Technology and Science15 July, 20263 min read
Climate Home News Says Major Emitting Countries Knew Climate Risks Decades Earlier Than Claimed
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COP30 ended without a final document mentioning fossil fuels. Colombia hosted a conference to break fossil fuels impasse with 50+ volunteer countries.
Decades of Knowledge
A Climate Home News report says major emitting countries knew of climate risks decades earlier than they claimed, arguing that once governments were informed of the risks fossil fuels posed, they had a duty to do everything in their power to prevent those risks from materializing and at a minimum to refrain from exacerbating them. The report points to a year ago this month moment when the world’s highest court affirmed that countries have been under an obligation to curb climate change since they knew about the foreseeable risks it posed and to remedy its harms.
Climate Home News also says a new report from the Center for International Environmental Law shows governments of many major emitting countries have known since at least the 1960s that fossil fuel use was warming the planet and, if continued, could lead to dire impacts including melting of the polar ice caps, catastrophic sea level rise, and extreme heat. The same report frames the legal stakes as extending beyond historical record, describing the knowledge as “a matter of legal responsibility” and warning that the earlier governments knew, the longer they have been under an obligation to prevent climate harm.
UN Resolution and Limits
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the direct responsibility of states for climate change, with the Les Echos account saying it will facilitate legal action by allowing states whose climate policies are deemed insufficient or ineffective to be sued.
Les Echos reports that the compromise text was adopted by 141 votes in favor, 8 against (including the United States, Israel, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia) and 28 abstentions, and it traces the resolution to an opinion issued just over a year ago by the International Court of Justice.
Sébastien Duyck, senior lawyer at the Center for International Environmental Law, is quoted explaining that “The vote does not validate or invalidate the Court’s opinion. It stands on its own,” while also describing the UN vote as political endorsement.
Les Echos stresses that the adopted resolution remains cautious and non-binding, adding that “The Paris Agreement is a legally binding text,” and that the UN sequence is “not legal but diplomatic,” even as it is presented as important for international cooperation.
Santa Marta Without Major Emitters
A conference to move away from fossil fuels opened in Santa Marta, Colombia, on Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29, bringing together more than 50 “volunteer countries” while the major emitting countries remain absent, according to TIME France. TIME France says the Netherlands and Colombia announced the meeting in response to paralysis of UN climate conferences, and it quotes British climate envoy Rachel Kyte saying, “People feel relieved to be able to talk about these issues without having to argue about the existential importance of them.”
The report describes the conference as composed of emerging and European countries, with France sending one of its ambassadors, Benoît Faraco, in charge of climate negotiations, while the United States, China, India, and the Gulf states are listed among the major absentees. TIME France adds that no major, binding decision is expected at the end of the meeting, but participating countries want to send a formal message to non-participants and discuss their exit from oil while prioritizing investments in solar or wind energy.