would also go a long way and quite likely result in more widespread use of Green Line as “an agile, transparent and efficient tool for environmental complaints, promoting active citizen participation and contributing to the conservation and restoration of the environment in the country.”

Originally published on Global Voices

Among the main issues addressed by residents are flooding, lack of forest coverage, and inadequate housing. Photo by Isabela Alves/Agência Mural, used with permission.

This story, written by Isabela Alves, was originally published on October 31, 2025, on Agência Mural’s website. The edited article is republished here under a partnership agreement with Global Voices.

Not expanding landfills in poorer neighbourhoods, promoting environmental education in schools and other spaces, creating a green currency for recycling, and holding big polluters and public authorities accountable for preservation.

These are some of the proposals developed by activists from the peripheries — marginalized, poorer neighborhoods — of São Paulo, Brazil, the largest city in Latin America. They are to be taken to COP 30 (the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference), being held between November 10 and 21, in the city of Belém, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará.

In total, about 30 proposals appear in the “Letter from the Peripheries on Commitments for the Climate – The Atmosphere is Tense!,” signed by 50 collectives and 1,000 community leaders. As well as the proposed ideas, the document provides an analysis of the situation in these areas in the face of climate change.

“We plan to connect with people from other countries, other regions and marginalized areas of Brazil, so that together we can present a project shaped by society’s peripheries,” said Edson Pardinho, 50, coordinator of the Peripheral [Neighbourhoods’] Front for Rights, which organized the letter.

The Peripheral [Neighbourhoods’] Front for Rights came out of the collaboration of social movements during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they acted to help families by distributing food, hygiene kits, and masks. Following the pandemic, the collectives continued their work together.

In the months before the COP, the front mobilized activists to discuss climate goals in their neighbourhoods and draft their collective proposals.

“[Climatic changes] first affect the outer peripheries, and only then are they felt in the more protected areas. Those who live in peripheral neighbourhoods have been dealing with climate change for a long time,” Pardinho observed.

The letter presents ideas with the objective of guiding public policies and community practices that promote socio-environmental justice. It emphasizes the importance of strengthening public involvement in decisions concerning their territory. The suggestions include actions aimed at waste management, environmental education, decent housing, a solidarity economy, and basic sanitation.

Marginalized voices speaking about the climate

Jaison Lara is an environmental activist working on culture and the education of children and young people. Photo by Isabela Alves/Agência Mural, used with permission.

The letter highlights that the historical expansion of São Paulo’s peripheral areas was driven by the lack of urban planning. “The city’s rapid expansion was not [socioeconomically] neutral: it prioritized major economic interests, such as those of the real estate market, whose exclusionary logic relegated poorer people to dilapidated, risky areas.”

“People have developed their own technologies to make sure they survive, even with the worsening climate situation,” said Pardinho, a resident of the Dom Tomás Balduíno Settlement in Franco da Rocha, São Paulo.

Mateus Munadas, 34, is one of the founders of the Peripheral [Neighbourhoods’] Front for Rights and a resident of Itaquera district. For him, it is important that peripheral activists attend the COP, as the perspectives of those who truly feel the impacts of the climate emergency daily are never taken into account.

“There are common points of vulnerability between these marginalized neighbourhoods, and there are also many people fighting for change in these areas,” he said.

Among their proposed solutions are actions such as cleaning streams, community vegetable gardens and farms, solidarity groups during storms, environmental support networks, and community communications. In the field of education, social educators, culture collectives, and teachers are working tirelessly to raise awareness about SDOs (Sustainable Development Objectives), and warn about the environmental racism experienced in marginalized areas.

There are also other solutions, such as community reforestation, strengthening recycling cooperatives, expanding rainwater collection networks, and plans for local adaptation guided by the communities themselves, according to sources Mural spoke to. 

A place for discussion

Children and teenagers from Jardim Lucélia and Jardim Shangri-lá, from Grajaú, spoke about climate change. Photo by Isabela Alves/Agência Mural, used with permission.

The Guaraní people from the Tekoá Pyau Indigenous Village, in Jaraguá, called for the protection of Indigenous peoples, and highlighted that their survival is essential for environmental preservation.

“It is not only about the increase in temperature, but [also] the survival of human beings who cohabit wooded and forested spaces. They are directly targeted by landowners and real estate speculation,” Pardinho said.

The coordinator of Casa Ecoativa, Jaison Lara, explained that the manifesto also questions the logic behind an event historically composed mostly by older, white, and cisgender men who nevertheless speak on behalf of the diverse range of residents and territories.

“If there are only diplomatic figures [present], the [same] powerful people as always, it will likely be an empty event as it won’t take into account knowledge from the peripheries, quilombolas [settlements of residents descended from enslaved people who escaped to freedom], Indigenous and riverside dwellers,” said Lara.

In one of the meetings, Lara talked to more than 200 children. “These are the main people facing the environmental disasters that have been happening. We are leaving [them] a collapsing planet, and this isn’t their fault. There are no public policies that relate to this age group, that look at these children,” he said.

The housing issue

A key question for those living in the peripheries is the right to housing, especially in areas such as the very south of São Paulo. Here, there are houses built irregularly in the “APAs” (Environmental Protection Areas). In recent months, Greater São Paulo has seen a series of actions by authorities and judicial decisions against these occupations.

“Housing and the environment must go together,” argued Clair Helena Santos, 67, coordinator of the housing movement for Missionária-Cidade Ademar and Cecasul (Citizenship and Social Action Centre – South).

Santos joined the social movement at the age of 17 and has been selected as an activist to attend COP30. “Having housing, I understood that it is the channel for all other human rights: health, education, transport, leisure, and so many others,” she said.

Clair Helena Santos has been an activist for housing rights since the age of 17; she was selected to go to COP30. Photo by Isabela Alves/Agência Mural, used with permission.

The letter to the COP proposes an “end to evictions and violent practices against settlements and favelas,” and programs aimed at people living in at-risk areas, so that they do not find themselves with nowhere to go if anything happens to their homes.

The letter shows the main demands of communities in areas such as Cidade Ademar and Pedreira, regions hit hard by climate change, as they are near dams or sewage flows.

A recent example of environmental impact was the construction of a bridge on Alvarenga Road, which passes over the Billings Dam, one of the largest water reservoirs in São Paulo, affecting aquatic fauna and plants.

“There’s no point in the big guys staying there discussing the environment and fighting floods if the peripheries and social movements are not represented, right? For us, it’s the maxim of nothing about us, without us,” Santos observed.

Originally published on Global Voices

‘Action COP30 Promises’; Photo by UN Climate Change – Kamran Guliyev on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 30, will be held in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 21. This event will continue global discussions on the climate crisis. The Caribbean, consisting of small island developing states (SIDS), has been vocal about climate justice, particularly regarding the Loss and Damage agenda. As the conference approaches, the Caribbean is adopting a wait-and-see stance on the discussions.

Meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) began taking place annually in response to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 1992 international treaty that preceded the 2015 Paris Agreement and its mission “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels” — or, as it’s referred to in the Caribbean, “1.5 to stay alive.”

Regional nations have become increasingly sceptical about the environmental disruption these COP meetings cause, for seemingly few tangible outcomes. On the heels of continued intense and disproportionate climate impacts being experienced by SIDS — which contribute the least to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — and even with COP 28 delivering promises on Loss and Damage, the reality remains that weak frameworks leave sizeable gaps between support pledges and real-life action.

It is a reality that may well have prompted the Jamaican government to take out a USD 150 million catastrophe bond as part of what the World Bank calls the island’s “well-developed disaster risk financing strategy.”

In the wake of Hurricane Melissa, AccuWeather estimates that the region will experience as much as USD 48 to 52 billion in damage. Its formula takes into account much more than insured losses, including long-term losses to the tourism sector, disruptions to business and agriculture, as well as costly infrastructural damage, evacuation, and cleanup expenses.

For island nations like Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas and Bermuda, all affected by the storm, the trauma is not simply in the moments of waiting for the storm to arrive, not knowing what it will bring. It is not even a matter of riding it out in uncertainty. The lingering damage sets in after the tempest has passed, and you take in the extent of the loss: people killed, homes destroyed, livelihoods reduced to nothing.

According to Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), Jamaica was “reeling” from the intensity of the hurricane, telling Al Jazeera in a television interview, “These storms are becoming the norm, unfortunately, and it is fuelled by the climate crisis.”

When asked how she felt about the organisers of COP30 saying they have no plans to unveil any new measures at the conference in Belém, Rodriguez-Moodie replied, “What we need now is radical change. We need commitments. We need adaptation financing. We need Loss and Damage money […] now is not the time to pause.”

The JET CEO went on to explain that preliminary damage estimates have been coming in at USD 6-7 billion for Jamaica alone. “We cannot afford to continuously pay these kind of big bills year after year,” Rodriguez-Moodie continued, “and have the big polluters go off Scotch-free.”

Many of the large GHG emitters are not even attending the COP30 conference, with the leaders of the United States, China, India and Russia noticeably absent, but Roadriguez-Moodie was not in the least bit phased: “Even when they were at the table, we really didn't have much movement, but the fact is that we cannot have these big emitters claim leadership while they're abandoning their responsibilities, because their profits were built on our pain.”

