Climate Digest: Halting Progress at Climate Talks as Global Temperatures Soar

Negotiators Make Limited Progress on New Climate Finance Goal ➔ 

The UN climate negotiations in Bonn concluded earlier this month with countries remaining largely divided on the shape and scale of the new climate finance goal, which is set to dominate the agenda at the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. Following the talks, WRI’s Gaia Larsen said that while “delegates in Bonn made some good headway cutting down the negotiating text…  all that wordsmithing did little to build consensus around the most contentious issues” such as “who pays, how much money the goal aims for and the right balance of different types of financing”. Unlike the current $100 billion annual target that was set fifteen years ago, the new goal is meant to respond to developing countries’ needs. The pressure is now on for leaders to drive more decisive progress leading up to the annual climate summit this November. 

Read our explainer on what the new climate finance goal could look like. 

Separately, G7 Leaders released a communique reaffirming their commitment to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels this decade, as agreed at COP28 in Dubai. Yet fossil fuel emissions hit a record high in 2023 despite the scaling up of renewables, and scaling back coal, oil and natural gas was largely absent from the agenda in Bonn. 

Scorching Heat Grips Much of the World➔

Billions of people across the globe are grappling with record breaking temperatures this month. In Saudi Arabia, over 1,300 people died during the hajj pilgrimage, with temperatures up to 51.8C; in India there have been over 40,000 suspected cases of heatstroke and at least 110 confirmed deaths in recent months; and over 100 million Americans were under a heat advisory due to a massive heat dome. A new study from Nature reveals that last summer in the Northern Hemisphere was the hottest in over 2,000 years, yet 2024 is likely to break records again. 

As the Earth gets hotter, can our cities get cooler? New analysis by World Resources Institute finds that cool infrastructure can reduce city air temperatures by 3-4 degrees Celsius. For example, Medellin, Colombia planted over 8,000 trees and created an interconnected network of green spaces that has reduced temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius in just three years. 

EU Ministers Green Light Nature Preservation Law ➔ 

EU environment ministers green-lit the Nature Restoration Law, which obligates EU member states to protect and restore Europe’s forests, land, coastlines, lakes, ocean and overall biodiversity. The law aims to rehabilitate at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all degraded ecosystems by 2050. The legally binding target had been heavily contested by some groups such as farmers, and a number of countries voted against the law: Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. 

In a statement, WRI’s Janneke de Vries said “following four years of divisive political debate, the law’s passage will establish ambitious climate and biodiversity targets and position the EU as a global leader on climate issues.” The EU Nature Restoration Law represents a big win ahead of the COP16 global biodiversity summit this October, where all countries are meant to present new national plans to protect nature and wildlife. 

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