🌿 COP29 Wrap Up 🌿

Hi, Everyone! 

I’m Amanda Magnani, a Brazilian (photo)journalist and OptOut News’ climate editor. Every other week, I bring you the most important climate news from our network—with an extra serving of decolonial perspectives. ✨🌿 

COP29, the U.N. Climate Conference, came to a close last Sunday, the 24th, in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a delay of more than 30 hours. And here’s a little wrap up of what happened throughout the two weeks of the event. 

But first, I invite you to check out my latest piece for Important Context, where I investigated who were the climate disinformation organizations present at COP 29, what type of credentials they had and what access they were granted. 

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The early days of the event saw the disclosure of crucial information regarding where we are in the fight against climate crisis. Gas Outlook reported on a new report showing that fossil fuel emissions reached an all-time high in 2024, on a Climate Change Performance Index research which found that, in spite of the growth in renewable energy, there are still no signs of fossil fuel phase out and on how fossil fuel subsidies keep growing, having quadrupled between 2021 and 2022. A decade after the Paris Agreement, the steady growth in fossil fuel emissions indicates the world has given up on the 1.5 degrees goal, Grist reports. 

That comes as no surprise considering the presence of 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists in the event, which is larger than the delegations of the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change combined, Yale Environment 360 reports. According to DeSmog reports, they paid thousands to sponsor COP29 events. And they were not the only ones hindering climate negotiations: their PR companies also marked their presence at the conference. It was also the second year in a row that executives of COP host countries were recorded using the event to try and score new oil and gas deals, Heated reported.

COP29 was dubbed the “financing COP” in that there was a major focus on funding climate goals. Gas Outlook reported on how the World Health Organization called for the end of fossil fuel subsidies; on how the U.N. Secretary-General called for an ambitious finance goal; on how the Global Climate and Health Alliance demanded that parties agreed on US$ 1 trillion to address the climate crisis. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t take. Grist reported that the final deal on the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance promised just $300 billion a year, making basically all the parties unhappy. Grist also reported that this COP ended up weakening the commitments on phasing away from fossil fuels, reached last year’s conference. 

While Trump’s reelection loomed over the negotiations, Grist and Earth Island Journal reported that Democrats tried to keep a brave face, admitting things would change under the new president, but trying to convince the world that he wouldn’t be able to undo the “climate revolution” already in motion. 

But if anyone was hopeful after listening to the U.S. official delegation, it didn’t last long. As soon as the GOP arrived in Baku for the second week of the event, the message they sent, as reported by Grist, was very clear: “We’re in charge now.”

If you want to know more about the event as it happened, check out our online coverage on Instagram. 

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The U.S. ahead

As the country prepares for another four years under Donald Trump’s presidency, here are some stories on what’s to come.

🇺🇸 “Trump’s Election Is a Disaster for the Climate—and an Opportunity,” by The New Republic. 

🇺🇸 “Trump's environmental assault begins,” by Heated.

🇺🇸 “Trump’s Climate Plans Are Such a Disaster Even Exxon Is Worried,” by The New Republic. 

🇺🇸 “Biden wants to triple nuclear energy generation. Trump will make the call.” by Grist. 

🇺🇸 “Trump 2.0: This Time the Stakes for Climate Are Even Higher,” by Yale Environment 360.

🇺🇸 “What Trump’s Energy Secretary Pick Says Behind Closed Doors,” by The Lever. 

🇺🇸 “Climate Accountability Under Trump: The Courts,” by WhoWhatWhy. 

🇺🇸 “The US no longer supports capping plastic production in UN treaty,” by Grist. 

🇺🇸 “Trump’s ‘U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE’ delusion could render the U.S. an economic backwater,” by Nevada Current. 

🇺🇸 “The Senate’s new farm bill would prioritize the climate. Too bad it’s basically doomed.” by Grist. 

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And More:

🛢️ “Fuel to Fork: The Role the Oil and Gas Industry Plays in Food-based Emissions,” by Drilled. 