She argued that the absence of the Big 4 from COP30 “is not neutrality; it really is cowardice.” What SIDS are asking for, she explained, is not charity: “What we're demanding is accountability — and we are not waiting for permission to survive […] we’re asking for these big polluters to pay what they owe [and] dismantle those systems that made them rich and left us vulnerable.”

The region “can’t continue to sit and wait,” she added, “but rather find creative ways to build its resilience and finance its Loss and Damage recovery.”

Originally published on Global Voices

Huai Hin Lad Nai community members harvesting rice in their rotational farming land during the November 2024 harvest season. Photo and caption by Ratcha Satitsongtham. Source: Prachatai, content partner of Global Voices. Used with permission.

This article written by Anna Lawattanatrakul, with additional reporting from Ratcha Satitsongtham, was published by Prachatai, an independent news site in Thailand. An edited version has been republished by Global Voices under a content-sharing agreement

Nestled in the mountains of Chiang Rai’s Wiang Pa Pao District is Huai Hin Lad Nai village, an Indigenous Karen community that has been named Thailand’s first Indigenous way of life protection zone. The community lives on over 10,000 rai (1,600 hectares) of forest land, only 1,632 of which are utilized. Their efforts have won them several conservation awards, including the UN Forest Hero Award.

In September 2024, the community was devastated by floods and landslides, which were described as a once-in-a-lifetime disaster.

The community was subsequently accused of causing the flood. Several video clips and news reports alleged that the community’s rotational farming tradition involves deforestation. One Facebook page posted an aerial picture of the community and claimed that their practice of monocropping means that trees cannot grow on the mountain, while some academics have claimed that they were responsible for deforestation and the resulting natural disaster.

Civil society organizations said that such media reports perpetuate a negative stereotype of Indigenous communities and that they added insult to injury by spreading misinformation against a community suffering from the effects of a natural disaster.

The community is now well on its way to recovery, but debates continue about the role of traditional knowledge in disaster prevention and whether Indigenous communities should be given a larger role in disaster response.

A once-in-a-lifetime disaster

Nivate Siri, 68, one of the Huai Hin Lad Nai community leaders, said that the floods and landslides came after days of constant heavy rain, and that he has never seen such severe landslides in the village.

Experts explained that it was the kind of disaster that happens once every few centuries, according to Nivate. He noted that some of the community’s rice paddies and tea plantations were damaged in the flood, and that some families lost their pigs —a significant source of their livelihood.

Meanwhile, Chaithawat Chomti, another community member, said he was in Chiang Mai when he learned about the flood. In the weeks after, he was responsible for coordinating a command center overseeing the relief effort. The road up to Huai Hin Lad Nai was blocked. There was no running water, and phone signals were disrupted while the rain continued.

Once the community has recovered, Chaithawat said, they would have to use what they learned during the disaster and come up with a long-term monitoring system. He would also like Huai Hin Lad Nai to become a model community in disaster response and for them to share information with other communities living in high-risk areas.

Victims of the climate crisis

Climate change and the lingering effects of past logging concessions are probably responsible for the landslides, according to a research project presented at a February 2025 event organized by the Huai Hin Lad Nai community and several organizations and institutions.

Jatuporn Teanma, lecturer at Maha Sarakham University’s Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, said that a La Niña weather pattern caused heavy rain in northern Thailand at the time of the floods. He also noted that a monsoon that should have moved into Myanmar stopped in Chiang Rai, causing continuous rain in the area.

Jatuporn also said that landslides occurred in areas previously open to logging concessions before 1989. He said that this is why the remaining trees in these areas are mostly softwoods, which are not economically valuable and less resiliant to softened soil.

The research also found that the landslides occurred in forest areas protected by the community, which were not used for farming.

The Huai Hin Lad Nai village in October 2024, while community members are cleaning up after the landslides.
Photo and caption by Ratcha Satitsongtham. Source: Prachatai, content partner of Global Voices. Used with permission.

From victims to participants

Community leader Preecha Siri, 70, explained that there are often warning signs before heavy rain. Big-headed turtles and crabs in nearby streams would move to higher ground — all of which he noticed in the days before the flood. He also said that it was unusually hot.

Since the landslides, Nivate said that community members have kept watch around the village to guard against further incidents. Following knowledge passed down among their community, they observe the activities of animals, like insects and turtles. Animals moving to higher ground means a storm is coming, Nivate said.

In additional to traditional knowledge, Siri added that the community should be utilizing technology and science to come up with a response plan. He would like information to be collected and passed from generation to generation.

But many of Thailand’s Indigenous communities are now unable to fully utilize their traditional wisdom. Prohibitive conservation laws and the public bias against Indigenous communities living in forest areas mean that they are no longer able to live according to their traditional way of life, and despite being a signatory to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Thailand has never officially recognized any community as Indigenous.

Suwichan Phatthanaphraiwan, a lecturer at Mae Fa Luang University’s Liberal Arts School, said that the traditional way of life of Indigenous Karen communities, from how they build their houses to farming methods and predicting the weather from animal behavior, lends itself to disaster response and relief.

Traditional houses, often single-storey and built on stilts to avoid flooding, are often seen as temporary by officials. Karen people are, therefore, denied permanent addresses and do not have access to basic infrastructure like electricity and water, leading communities to turn to modern designs so they can gain access to these necessities.

And while in the past, communities have learned from history and move from place to place to avoid disaster, they are now unable to do so. Suwichan said that conservation laws now control the communities’ way of life, and they are forced to remain in areas they know are at risk. Some no longer let their animals roam the forest, partly out of fear that they would face prosecution, which means that they have less opportunity to patrol the forest and observe the signs that would warn them that danger is coming.

All roads lead to constitutional amendments

For Songkrant Pongboonjan, a lecturer at Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Law, the obstacle lies in Thailand’s legal system. He explained that Thai law does not recognize communal ownership, although this has always been part of the Karen culture. Resources are therefore either privately-owned or state-owned, and the state-owned ones are completely managed by the government. Thai forestry and conservation laws are written to give the government total control of forest lands and resources, and even communities that have lived on the land before laws were enacted have no right to them.

Not only are systems of communal ownership incompatible with existing legislation, but the general public also often has pre-conceived biases against Indigenous ways of life. Songkrant noted how textbooks have perpetuated the idea that Indigenous communities caused deforestation by practicing “slash-and-burn” farming when, in reality, they practice a rotational farming method where they rotate around designated plots of land, allowing the soil to recover during the rotation and reducing the risk of soil erosion.

Centralization is part of the problem, Songkrant said. Such a system, Songkrant said, is inefficient. The fact that local governments are not authorized to respond to emergent situations and have to wait for an agency in Bangkok to act means disaster response takes time. Meanwhile, as natural disasters become more extreme, it becomes more apparent that the current system cannot handle them.

Activists are asking for constitutional amendments to fix the root of the issues. The 1997 Constitution, which was said to be one of the most progressive, was repealed after Thailand’s 2006 military coup. It protected the rights of communities and individuals to participate in the management of natural resources and the environment.

As the fundamental document that serves as the basis for other legislation, Songkrant said that the Constitution should clarify that natural resources belong to every citizen, not the state.

Songkrant said that if community rights to resources are protected, then it cannot be illegal for them to utilize these resources. Noting that he does not disagree with implementing strict measures to protect uninhabited forest areas with sensitive ecosystems, Songkrant said that it would be unfair to communities already living in forest areas if they are evicted or prohibited from using their ancestral land, and there needs to be different measures for these areas.

In December 2024, the Huai Hin Lad Nai community held a traditional hand-tying ceremony to bless the community after the disaster. Photo and caption by Ratcha Satitsongtham. Source: Prachatai, content partner of Global Voices. Used with permission.

Originally published on Global Voices

Image by Arzu Geybullayeva via Canva Pro

This article was first published on Meydan TV. An edited version is republished here under a content partnership agreement. 

In November 2024, Azerbaijan hosted the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference. At the time the country was granted the hosting torch, many experts questioned the country's track record on climate and environmental commitments. Rightly so, as the country ranked 121st on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which measures 180 countries. Yet, for the government officials, hosting COP29 was a major achievement. While the conference may have placed Azerbaijan on a global stage and helped the government secure new energy deals, for Azerbaijanis, the conference meant little with all the restrictions and inconveniences introduced during the conference and, in the long-term, on their livelihood. In the case of the latter, even before COP29, scores of climate organizations highlighted the risks of failing to meet Paris Agreement goals globally. Meanwhile, in Azerbaijan, the government's continued commitment to producing fossil fuels, coupled with a lack of effective policies to reduce their negative impact, is already evident as Azerbaijanis bear the brunt.

Impact on health

The EPI, published by Yale University, evaluates 58 indicators in 11 categories, including air pollution, water resources, waste management, deforestation, fisheries management, and heavy metal pollution across 180 countries.

Water scarcity

Originally published on Global Voices

Image by Arzu Geybullayeva.

The 29th session of the United Nation's flagship climate summit, also known as COP (Conference of Parties), just wrapped up in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. How did it all begin, how is it progressing, and what's next for the country's civil society now that the spotlight is over? Here's Global Voices’ wrap-up and key takeaways.

