Author: Meera Ayyagari

As my week of attendance at COP28 was nearing its end, I explored discussions focused on gender, biodiversity, water and resilience. Nature based solutions are emerging as a template for tackling effects of climate change and restoring biodiversity in critical areas, and aiding resilience while making water and food systems resilient against climate adversity. Climate adaptation relies heavily on food and water resilience in vulnerable communities across the world, and it is estimated that 26% of the world’s population still struggles with access to safe drinking water.

I believe that the increasing emphasis on food and water system resilience at COP28 is long overdue, and it was interesting to note the strides in innovative solutions presented not only at the Food and Water System Pavilion but also at various country pavilions from south east Asia, Africa and Europe. Anthropogenic activities have created agricultural systems that are energy intensive and inefficient, as revealed by a panel discussion focused on creating a bioeconomy to thrive in the green economy. Plastic, a major threat to ocean biodiversity requires huge amounts of biomass, sustainable wood and materials that require massive quantities of feedstock that will strain our existing inefficient land use systems. Further, the discussion stated that our food system has become an extractive industry which pays no attention to consequences, and it requires policies that incentivize investments in nature and preservation.

My interest piqued further when I learnt of the far-reaching impacts of investing in soil health, especially in the global south where resilience and adaptation are simultaneously pressing needs of the hour. Isha foundation’s event featuring Sadhguru revealed that revitalizing soil health (minimizing use of pesticides, promoting use of organic manure among other practices) can achieve 20% – 30% of greenhouse gas mitigation alongside increasing land use efficiency, improving local livelihoods and building resilience in our agriculture systems.

At the Ocean Pavilion, I redirected my attention towards biodiversity preservation in marine ecosystems, in light of our growing ambitions in offshore wind energy. The discussion on advancing a net positive biodiversity impact in offshore renewable energy consisting of representatives from Fugro, Orsted and US Geological Survey brought our attention to our increasing investment in offshore wind, and stated that “for every single offshore wind turbine that exists today, we will need 6 more by 2030 if we wish to meet our net zero targets”. This is a massive footprint across the blue economy. With the lack of worldwide regulations on marine energy generation, the preservation of marine biodiversity is subject to national jurisdiction which varies considerably across different parts of the world. Restoring biodiversity in the ocean, the world’s largest carbon sink can address a third of our mitigation targets. The challenges that impede our progress in this aspect are not just restricted to policy frameworks, but also in data collection and assessment initiatives which tend to be capital intensive, while our understanding of marine ecosystems are still yet to mature. My collaboration with NatureDots during my week at COP28 led me to seek ventures with similar action plans – nature based solutions that leverage our technology and artificial intelligence systems to monitor, analyze and protect ecosystems and the communities dependent on them.  Understanding the economic value of natural spaces is imperative to build cooperation between public and private sectors and enhance their interest in preserving marine biodiversity for a net positive impact.

The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) text at COP28 calls for a “a doubling in adaptation finance and plans for assessments and monitoring of adaptation needs in the coming years”, and new money pledged for the global food system’s climate fight topped $7 billion during this year’s COP28 summit. The climate finance mechanisms across the world are still largely focused on mitigation and emissions reduction , and the climate finance going towards building agri-food and water systems is strikingly low, compared to the overall global climate finance flows. It is important to note the pivotal role of indigenous community wisdom for nature based solutions to our modern-day problems. Without protecting, representing and necessitating the role of vulnerable communities in our combat, the transition will not be just and equitable. As I bid goodbye to my journey at COP28, I reflect on the many climate change warriors across the world, working on the frontlines of disasters and yet fighting to preserve our planet for all flora, fauna, mankind and the generations to come.

Week #1 of COP28 kicked off with enthusiasm and energy from all participants which was evident everywhere, from the long lines for badge collection, to the activities in the green zone pavilions and side events. Our journey to the venue on the first day was filled with awe of the city of Dubai, interrupted by amusement at the bizarre placement of three brightly colored wind turbines on the way to the venue, which seemed to consume power rather than generate. My exhilaration on arrival was quickly replaced by astonishment over the size and the activities at COP28 – it was a massive thriving hub of of prominent figures, experts, knowledge seekers, and policy makers.

Eager to learn about making funds actionable and impactful to combat climate change, I gravitated towards the events focusing on climate finance, and the mechanisms of implementation. The concept of ‘blended finance’ (a blend of public and private funds to invest in climate focused ventures) was gaining steady momentum. The need for such a mechanism arose from the harsh reality of the “risk” of climate projects – I learnt that most impactful investments in the climate/green space are still conventionally considered “risky” and they require their investors to brace themselves for low/unsteady returns. This was at first disheartening to hear, since it meant to me that people perceive climate risk differently. While it is apparent to me that the returns of mitigating anthropogenic activities that harm our environment far outweigh the short term risks, this is clearly not the popular opinion among changemakers.