🛢️ “‘Net-zero’ banks raised $1 trillion for fossil fuel giants,” by Grist. 

🛢️ “Climate change made all of this year’s Atlantic hurricanes so much worse,” by Grist. 

🛢️ “Fish Farming Industry is Using ‘Misleading’ Figures to Downplay its Role in Overfishing, New Research Finds,” by DeSmog. 

🛢️ “Climate Science Deniers Use Farmers’ Protests to Attack Net Zero,” by DeSmog. 

🛢️ “The Case for the Carbon Tax,” by The Tyee. 

🛢️ “Climate Litigation Breakthroughs,” by Planet: Critical. 

🛢️ “Climate change drives up insurance costs — and missed mortgage payments,” by Floodlight via Louisiana Illuminator. 

🛢️ “The World Is Drowning In Plastic Pollution. Can a Global Treaty Fix It?” by Atmos. 

🛢️ “‘Climate Spiral’ Shows Warming Reaching New Extremes,” by Yale Environment 360. 

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Decolonizing Climate Change

🌱 “Oil, Gas, and COVID-19,” by EOS.  

🌱 “From Gaza to COP29: The 9 Types of Violence Wealthy Countries are Inflicting on the Global South,” by CounterPunch.

🌱 “The GOP Is Making Headway in Shutting Down Climate Groups,” by Jacobin. 

🌱 “Climate Activism Under Trump 2.0,” by The Majority Report. 

🌱 “Can unions save offshore wind from Trump?” by Grist. 

🌱 “Environmental justice leaders across Louisiana steel themselves for a second Trump term,” by Verite News via Louisiana Illuminator. 

🌱 “Biden Made “Record Time” on Worker Protections for Heat. Trump Could Quickly Stamp Them Out.” by The Intercept. 

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Around the World 

🇳🇵 Nepal: “The impact of the 26 to 28 September 2024 rainfall event in Kavre, Nepal,” by EOS.

🇨🇦 Canada: “Canada Promises Climate Reparations at COP29 While Courting Big Oil at Home,” by DeSmog. 

🇵🇸 Palestine: “For Gaza’s olive farmers, the war has left little to salvage,” by +927 Magazine. 

🇫🇷 France: “To Cope with Extreme Heat, Paris Will Swap Parking Spaces for Trees,” by Yale Environment 360.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: “UK Platforms World’s Largest Offshore Drilling Firm at COP29 Climate Summit,” by DeSmog.  

🇺🇦 Ukraine: “‘Like a Phoenix’: A New Forest Emerges From the Destruction in Ukraine,” by WhoWhatWhy. 

🇿🇲 Zambia: “As Drought Shrivels Hydropower, Zambia Is Pivoting to Solar,” by Yale Environment 360. 

🇧🇷 Brazil: “Can Lula still save the Amazon?” by Grist. 

🇭🇺 Hungary: “Hungary COP29 Climate Delegates Linked to State Oil Company,” by DeSmog. 

🇳🇿 New Zealand: “Mass protests against New Zealand’s effort to weaken Māori rights — and hurt the planet,” by Grist. 

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To Lighten Your Heart

💚 “For farms and rural businesses, a fresh and funded harvest includes the sun,” by Grist. 

💚 “Some good climate news, for once: Md. leads in carbon emissions reductions,” by Maryland Matters. 

💚 “Meet the peach that traveled the Trail of Tears and the elders working to save it,” by Grist. 

💚 “How communities are giving new life to polluted land,” by Grist. 

💚 “Huge organic farm in Iowa thrives without chemicals,” by Iowa Capital Dispatch. 

💚 “Between Worlds,” by Atmos. 

💚 “Where did all the climate voters go?” by Grist.

💚 “‘Big Oil’ can cleanup orphan wells in Louisiana, creating jobs in the process,” by Louisiana Illuminator. 

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That’s all for now, folks! If you have any questions or suggestions, hit me up at amanda@optout.news. 

Obrigada and have a great week!