How it started

The summit is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The latter was adopted in 1992. With a near-universal membership of 198 states (197 states and one regional economic integration organization), the convention, through COP, is tasked with reviewing “the national communications and emission inventories submitted by Parties; [and] assess the effects of the measures taken by Parties and the progress made in achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention,” according to UNFCCC website.

Since 1995, COP has been convening once a year with country hosts chosen on a rotating basis among the five recognized UN regions — Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Western Europe, and other states. An Eastern European country was slotted to host COP in 2024. This year's host was decided in December 2023, after a weeks-long standstill — a consensus must be reached over the next host by every country in the host region — caused as a result of Russia threatening to veto any European Union country’s bid, given the EU's sanctions against Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

The selection of Azerbaijan, although it ended the negotiations standstill over the COP29 host, raised many more questions as yet another major energy-producing country with a dismal track record on human rights and freedoms (following Egypt and UAE) as well as its intentions to keep boosting the use of fossil fuels and lack of clear commitments to curtail emissions, was the host of one of the world's most important climate conferences.

Unsurprisingly, very few notable outcomes were reported during and at the end of COP29.

On climate

Just days ahead of COP29, Global Witness leaked a video showing Azerbaijan's deputy energy minister and COP29’s chief executive, Elnur Soltanov promoting the country’s fossil-fuel interests and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). The leaked video was further proof of prior calls, reports and research documents pointing out that the Azerbaijani government was unlikely to offer any real climate change policies on energy efficiency and long-term sustainability. And that COP29 would serve the interests of the state, desperately wanting to be seen as a global player and equal partner and to secure funding for its own energy deals.

Soltanov's promotion of SOCAR and the country's energy prospects also fit into the narrative built ahead of COP29 and expressed by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. The president's remark that the country’s resources were a gift from God while attending the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in April 2024, an annual international climate negotiation hosted by the German Federal Foreign Office, was yet another signal that Azerbaijan had no intention of stopping investing and producing fossil fuels, and that it was set to continue boosting the natural gas exports to Europe.

The boost to climate finance — one of the outcomes that was expected at this year's COP — also failed to meet the expectations. As described by India’s delegate Chandni Raina, the final document was “little more than an optical illusion,” while Nigeria’s envoy, Nkiruka Maduekwe, called it “an insult.” The Climate Action Network Europe described the agreed amount as “breadcrumbs.” At the end of the day, the budget was raised from USD 100 billion (agreed to in 2009) to USD 300 billion a year by 2035 for developing countries. This amount is significantly lower than the more than USD 1 trillion a year that researchers estimate is needed.

The “loss and damage fund,” set up two years ago, also remained underfunded.

Both the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the Least Developing Countries blocks walked out of the negotiations on climate finance in protest at the USD 250 billion offered initially. The walkout prompted negotiators to eventually agree on the final amount of USD 300 billion. 

“The world’s wealthiest countries have spent this year’s climate conference bullying lower-income countries into accepting a miserly finance agreement which could saddle them with huge debts. High-income countries and the Azerbaijan presidency are loudly congratulating themselves, but no amount of spin can hide the fact that this agreement is a disaster for the human rights of people and communities on the front line of proliferating climate impacts,” said Ann Harrison, climate justice advisor at Amnesty International.

Some participants and those involved in the negotiations expressed their frustration with the chief negotiator, Azerbaijan's COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev. As per The New York Times, “Instead of rapidly dealing with a number of the smaller issues in play, negotiations moved at a plodding pace and many points of dispute remain unresolved,” reported the paper. During a press conference, Babayev said he, too, was frustrated with negotiations, and placed the responsibility on the parties involved in the process.

Authors Alice C. Hill and Priyanka Mahat wrote in their review for the Council on Foreign Relations: “The conference ended with only modest climate finance goals, failed to deliver on an expected announcement of a new commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and displayed unusually high tensions among nations. The result was deep concern among climate policy activists for the future of climate diplomacy.”

On rights and freedoms

The timing of COP29 marked exactly one year since the government launched a new crackdown against civil society representatives in Azerbaijan. Scores of journalists, political and civic activists, rights defenders and young scholars were handed pretrial detention sentences on bogus charges.

#Climate talks in Baku is about to end, but impunity for crimes against journalists in #Azerbaijan never ends. Sevinj Vagifgizi, Ulvi Hasanli and Mahammad Kekalov from @AbzasMedia were detained on trumped-up charges just 1 year ahead #COP29 for their brave investigative reporting pic.twitter.com/0Vj4qFoHmK

— FreeAbzasMedia (@FreeAbzasMedia) November 21, 2024

During the conference, local courts extended pretrial detentions and dismissed motions by those currently held behind bars to release them under house arrest.

As #Azerbaijan hosts #COP29 (now in its second week), a court in Baku extends the pretrial detention of former diplomat Emin Ibrahimov by another two months. https://t.co/qwfjYe4ckW

— Arzu Geybulla (@arzugeybulla) November 19, 2024

Documentation of torture and ill-treatment in detention and prison facilities was also reported.

URGENT: Journalists from “Abzas Media” – Sevinj Vagifgizi, Nargiz Absalamova, and Elnara Gasimova – have reportedly faced violence in prison.

Family members of “Abzas Media” editor-in-chief Sevinj Vagifgizi, who is being held in Baku Detention Center No. 1, allege she has been… pic.twitter.com/8JuRkLSJhZ

— Ulviyya Ali (@UlviyyaAli) November 17, 2024

Azer Gasimli, political expert and founder of the Political Management Institute, was barred from leaving the country and placed under a travel ban as negotiations over climate finance went on. Gasimli told Meydan TV in an interview that the decision to ban him was political and his future arrest was possible. Scores of Azerbaijani civic activists are expecting further crackdowns now that the COP29 spotlight over the country is over.

During COP29, the Azerbaijani presidency dismissed questions by Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy Now newscast, on the status of arrested journalists and activists:

We asked a top Azerbaijani official at the #COP29 summit why activists, journalists and government critics were jailed ahead of the U.N. climate talks. https://t.co/xMjqRPw6wp pic.twitter.com/QRSzQfgJlC

— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) November 20, 2024

Arrested civic activist, Imran Aliyev announced he was going on a hunger strike given what he said was his unlawful arrest and the ongoing pretrial detention. Another activist, Nicad Ibrahim, injured himself with a mirror shard in protest of his arrest. An independent economist who was arrested as part of a criminal investigation launched against Abzas Media and Farid Mehralizade penned a letter to the presidential aide and the head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration, Hikmat Hajiyev. He dismissed claims during COP29 that there were any political prisoners or that journalists were persecuted for their reporting.

Mehralizade questioned Hajiyev's claims solely based on his personal experience in a pretrial detention facility where he had been threatened over “speaking too much.” “If indeed I am standing accused of my involvement in some alleged large scale financial machinations, what does ‘teaching me a lesson,’ or other threats mean?” wrote Mehralizade in his letter that was published by Azadliq Radio on November 26.

The presence of a vibrant civil society free from any kind of persecution is one of the building blocks of a democracy. In Azerbaijan, where this presence has been gradually sidelined over the years, it has been replaced with government apologists, as well as fake social media accounts and trolls. Ahead of COP29 and during the conference, several reports shed light on inauthentic accounts promoting the Azerbaijan presidency as well as Hajiyev's comments and statements.

It remains to be seen whether the government of Azerbaijan understands that no amount of fake social media engagement and promotional content can cover up the country's climate and human rights record. However, the decades-long experience of shedding light on these violations by domestic and international rights watchdogs is sufficient to conclude that little will change in Azerbaijan now that the spotlight has shifted.

Originally published on Global Voices

Image by Arzu Geybullayeva

This article was first published on Meydan TV. An edited version is republished here under a content partnership agreement. 

Couples in Azerbaijan will have to wait to hold their wedding celebrations until COP29 is over according, to reports by local media. The 29th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) will convene in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan this year between November 11–22.

Meydan TV spoke with a number of wedding halls to confirm whether the restrictions were true. And they were. Several wedding halls confirmed to Meydan TV that they were told to decline bookings from November 8–22 to focus on the comfort of the incoming international guests and prevent traffic jams.

Economists interviewed by Meydan TV, say the state should compensate the wedding halls and offer tax benefits. Natig Jafarli told Meydan TV in an interview:

The state should offer compensation for the 14 days of lost revenues because those who work there are daily workers. Their situation is going to be tough, if they wont be working for half of the month. Sadly, I don't think the managers will be making such requests, given that the ownership of these halls belong to officials.

Jafarli also said the wedding halls “have the right to demand compensation. But the issue of tax benefits alone is not the solution to the problem. The state should also pay for their lost revenue.”

Agricultural expert Vahid Maharramli is viewing the recent decision from a capacity point of view, arguing, that the country has limited capacity to carry out global events of such scale and, as a result, is harming people's livelihoods. He questioned why Azerbaijan had to host such events in an interview with MedanTV:

There are already a number of restrictions introduced as a result of COP29. Why aren't we allowed to live our lives normally? Every time, Azerbaijan holds an international event, there are restrictions being introduced. Stopping the work of wedding halls, does not only impact their owners, but also the people employed there.