As I explored other side events outside of the formal negotiations, my initial dissatisfaction waned and I became hopeful of our fruitful efforts in mitigation. I witnessed  enthusiasm among private sector organizations, with climate tech startups in the global south taking huge leaps of faith in order to scale their efforts. On a panel focused on climate tech startups on the global south, I learnt of the role of multinational banks, enterprise supporting organizations and big businesses with vested interests in local businesses in accelerating the life of climate tech startups. Some panelists – entrepreneurs from India, Senegal, Chile and Jordan – spoke of how they built climate tech accelerators when they saw a lack of a start-up ecosystem in their regions. The final flourish of this conversation emerged when one of the speakers stated that “we need to stop looking at the global north for directions, and promote greater south-south collaboration to achieve speed and scale”. The Global Bankability Score tool initiated by the Rockefeller Foundation at the climate finance pavilion aims to address the global clean power gap by ranking 10 developing countries in order of their “bankability” to aid transnational investors in setting their expectations for projects in these regions. The ranks given by this tool help uncloud the misconceptions surrounding risk in these countries which often hinder energy access projects from receiving funding from potential investors.

While there is clearly a growing interest in bridging the clean power gap between the global north and the south, there have been few conversations at COP28 that took a granular look at what it takes to effectively drive a project from conception to completion. In the developing world, there is a huge skill training gap that is not being addressed which could derail our progress, and it requires much more than mere financial capital. Gearing up workforces for a green economy is an intersectional issue and it requires strong policy regulation that ensures representation of vulnerable groups. Little has been said at COP28 during my week #1 about the barriers to developing the global human capital for the energy transition.

At COP28, discussions continued on setting a ‘new collective quantified goal on climate finance’ in 2024, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries, with additional funds of billions of dollars committed to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). As the world watched the outcomes of the conference, it is important to sustain the enthusiasm witnessed at the beginning of the conference till our collective goals to combat climate change are met in a just and equitable manner.

A cartoon found in the blue zone at COP28

The importance of international negotiations and their impact on the daily lives of people are often underrated matters. Especially, negotiations that decide the fate of our planet as we know it. The UNFCCC practicum allowed the participants of the class to try their hand at international diplomacy and negotiations, which was an interesting and necessary introduction to the proceedings we were to expect at COP28.

As a student with minimal background in policy, I was perplexed by the subtlety that exists in UN proceedings between parties. With the context of climate change and “our common but differentiated responsibilities” in mind, this unique challenge urges countries to cooperate with one another to for their direct benefit, instead of a race to get to the top or over-prioritize their personal interests. Climate change issues are intersectional by nature – they include but are not limited to human rights issues, women and children’s issues, technology, health, and safety concerns. This complex interwoven fabric that is our combat against climate change unites all parties in their aspirations, while we all differ in our struggles. While representing Bangladesh during the mock negotiations in the week leading up to COP28, I was exposed to the intricacies of negotiation language, to the do’s and don’ts of diplomacy during bilateral, and the ever-present pressure of coming to a consensus.

With 2023 being the year of the Global Stocktake, many have expressed their concern that hosting COP28 in Dubai could weaken the resolutions that parties set for themselves, despite growing climate concerns across the planet. The gaps revealed by stocktake have been made public well in advance of the conference and have spurred many sectors to begin taking action or amplifying their existing action towards mitigation and adaptation. I have personally been more vigilant about the private sector rather than the public, and I am keen to understand the effects of the results of the stocktake on NDCs.

I am additionally looking forward to an emphasis on actionable climate finance tools and mechanisms at COP28, and not mere promises and pledges. A lot of the pledges are mere rhetoric if they are not backed by adequate financing mechanisms that ensure that they survive to create the impact they were intended for. I also wish to understand what barriers currently exist in the deployment of capital to the global south, and whether those hurdles will impede us from limiting warming to 1.5C. Finally, I look forward to a discussion beyond renewables – the world as we know it will not run merely on solar and wind and is far from addressing energy security challenges that plague many parts of the global south.

I am also excited to collaborate with my client NatureDots, a startup based in India at the nexus of water and technology. I believe that energy, water, and food systems are highly correlated in their growth and demise and are crucial pieces of the puzzles that are mitigation and adaptation. I intend to follow topics related to technology startup journeys and innovations in the water and food resilience space.