In an interview with Abzas Media, lawyer Asabali Mustafayev said because Azerbaijan does not have any relevant legislation on the management of such situations, “it is unclear which kind of steps should be taken [for affected business]. During the pandemic, the government told people to stay at home and compensated both individuals as well as businesses.” Imposing restrictions during COP29 which affect businesses directly, should have similar measures noted Mustafayev.

There have been no official statements from the relevant government institutions on potential compensation.

Price hikes and inflation

At the end of June, the country saw an increase in tariffs for gasoline, diesel, public transport, and household waste transportation. According to the Tariff Council, the state agency in charge of setting local prices, the decision to raise the price for diesel fuel was environmental given the impact of diesel fuel on the environment. Experts think otherwise and say the hikes are the government's attempt to offset declining oil and gas revenues through price hikes while dressing up those price hikes as solving “ecological problems.” Meanwhile, the capital Baku is under mass renovation as city residents cope with scorching heat, traffic jams due to road closures, and the dust from reconstruction.

Independent experts predicted that the price of basic food products would rise, once the government raised fuel costs. And rise they did. For instance, farmers said the increase in fuel costs affected everything from plowing and transportation to harvesting. Maharramli, the agriculture expert, predicts farmers’ costs have increased by AZN 60 million (approximately USD 35.2 thousand) based on the data made available by the State Statistical Committee, which will lead to the costs of all goods and products t0 increase in the coming months.

On July 11, the State Statistical Committee also reported an increase in food staples such as flour, pasta, red meat, and eggs as well as olive oil, fruits, and vegetables.

Other independent economists like Rovshan Aghayev also predict inflation as a result of recent hikes. In an interview with Meydan TV, Aghayev said that given the monthly costs per household on public transportation and gasoline which is over 10 percent an additional one percent inflation should be expected in the fall. Azerbaijan Central Bank estimates 1.5 percent inflation as a result of the increased tariffs.

Natig Jafarli also expects hikes on household utilities too. “Expenses are growing, revenues are decreasing, and this is just the beginning. Household utilities are also going to rise, and by 2025, manat will be losing value,” Jafarli told Meydan TV.

Ahead of COP29, the capital Baku, has undergone massive repair and reconstruction. Residents who spoke to Global Voices complained of traffic jams and rerouted public transportation routes which now make a regular journey twice if not thrice the length. Economist Natig Jafarli in an interview with Meydan TV said some AZN 470 million (approximately USD 277 million) were allocated for city-wide renovation work ahead of COP29. “These works illustrate that this government cares more about making an impression for its international guests, not impressing its citizens,” Jafarli told Meydan TV. Officially the authorities and the organizing committee have not disclosed the total budget allocated for these renovation projects nor for financing the whole event.

Some experts estimate the indirect expenses for COP29 to exceed USD 1 billion, including expenditure on infrastructure, hotel, transport, logistics, communication, and security.

Originally published on Global Voices

Image by Arzu Geybullayeva

At the end of June, Azerbaijan, this year's host of COP29, saw an increase in tariffs for gasoline, diesel, public transport, and household waste transportation. According to the Tariff Council, state agency in charge of setting local prices, the decision to raise the price for diesel fuel was environmental given the impact of diesel fuel on the environment. Experts think otherwise and say the hikes are government attempt to offset declining oil and gas revenues through price hikes and to dress up those price hikes as addressing “ecological problems.” Meanwhile, the capital Baku is under mass renovation work as city residents cope with scorching heat, traffic jams due to road closures, and the dust from reconstruction.

Recent price hikes

Independent economy experts say next in line for price hikes are basic food products, as a result of raising fuel costs. None of which were greeted with enthusiasm as residents of Baku, interviewed by the local media, expressed their dissatisfaction with the rising costs of fuel and public transportation.

In an interview with Meydan TV, agriculture expert Vahid Maharramli said hikes in food costs are unavoidable as a result of increased tariffs on fuel. “Our transportation expenses increased by 25 percent. This means serious hardships for villagers. Because as a consequence this will raise costs of agricultural production. Sharp hikes for food are expected in the coming months.” 

Economist Natig Jafarli told Meydan TV, “this is just the beginning,” adding “expect increased costs of utility services, and the decline of the national currency, manat.”

Speaking to Abzas Media, economist Akram Hasanov said recent hikes signal state budget deficit as revenues are in decline and the authorities are looking into ways to cover that deficit. “There is no other reason,” he explained.

Opposition politician Camil Hasanli, agrees. “Rather than giving up on corruption and embezzlement, the ruling elite is covering the deficit at the expense of the people. I expect price hikes in other areas too but not for salaries, pensions, and other allowances. Azerbaijan is an oil and gas [producing] nation and the authorities must show mercy on citizens,” Hasanli told Abzas Media.

“All costs have gone up,” said a resident of Baku in an interview with Meydan TV. “Let me explain it this way, I earn 320 manats salary. How can I afford a vacation in Quba (northern region of Azerbaijan) when a night at a hotel starts at 170 manats. I don't want to go Dubai, I want to go to Quba but I can't even go anywhere in Azerbaijan. A member of the parliament makes 5000 manats and says that is not enough. How can I live on 300 manats then?”

Elsewhere in the country, citizens interviewed by media complained of low wages, unemployment and newly raised tariffs on petrol and public transportation. “In Goychay the only two places of employment are hospitals and police,” said one resident of the region. “My daughter in law was unemployed for a long time. She has now found a job at a bakery, earning 200 manats. How can she provide for a family on that?” said another resident interviewed. “People have lost their purchasing power,” said a woman selling food at the local market.

Other residents of the capital interviewed by Meydan TV told the media platform that domestically it is impossible to go anywhere on vacation given high costs. Trips abroad are not even on the agenda.

But, according to the member of parliament Elman Nasirov, there is no need to exaggerate. He laid the blame on the opposition for wanting to confuse people. “But people see the right from wrong. And they know that Azerbaijani citizens and their social welfare are at the center of the policy defined by the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.”

Azerbaijan ranks lowest among its regional neighbors when it comes to average monthly wages. As of January–April 2024, the average monthly wage totaled AZN 1007.5  [USD 592] while in Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Russia this amount was USD 694, USD 708, USD 809, and USD 948 respectively.

New obstacles for taxi drivers and vehicle owners

In addition to recent price hikes affecting Azerbaijani citizens country-wide, after a decision adopted by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport on July 1, thousands of taxi drivers were slapped with a new regulation. According to this decision, vehicles more than eight years old will no longer be eligible to obtain a taxi license. Another requirement that came into effect requires vehicle owners to have specific colors based on their routes. As such, vehicles designated for inter-city must be white, intracity vehicles must be red, and electric vehicles must be green. Drivers of taxis must also install cameras with a memory card with a storage capacity of up to a month.

The new regulations sharply reduced the number of available taxi vehicles. The decline was not only reflected in the data provided by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport — a drop from 28,000 registered taxi vehicles to 11,696 — but also regular city dwellers who have taken their complaints to social media.

Yeni qanun çıxandan bəri bu xarabada taksi tapmaq mümkün deyil. Əvvəl 1 dəqiqəyə nəsə çıxırdısa, indi 30 dəqiqəyə çıxır. Məcbur özümə maşın almalı olacam. Bir ölkədə hər şey bu qədər vətəndaşın əleyhinə işləyər?

— Cavid #RussiaIsNotAlly (@cavidaga) June 25, 2024

Ever since the new law went into effect it is impossible to find a taxi. If before a taxi would show up in a minute, now it take 30 minutes. I may have to buy a car. Why does everything in this country work against its citizens?

The costs of regular taxi rides have also increased according to residents of Baku and local media reports.

Whether recent measures introduced for taxi drivers are part of COP29 beautification measures or steps towards a monopoly remains to be seen. According to Turan News Agency, ahead of this recent decision, experts encouraged the authorities to replace all taxis with electric vehicle ahead of COP29, but that advice rang hollow. The justification of recent hikes on gas and diesel fuel by the Tariff Council also makes no sense given the new regulations on taxis. According to the Tariff Council's statement, “the price change will accelerate the transition to fuel-efficient hybrid, electric, and compressed natural gas engines, while ensuring the sustainability of energy security.” If this was the case, then why not take into account advice from experts and replace all taxis with electric vehicles?

City wide restrictions and state spending spree

Ahead of COP29, which the capital Baku will host between November 11 and 22, the city has been under massive repair and reconstruction work. Residents who spoke to Global Voices complained of traffic jams and rerouted public transportation routes which now make a regular journey twice if not thrice the length. Economist Natig Jafarli in an interview with Meydan TV said some AZN 470 million (approximately USD 277 million) were allocated for city-wide renovation work ahead of COP29. “These works illustrate that this government cares more about making an impression for its international guests, not impressing its citizens,” Jafarli told Meydan TV. Officially the authorities and the organizing committee have not disclosed the total budget allocated for these renovation works nor for financing the whole event.

Some experts estimate the indirect expenses for COP29 to exceed USD 1 billion, including expenditure on infrastructure, hotel, transport, logistics, communication, and security.

This is not the first international event Azerbaijan has hosted; nor will it be the last. Since 2010, a series of events have taken place in the country including the Eurovision song contest in 2012, the European Games in 2015, the Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017, the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2019, the Formula 1 Grand Prix since 2016 (most recently the hosting contract was extended until 2026), and four European Football Championship games in 2020, to name a few. According to academic Gubad Ibadoglu, hundreds of millions of manats “have been allocated from the state budget to finance international, country-level, and other similar events by the official Baku,” with hundreds of millions more forecasted for the same purpose for the following years.

All of this begs the question: who is footing the bill for COP29 or any previous and future events in Azerbaijan?

Originally published on Global Voices

Fossils to renewables action by Digo Bikas Institute during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) at Expo City Dubai on December 5, 2023. Photo Credit UNFCCC, used with permission.

By Richie Ferrol

In the pursuit of maintaining the 1.5 degrees Celsius target by 2030, developed nations must prioritise addressing heavy-emitting industries. This requires increased financial investment, labour, and collaboration between industrialised countries, climate-focused organisations, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like the Caribbean.

SIDS leaders continue to express support for initiatives such as the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). A global coalition of leading financial institutions, GFANZ is dedicated to developing tools and methodologies essential for translating financial institutions’ net-zero commitments into tangible actions in line with the Paris Agreement‘s objective to limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels.

Following COP28, the ITA aims to spearhead the most extensive global decarbonisation effort to date, tripling its implementation scope across energy, heavy industry, transport sectors, finance, and public policy. Some of the big topics for SIDS at the Conference of the Parties in Dubai this year, are adaptation financing and just energy transition.

Director-General of IRENA Francesco La Camera has championed corporations, organisations and world leaders to support SIDS in their efforts of just energy transition and other climate adaptation projects. At COP28, the attendance of leaders and officials from SIDS was abundant — La Camera described it as a testament to their unwavering resolve to “keep 1.5C alive!”

Positive developments for SIDS’ energy transition and atmospheric decarbonisation

During COP28, IRENA showcased its commitment to championing the energy transition interests of SIDS, particularly in the Caribbean. Surpassing its financial pledge target, IRENA offered SIDS renewed hope with substantial financing of USD 4.05 billion through the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing Platform (ETAF).

Established in 2021, IRENA aims to amplify renewable energy initiatives aligning with the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in developing countries. With support from the United Arab Emirates, this initiative seeks to enhance energy access and security, foster economic growth, and promote diversification, benefiting communities.

COP28 witnessed collaboration agreements between IRENA and key entities such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), HSBC, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

Addressing world leaders at COP28, Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, shared a message of both hope and caution. While acknowledging the acceleration of the global shift toward clean energy, he emphasised the need for faster progress, particularly in the industrial sector.

Bloomberg introduced the ITA as a transformative partnership capable of cutting emissions while expanding industries, fostering prosperity, and reducing poverty. This collaborative effort aims to unite industry leaders, financial institutions, policymakers, and technical experts to facilitate carbon emission reductions and create supportive public policies.

The World Leaders Summit at COP28 concluded with over 100 countries pledging to triple renewable generation implementation and double energy efficiency by 2030, marking a positive step forward. Following COP28, countries will transition into the policy implementation phase.

HE Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and COP28 President, December 5, 2023. Photo by UNFCCC, used with permission.

COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber launched the Global Decarbonisation Accelerator (GDA) Initiative, which includes the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC). This initiative boasts the participation of 50 companies, responsible for over 40 percent of global oil production, committing to eliminate methane emissions, cease routine flaring by 2030, and achieve total net-zero operations by 2050 at the latest.

More than 29 national oil companies (NOCs) have pledged their commitment, marking the largest number of NOCs to sign such a decarbonisation initiative. The OGDC represents a significant stride toward aligning industry actions with the goals of the Paris Agreement. However, emissions reduction commitment in the charter is voluntary, making this aspect non-binding. The agreement only addresses emissions from the operations of oil and gas production, not those generated during the combustion of these fossil fuels. The effectiveness of clean energy efforts may be compromised if fossil fuel-related pollution persists on a global scale.

Signatories of the ODGC Charter commit to various key actions, including investments in the future energy system, encompassing renewables, low-carbon fuels, and negative emissions technologies. The GDA further compels parties to enhance transparency through improved measurement, monitoring, reporting, and independent verification of greenhouse gas emissions, showcasing their performance and progress in emission reduction.

Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis Terrance Michael Drew speaks onstage during the High-Level Segment for Heads of State at COP28, December 2, 2023. Photo by UNFCCC, used with permission.

Speaking at the World Climate Action Summit on December 2, 2023, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Terrance Drew, represented the Caribbean’s interests and the need for global partnership in this endeavour. He said that although Caribbean islands are not responsible for the human-induced climate disasters it faces, SIDS are not “laying blame” or “playing the victim.” Instead, Drew says they are being proactive in climate adaptation initiatives and seeking assistance in renewable energy transition programmes.

Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, and GFANZ Co-Chair, Mark Carney, embraced the plan to decarbonise heavy-emitting industries so that countries remain within the global carbon budget.“These industries are currently in transition traps. They know what they need to do but struggle to get the investment they need to meaningfully cut emissions.”

The Global Stocktake: a guideline to fossil fuel phase-out

Day 6 at COP28 saw new text being added to the Global Stocktake (GST) report on efforts to garner support for fossil fuel phase-out initiatives and keeping 1.5C degrees alive. The GST is the UNFCCC‘s report card on national climate plans, and from its inception at COP26 to the present, it has illustrated that countries have failed to cut emissions fast enough.

Some key points from the GST draft to be negotiated during COP28’s second week include the establishment of new national climate plans before COP30 in 2025. However, a range of options for reducing fossil fuels remain, including “an orderly and just phase-out of fossil fuels,” “accelerating efforts towards phasing-out unabated fossil fuels,” or “an immediate end to new unabated coal power.” With regard to carbon capture, storage, and hydrogen, the text includes the need to improve “zero and low emissions technologies.”

Moving forward, there is a greater need for more investment into the Loss and Damage Fund, Adaptation Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund, and the Special Climate Change Fund. However, SIDS “got a win” with IRENA, which exceeded its target of financial pledges at COP28. Each signatory to the Paris Agreement must create new plans to close the gap on the emission phase-out. However, countries must reach a shared consensus at COP28 on the approach to target reductions in all aspects of the fossil fuel industry.

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

Very close to the end of the Atlantic hurricane season, a disturbance that was eventually named Potential Tropical Cyclone Twenty-Two decided to move from an area just south of Jamaica and head north-west. This was bad news for the island — and subsequently, the Dominican Republic — which lay directly in its path. Despite the fact that there was no wind and the system did not officially qualify as a Tropical Storm, the destruction (including the loss of 21 lives in the DR), was significant. The Spanish-speaking Caribbean nation has experienced three major flooding episodes since June, all with record levels of rainfall.

As the system moved across Jamaica on November 16 and 17, the eastern side of the island suffered the most. There were stories of citizens negotiating crocodile-infested floodwaters; travellers stranded overnight in rural areas; a massive landslide in an upscale hillside area near Kingston, besides other locations; overflowing rivers and gullies; and severely damaged roads. Thankfully, there were no reported casualties, although many stories were told, and in true Jamaican style, amusing comments were shared on social media.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness — who appeared satisfied that infrastructure had stood up fairly well — mentioned in Parliament that road repairs would amount to JMD 409 million (approximately USD 2.63 million).

In this regard, an editorial in the Gleaner newspaper suggested that Jamaica use IMF funds allocated for a resilience and sustainability fund, observing:

Kingston should also become an active proponent of Mia Mottley’s Bridgetown Agenda [unveiled at COP27, the Climate Change Conference in 2022] for reform of the global financial architecture, about which Jamaica has been relatively muted, notwithstanding that Ms Mottley’s efforts has been instrumental in moving the needle forward on several of the initiatives from which Jamaica has benefited – and could benefit in the future.

The issue of Loss and Damage, which has steadily become a high priority for vulnerable Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like the Caribbean, finally came to the fore with announcements of developed nations’ pledges on the first day of the Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai. Former head of Jamaica's Climate Change Division, Una May Gordon, gave the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) credit for keeping up the pressure on Loss and Damage over several Conferences:

Loss & Damage Fund should be changed to #FundofHope. @AOSISChair of 2022 must take some of the credit for the historic moment celebrated @COP28_UAE today. #WePressOn. In it for the long haul #climatefinance #ClimateAction #GAPSCertified #BlessedAndGrateful pic.twitter.com/ppjfhL6mm1

— UnaMay Gordon (@gemgord) November 30, 2023

At a side event at COP28, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Rabab Fatima shared the huge figure SIDS faced for Loss and Damage in just one year:

“Last year, small island developing states suffered $153 billion in climate related loss and damage,” says Rabab Fatima (@rababfh2016) of @UNOHRLLS, opening the side event ‘Resilience in the face of adversity’ at the COP28 side event at the @AOSISChair Pavilion. pic.twitter.com/r9bCugDtML

— Climate Analytics (@CA_Latest) December 2, 2023

In Jamaica, agriculture was a major casualty of climate change in 2023. Agriculture Minister Floyd Green estimated that the two-day November rain storm alone had brought over JMD 1 billion (approximately USD 6 million) in losses. Coffee farmers were unable to transport their valuable crops because of numerous landslides, vegetable crops were inundated or washed away, and chicken farmers, who provide a key source of protein in the Jamaican diet, lost animals.

This devastation for small farmers followed a lengthy drought beginning in late 2022 and abnormal heat earlier in 2023, from which they have not fully recovered. On November 21, the Planning Institute of Jamaica reported a 9 percent decline in agriculture, forestry, and fishing in the July-September quarter, while traditional export crops declined by 7.5 percent.

The picture in Jamaica is similar to elsewhere in the Caribbean, where there are fears that food security is now at risk, as a result of repeated “natural disasters” caused by human-induced climate change. The issue was highlighted in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate and Land.

The rainstorm raised another issue that had already been grabbing headlines in Jamaica: building practices and standards. Questions were being asked, in the media and among the public, about whether housing development standards had declined in recent years, as a number of buildings collapsed or were severely damaged by floods and landslides. Questions have also been continually raised as to whether proper monitoring and approvals are being carried out by local government and environmental authorities.

Local lobby groups Citizens Rights to the City and Island City Lab have raised concerns about the hectic pace of development, particularly in the outskirts of the capital Kingston, since covenant requirements were relaxed. A proliferation of high-rise apartment blocks has attracted attention, with attendant concerns over the impact of such buildings on the environment, including the loss of green space and the removal of mature trees.

After the rains, a huge landslide in the hills surrounding the city impacted homes in the well-off area of Jacks Hill after residents had expressed concerns months before about some allegedly illegal over-development in the neighbourhood. The area is located on a fault zone, and recent large developments, which have been raising eyebrows, may have contributed to the problem.

Months after a major development triggered a massive landslide at Tavistock Terrace in Jacks Hill, St. Andrew, things have worsened. Homes are now being threatened as Friday's torrential rain led to another breakaway.

Tune in to #PrimeTimeNews at 7pm for more.#TVJNews pic.twitter.com/Ks0HE9hCex

— Television Jamaica/Radio Jamaica Newscentre (@TvjNewscentre) November 20, 2023

One geology professor warned against further development in the area, while environmentalist Diana McCaulay visited the area and reported on Substack:

It’s hard to imagine how what has been allowed in sections of Jacks Hill can be rectified. I suspect that those who are able to will eventually cut their losses and move away. Others will stay, taking the risks of living on old landslides. The correctly sited older houses will lose their value. Some properties will fall into disrepair, roads will get worse and worse, services will become less and less reliable. Public money will be squandered. At some point, there will be a powerful earthquake and the face of Jacks Hill will be resculpted once more.

In contrast to the problems in wealthier parts of the island, members of parliament representing much less well-off rural and mountainous areas hurried to their constituencies to talk with local residents in the immediate aftermath of the rains. On returning from an overseas trip, Prime Minister Andrew Holness focused his remarks on Jamaicans who had built their homes in unsuitable locations, near rivers and gullies or on steep hillsides, suggesting that they had made the wrong choices and, as a result, were suffering from the impact of disasters.

University professor and columnist Carolyn Cooper did not hesitate to take the prime minister to task, calling his remarks “a very forceful rebuke” for poor Jamaicans. She added:

[M]any poor Jamaicans do not live in dangerous places by choice. They simply cannot do better. They cannot afford to purchase prime property. So, they settle for undesirable locations where they can build inexpensive houses. Andrew Holness’ choice of ‘chosen’ exposes his gross failure to understand the history of landlessness in this country.

Cooper pointed out that the prime minister had not passed judgment on uptown developers who had ignored the environmental impacts of building on an unstable hillside such as Jacks Hill. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Holness has been handing over hundreds of new low-cost homes under an accelerated programme.

As Jamaica picks up the pieces, there is no doubt that the recent disastrous rains have brought to the fore critical and longstanding issues for the island: agriculture and food security, and resilience in housing and land use. Whatever the final decisions reached in Dubai, these issues will no doubt linger while sustainable solutions are found.

Originally published on Global Voices

Feature image via Canva Pro.

As the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 approaches — it is being held in Dubai from November 30-December 12 — the Caribbean continues to struggle with a range of intensifying climate change impacts. According to the recent Global Stocktake report, the world is currently not headed in the right direction, and there are urgent measures that must be taken to correct this.

Jamaica-based blogger and Global Voices contributor Petchary believes that “purposeful and laser-focused leadership is needed, in the Caribbean as well as elsewhere in the world:

That leadership needs to drag us back to the straight path, as we seem to be wandering off in different directions. I also feel we are not listening to each other. By ‘we’ I mean all those nations, rich and poor, who will be sitting down from November 30 to December 12, trying to agree.

In that vein, an Open Letter to Latin American and Caribbean political leaders, signed by a diverse group of non-governmental organisations, CEOs, former UN officials, and activists, was posted on the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) website. Acknowledging that the people of the region regularly deal with the fallout of the climate crisis via everything from tropical cyclones to food insecurity, the letter also noted that Latin American and the Caribbean offer “some of the most relevant solutions to the current climate crisis, thanks to its natural ecosystems like the Amazon, the Atlantic forest, […] the wetlands or the extended coasts with rich biodiversity, explaining: “Many of these assets place us in a prime position to lead on the clean energy transition, as well as on the conservation of our biodiversity.”

The letter went on to outline three critical issues for the attention of the region's political leadership. These “transformations,” as the signatories term them, will respond to global challenges with “innovative local solutions,” and help to address some of the broader issues the region grapples with, which are exacerbated by climate change, including “inequality, poverty, and staggering levels of debt.”

The ambitiously hoped-for outcome of COP28 is that tangible ways in which to rapidly accelerate global climate action will be implemented, to keep global heating within the 1.5° Celsius limit as per the Paris Agreement, and to enhance international cooperation on climate change.

Transforming energy systems

The goal here is achieving at least triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030 with the aim of full decarbonisation by 2050. However, this requires an international commitment to clean energy sources, while phasing out fossil fuels — including the halting of all new oil and gas exploration — in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 43 percent by 2030, and 60 percent by 2035 below 2019 levels.

Whether certain Caribbean territories in particular — the energy-reliant economy of Trinidad and Tobago, and the newly discovered oil and natural gas-rich Guyana — will adhere to this, remains to be seen, as the letter believes such transformation also hinges on “the phase out of public financing for fossil fuels, including subsidies.” Part of the goal is also to reduce methane emissions from fossil fuel by 75 percent by 2030, and increase efforts to reduce 30 percent methane emissions by waste. The letter also suggests accelerating fossil-fuel free transport, which is a heavy-emitting sector, by “enhancing energy efficiency […] and making clean technologies the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in all regions by 2030.”

Transforming food systems and our relationship to nature

The aim here is to ensure food security, build resilience and reduce emissions while enhancing yields. This will require a reduction in food loss waste, and an increase in healthier, plant based diets. By 2030, the idea is to foster climate resilient, sustainable agriculture that increases yields by 17 precent — without expansion of the agricultural frontier into natural ecosystems — and reduces current GHG emissions from agriculture by 25 percent from 2020 levels.

Both land and coastal conservation form part of this approach, as well as the securing of Indigenous land rights, the expansion of sustainable land-use practices, and the revitalisation of degraded ecosystems. The expected results of such measures include more robust and sustainable livelihoods, increased biodiversity, and the sequestering of carbon.

Transforming financial systems

This is critical in terms of climate crisis response, especially when it comes to the effects felt by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as efficiently functioning financial systems can enhance capacities for adaptation and better respond to loss and damage.

The letter calls for the design and implementation of mechanisms that allow for the release of public debt through “innovative instruments to finance investment requirements in infrastructure for adaptation by 2030 at the latest, with a view to addressing climate-related needs.” Among other things, it also asks for transparency with regard to the delivery of existing climate finance commitments, and proper support for a new global finance goal that “significantly surpasses” US $100 billion.

Additional finance-based points included doubling — at the very least — adaptation finance by 2025, “significantly increasing the share, amount, quality, and accessibility of adaptation, loss and damage finance,” channeling more resources to the local level, and ensuring that government policy is aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement in order to build resilience, limit temperature warming to 1.5°C, and contribute to nature goals.

The signatories — which included Diana McCaulay, founder of the Jamaica Environment Trust, Nigel Edwards (executive director of the Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation, and Racquel Moses, CEO of Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator — feel that the purpose of COP28 is “to pivot into responding dynamically to the Global Stocktake […] to make this a turning point through which our capacity to innovate for an equitable, net-zero, resilient, and nature positive future is truly unleashed.”

The eyes of the world, and certainly of the region, will be on Dubai come November 30.

Originally published on Global Voices

Signage at the COP27 conference in Egypt, November 15, 2022. Photo by Climate Alliance Org on Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0.

On my two-day journey back from the land of Koshary (Egypt) to the land of Doubles (Trinidad and Tobago), I reflected on the opportunity I had through Climate Tracker to work with and support a team of 22 journalists from the Global South at COP27. Yet, throughout my reportage on this critical climate conference, I was bombarded by messages and videos about the destruction back home — the worst floods the country has experienced since 2018.

One orange level alert after another, even from Egypt, I witnessed humans, cars, and animals being swept away, houses being submerged beneath merciless waters, and entire masses of land collapsing onto roadways and off of cliff sides. I’m not even exaggerating. In the coastal area of Manzanilla, the roads broke away to such an extent that entire villages were left stranded. To evacuate, people had to carefully cross with the help of ropes.

So, like many other reporters from the developing world, even as delegates and activists assembled against a dismal backdrop of multiple crises (energy, cost of living, indebtedness, nature loss, and geopolitical tensions), I had a vested interest in the outcome of COP27 which, in its lead-up, was touted to be one of “implementation.” But was this achieved? Where do we go from here? Here are some key takeaways, now that the dust has settled.

Loss and Damage stole the show

A pressing need to safeguard the most vulnerable led to a historic decision at the start of the conference, one that would shape the narrative throughout our time in the Sinai peninsula. After 30 years of negotiating, funding for Loss and Damage (L&D) was finally added to the agenda. Nice start. But we eagerly awaited the outcome of the L&D discussions. Would all the talk lead to any concrete decisions?

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), Least Developing Countries (LDCs) and the Independent Association of Latin American and Caribbean (AILAC) declared the COP as one of Loss and Damage inaction. Then, at the last minute, after I lost count of how many times the closing plenary got postponed — and more than 24 hours after the COP itself was meant to be closed — parties agreed on the establishment of a dedicated fund for Loss and Damage.

This is a momentous achievement for developing countries, but considering the fact that developed countries have failed to deliver on their 100 billion US dollar climate finance pledge from Copenhagen in 2009, there’s little trust left.

Avinash Persaud, special envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados, stated in the closing speech:

We have a historic decision to establish a Loss and Damage fund for countries acutely impacted by the warming climate. It was the result of the strong leadership by the small island states with an amazing degree of solidarity shown by the rest of the world, from the major industrialising developing countries and the developed ones. It is a small victory for humankind. Now we need to redouble efforts behind an energy, transport and agriculture transition that will limit these climate losses and damages in the future.

As a matter of fact, parties agreed that the Loss and Damage fund was the major achievement of the COP, as there were conflicting evaluations of how well the other broader outcomes demonstrated (or failed to demonstrate) steadfastness on implementation and higher ambition. This is important to note as we head into COP28’s Global Stocktake, which will assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of The Paris Agreement and its long-term goals, and inform the Nationally Determined Contributions being brought to the table in 2025.

More is needed on mitigation

There’s a general view that not enough attention was given to reducing emissions; this was especially evident in discussions on the “work programme to urgently scale up mitigation ambition and implementation in this critical decade,” formed at COP26.

COP27 witnessed a debate between countries on coal versus fossil fuel reductions, and saw Antigua and Barbuda calling out China's high emissions and need to also contribute to L&D funding, to which China explicitly stated it had no intention of doing.

This back and forth marked its impact on the negotiations, seeing days go by with little progress on critical issues, missing the opportunity to move forward from Glasgow’s mitigation work programme and confidently address fossil fuels and emissions.

For some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, including the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), AOSIS, and AILAC, emissions that lead us beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius are an existential threat. Some high- and middle-income developing countries and major emerging economies have noted the pressure to further reduce emissions, although they’re not historically responsible for climate change — an awareness that calls to hand the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) enshrined in the 1992 Convention, which requires developed countries to take the lead in climate action and support.

At COP26, parties endorsed a call to “phase down” unabated coal power. In Egypt, however, India and a few other countries declared that this should extend to all fossil fuels. In his press briefings and plenary speeches, European Union climate lead Frans Timmermans said that the L&D fund must go “hand-in-hand” with stronger efforts on 1.5°C, and threatened to “walk away” from a “bad decision,” warning that “we cannot accept that 1.5°C dies here today.”

Ultimately, they all backed the Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan, although perhaps with genuinely heavy hearts and visibly sleepy eyes, a deal which consistently failed to include fossil fuel phase down (or phase out) in its successive drafts of the cover decision and instead, watered down mitigation with a simple mention of “low-emission and renewable energy.” This kind of language is riddled with loopholes, prophetically leaving us all sinking.

Adaptation for Africa?

A common sentiment throughout the two-week conference was, “Is this even an African COP?” There were high expectations for COP27 to deliver on adaptation finance, a key area of importance for both the continent and Caribbean countries.

As Ugandan climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate stated, “COP27 was meant to be the ‘African COP’ where Loss and Damage was the un-ignorable issue, and years of pressure from vulnerable countries and activists have moved us closer to where we need to be. But we will not have justice until money starts to flow to vulnerable communities, so there is much work still to do.”

Coming into the conference, the United Nations Environment Programme released an analysis report highlighting that the amount of adaptation finance flowing to developing countries is currently five to ten times lower than what is needed, and though discussions on the Global Goal on Adaptation received some attention, many experts believed it was not as much as it deserved.

COP27 essentially mirrors the difficulty of coming to consensus during a polycrisis and under very different geopolitical situations. It is an outcome that is agreeable to all but also leaves everyone equally dissatisfied, with many negotiating groups announcing that the Sharm deal did not make progress, build on COP26‘s ambitions, or include language that would guide the world to peaking global emissions by 2025 while phasing down fossil fuels and coal.

As Mohamed Adow, Executive Director of Power Shift Africa stated,

“COP27 has done what no other COP has achieved and created a Loss and Damage fund to support the most impacted communities of climate change. However, on a global fossil fuel phase down, it’s sad to see countries just copying and pasting the outcome from last year’s COP26 in Glasgow. The science is clear, the impacts are getting worse and we know that renewables are the future. Polluting countries need to leave coal, oil and gas in the ground if we’re going to keep global heating from running out of control.”

With the global average temperature rise already at 1.1°C, the need to act in the face of the climate crisis has never been more blatant, because as Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's Minister of Climate Change put it, “Vulnerability shouldn’t be a death sentence.”

Originally published on Global Voices

2019 was marked as the most difficult year in the history of cyclones in Mozambique. Image: Giovana Fleck/Global Voices

With the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) taking place in Egypt and marked by the advance of climate change, countries like Mozambique, which have historically contributed less pollution than nearly any other nation have been in an increasingly delicate situation.

Mozambique is considered one of the countries most likely to suffer severely from extreme events caused by climate change. According to the NGO GermanWatch, which releases the annual Global Climate Risk Index, Mozambique ranks first on the list of countries most vulnerable to climate change in 2021.

Zimbabwe, the Bahamas, Japan, and Malawi, respectively, complete the top five in the 2021 Index, which lists the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters caused by climate change. However, according to the UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, Mozambique is Africa's third most vulnerable country to disaster risk. These are two reports that use their own data, but also document the vulnerability suffered by Mozambique.

Recently, cyclones have been increasingly severe and common in Mozambique. In 2019, two strong tropical cyclones hit Mozambique during the same season — the first time since record. Tropical Cyclone Idai in March 2019 and Tropical Cyclone Kenneth the next month caused more than 600 deaths and an estimated 2.5 million people in need.

In March 2022, Mozambique was hit by another cyclone. This time was Tropical Cyclone Gombe, which entered the country with winds of 165 and 230 km/h, respectively. It reportedly caused more than 60 deaths.

Lack of climate action responses

Mozambique has been waiting for significant climate action to help the country overcome its vulnerability. In the absence of some international support, the country has been receiving incentives and messages of solidarity, such as in 2019, via the Secretary-General of the United Nations:

In 2021, Mozambique joined other world governments at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021, COP26. Speaking at the event, then Prime Minister of Mozambique Carlos Agostinho do Rosário pledged to achieve 62 percent energy from renewable resources by 2030, but lack of support was posed as the first difficulty:

Moçambique sozinho, tal como outros países em desenvolvimento, não conseguirá ter os recursos necessários para financiar acções estruturantes para fazer face aos impactos das mudanças climatéricas…

Mozambique alone, like other developing countries, will not have the resources necessary to finance structuring actions to address the impacts of climate change…

One of the issues that were under discussion at COP26 was the energy transition. Under the Paris Climate Agreement, which was adopted at COP21, coal must cease to be used as fuel by 2050. Mozambique has large coal deposits, and just two decades ago, coal was expected to be an important driver of Mozambican development, so the country will not abandon the use of coal in the short term.

Moçambique prefere uma transição energética para energias mais limpas e amigas do ambiente que seja gradual e faseada, a fim de minimizar o impacto no processo de desenvolvimento económico do nosso país.

Mozambique prefers an energy transition to cleaner and more environmentally friendly energies that is gradual and phased in order to minimise the impact on the economic development process of our country.

In 2021, Mozambique became the first country to receive payments from a World Bank trust fund to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation — commonly known as REDD+.

The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) paid Mozambique $USD 6.4 million for reducing 1.28 million tonnes of reduced carbon emissions in 2021. The payments reward efforts to reduce carbon emissions by tackling deforestation and forest degradation.

World Environment Day was celebrated on June 5 this year under the slogan, “One Earth for Climate Resilience,” but the country has been waiting for more than a decade for funding from the Green Climate Fund. It is an initiative that, for the Mozambican authorities, has become unmanageably bureaucratic:

Moçambique está num processo há quase mais de 10 anos de candidatura do Fundo Nacional do Desenvolvimento Sustentável para aceder aos financiamentos do Fundo Climático Verde, um processo que nós consideramos como muito burocrático, mas pelas últimas informações tudo indica que estamos a passos largos de chegar ao fim…

Mozambique has been in the process for almost 10 years of applying for the National Fund for Sustainable Development to access funding from the Green Climate Fund, a process that we consider to be very bureaucratic, but from the latest information everything indicates that we are a long way from reaching the end…

Faced with this reality, Mozambique has been weighing what it can to contain the harmful effects of the climate crises that the country is facing. Recently, in October 2022, the creation of a financial fund was announced to help minimize the harmful effects of extreme events caused by climate change.

In October 2022, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi called on all countries worldwide, particularly on the African continent, to act immediately to halt catastrophes caused by humanity. Nyusi delivered his speech as the ‘African Union Champion for Disaster Risk Management on the continent during the celebrations of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.’

According to local press, the United Nations Summit on Climate Change (COP27) will have repercussions for the vulnerable, yet low-polluting country Mozambique. Speaking during preparatory activities aimed at agreeing on positions to be defended at COP27, Mozambique’s Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibaze, stressed the country’s main areas of interest are: financing in the context of climate change; the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC); Renewable Energy; Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, as well as Gender and Climate Change issues.

The Government of Mozambique looks to COP27 as a stage on which to leverage climate finance, in order to achieve the low carbon transition in line with the NDC.

Originally published on Global Voices

By Mariam A. Used with permission

All eyes are on Egypt as it hosts the 27th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh from November 6–18, which brings together more than 190 governments to attempt and solve some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges.

The world is currently experiencing catastrophic weather events, an energy crisis caused by the Ukraine conflict, and troubling UN research warning that “a window of opportunity is on the verge of closing” because humanity is not doing enough to combat global warming.

However, the conference agenda is at risk of being detailed by the host nation's deteriorating human rights record and crackdown on the civic space.

COP27 — a space for “greenwashing”

As Egypt hosts the COP27 conference, the government has restricted the participation of local civil society organisations by selectively screening NGOs that are allowed to attend the conference, while excluding organisations that are critical of the Egyptian government. The application process was not disclosed to civil society organisations, nor were the selection criteria.

This is exacerbated, according to experts, by a coordinated increase in hotel rates, excessive restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly outside the COP27 venue, and arbitrary delays in the issuance of visas to international visitors.

Super fun to have a climate summit in a police state sponsored by @CocaCola while most “civil society” delegates save their indignation for jacked up hotel prices instead of locked up political prisoners. #COP27 in #Egypt is shaping up to be very cool and normal. #SaveAlaa https://t.co/28NEuyYxVD

— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) October 1, 2022

To add fuel to the fire, the Egyptian government excluded any Egyptian organizations based in Sinai or primarily focused on Sinai from attending the COP27, despite the fact that the summit is being held in Sharm il Sheikh, which is located on their lands according to the Cairo Institute for Human Rights.

Since 2013, the Egyptian government has been waging a military campaign against an Islamic State affiliate in North Sinai. The campaign includes severe restrictions on the movement of people and goods across almost the entire governorate, as well as the suspension of telecommunications services for several days at a time. As a result, the residents of the area are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

This is part of a larger context in which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s government has repressed Egyptian civil society and human rights advocates, restricting their ability to participate in political discourse and civic spaces since assuming power in a military coup in 2013.

“Arrests and detention, NGO asset freezes and dissolutions and travel restrictions against human rights defenders have created a climate of fear for Egyptian civil society organisations to engage visibly at the COP27,” experts said.

An ongoing human rights crisis under El-Sisi

According to a Human Rights Watch World report 2022 that highlights Egypt's ongoing human rights crisis under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's administration, in 2021 the government increased the prosecution of peaceful activists and critics by the abusive Emergency State Security Courts. The Courts also handed down death sentences in mass trials, adding to the sharply rising number of executions.

Simultaneously, the number of political detainees, including government critics, journalists, and human rights activists, surpassed 60,000. Many detainees spend long periods of time in prison without trial and then become entangled in a system of “recycled cases” designed to keep them incarcerated, in which released detainees are re-arrested in new cases on the same or similar charges.

Authorities also neglected to look into the many cases of mistreatment and torture that continue to occur behind bars. While also intensifying the targeting of Egyptian families of human rights advocates who live abroad.

#SaveAlaa, the window of opportunity is on the verge of closing for Ala’a Abdel Fattah

Fee Alaa Abd El-Fattah Before COP27. Alaa's sisters, Mona and Sanaa Seif, protesting outside the British Foreign Office By Alisdare Hickson – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. Fair use.

Alaa Abdel Fattah is one of these individuals. Human rights defender, author, and software developer of British-Egyptian origin. He was one of the leading voices during the January 25, 2011 revolution, and as a result, he has been arrested by every government in his lifetime.

Two years ago today, Alaa Abd El Fattah was arrested by security forces from Dokki police station, where he was spending 12 hours a day on probation. Today marks the legal limit of his pretrial detention.
Here is a timeline mapping his experience with the prison system. pic.twitter.com/ksL1njU5QF

— Mada Masr مدى مصر (@MadaMasr) September 29, 2021

His most recent arrest began with his kidnapping on September 29, 2019, where he was held in pretrial detention for more than two years for “spreading false information” in the form of sharing a Facebook post. After that, he was then sentenced to five years in prison.

On April 2, 2022, Alaa began a hunger strike to express rejection of his harsh prison conditions and the politically-driven sentences that robbed him of years spent with his son and family. 

After more than 212 days of partial hunger strike, Abdel Fattah moved to full strike on November 1, 2022. He also began a water strike on November 6, 2022, the first day of COP27.

It is either freedom or death for Abedel Fattah before the end of COP27.

Abdel Fattah's sister Sanaa left London, where she spent the last few weeks campaigning for his freedom to attend COP27:

I'm on my way to #COP27 as my brother @alaa, a British citizen, begins water strike. He may only last a few days. My family needs proof of life by noon every day. @RishiSunak, I'm relieved you're working to #FreeAlaa until then, will you confirm that Alaa is still alive each day?

— Sanaa (@sana2) November 6, 2022

Abdel Fattah has been involved in a number of citizen journalism initiatives. His book, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated, has received widespread acclaim.

#Alaa wrote “My mother started a sit in in front of the prison gates. It ended with her & my 2 sisters being assaulted & Sanaa being arrested for the 3rd time..I describe Sanaa’s stubborn, defiant personality”p.432.
Today @sana2 @Monasosh fight for their brother’s life#FreeAlaa pic.twitter.com/i26wIoq1jA

— Winchelgirl (@winchelgirl) November 3, 2022

Popular protests against the backdrop of the conference

Even though protesting has been legally banned since 2013 and is often dealt with firmly, Egyptians are calling for protests to take place concurrently with the conference in response to price increases, declining living standards, demands for civil rights and freedom of expression, and calls for President El-Sisi's resignation, calling it the “Climate revolution.”

توضيح مهم
١- السيسي و مليشياته لن يستطيعوا ان يستخدموا اى عنف ضد المتظاهرين فى الفترة من ٦- ١٨ نوفمبر ولا حتى خراطيم الماء ولا حتى الغاز
٢- السيسي فى مأزق وفى اضعف حالاته وهذه فرصتنا #احشد_ليوم_11نوفمبر #ارحل_عدو_الله #إنزل_١١_١١_حرر_بلدك #نازلين_الجمعه_11_11_ثورة_المناخ pic.twitter.com/IhlNqFCulg

— ezz sief عز سيف (@ezzsaif) November 2, 2022

A crucial clarification, 1-Between November 6 and 18, Sisi and his militias will not be able to use any kind of force against the protesters, not even water cannons or gas. 2- This is our opportunity since Sisi is in trouble and and this is his weakest. protest on November 11, #ارحل_عدو_اللهGo, you enemy of God; #إنزل_١١_١١_حرر_بلدك, protest on 11/11 to free your nation; #نازلين_الجمعه_11_11_ثورة_المناخ, We are taking the streets on 11/11 the climate revolution 

Nearly 70 individuals have reportedly been detained thus far in connection with demands for protests to take place in conjunction with the COP27 climate meeting.

There have also been reports of security officers in civilian clothes checking pedestrians’ mobile phones, looking up their social media profiles, and detaining anyone they suspect of being politically active.

رصدت #نحن_نسجل قيام جهاز #الأمن_الوطني وقوات الأمن التابعة لوزارة الداخلية في #مصر، بشن حملة اعتقالات موسعة في معظم محافظات الجمهورية.

ووفق ماوثقته المنظمة، فقد استهدفت الاعتقالات بعض من تم الإفراج عنهم من معتقلين سابقين، بالإضافة إلى أسر بعض المعارضين المصريين في الخارج.

(1/2) pic.twitter.com/XIMxVfYHIR

— We Record – نحن نسجل (@WeRecordAR) October 28, 2022

We record discerned that National Security Agency and the security forces affiliated with the Ministry of Interior in #Egypt, have launched an extensive campaign of arrests in most of the governorates of the Republic. According to reports, the arrests targeted some released former detainees, in addition to the families of some Egyptian dissidents abroad.