COP29: Communities focused on solutions and solidarity
By Jaspreet Kindra
As COP29 got underway in Baku this week, there was a definite sense of community uplifting the proceedings.
All kinds of communities – formal and informal, stepped forward. A network of climate-vulnerable countries also affected by conflicts decided to advocate for themselves collectively. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) held an event on their initiative for debt relief and driving climate investment. Meanwhile, others took turns babysitting a young activist’s son, enabling her to participate in events.
The network was launched at a high-level event on Friday.
“We cannot be the solution, but we can help to foster solutions,” said Lisa Doughten, OCHA’s Director of Finance and Partnerships offering the aid community’s support to the initiative.
“Our presence in conflict environments enables us to provide immediate, on-the-ground support tailored to local needs through partnerships with community organizations,” she noted.
Doughten explained that OCHA-managed finance mechanisms “are designed to respond swiftly and deliver resources to crisis contexts. Within our life-saving mandate, our emergency interventions can be designed to help reduce vulnerability to future shocks.”
The network, a country-led initiative primarily involving countries from the Global South, aims to share experiences to learn from one another, and advocate collectively. The network is banking on its collective strength to help access vital resources.
The network followed the launch of the Baku Call on Climate Action for Peace, Relief and Recovery earlier during the day. The initiative was launched by the COP Presidency, Azerbaijan in collaboration with Egypt, Italy, Germany, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
The Baku Call establishes the Baku Climate and Peace Action Hub, a cooperative platform designed to facilitate collaboration between national, regional, and international peace and climate initiatives.
OCHA co-hosted a side event with the World Food Programme to discuss similar issues but with a stronger focus on solutions.
“At OCHA, we are adapting our instruments and ways of working to help address the glaring gap between the needs and resources dedicated to communities affected by conflict,” said Doughten
Last year COP28, OCHA launched the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Climate Action Account to channel additional resources to the world’s most vulnerable communities facing climate crises.
Doughten provided an update on how this income window in CERF, would help affected communities build their capacity to adapt to climate shocks.
Earlier this year, the income window helped CERF introduce its first-ever dedicated climate action funding allocation of US$10 million, in addition to the $100 million allocated for underfunded emergencies in 2024.
This allocation is set to help communities in fragile contexts such as Haiti, Burkina Faso, Mali and Myanmar. Read detailed coverage by International Institute for International Development's Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
The SIDS hope the Global SIDS Debt Sustainability Support Service, co-developed by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), will support them in negotiating debt relief and attracting investment.
Extreme weather events are increasingly becoming even more catastrophic for SIDS wiping out huge chunks of their gross domestic product (GDP) leaving them unable to recover fully. These countries can lose between 1 and 9 per cent of their GDP in an event.
“Our assessment shows that the damage caused by disasters as a percentage of GDP in SIDS increased by nearly 90 per cent from 2011 to 2022, said Ritu Bharadwaj, IIED’s Director of Climate Resilience and Loss and Damage.
The Support Service offers a comprehensive approach to help the SIDS with a multi-layered debt relief package with income-generating opportunities. We will provide a more detailed account of this later this month.
During the Peace, Relief and Recovery Day, Sudanese climate and peace activist Nisreen Elsaim, highlighted that many of the countries caught up in conflict are also among the most vulnerable to climate change.
It was unfortunate the impact of climate change in these countries has taken the back seat, she noted. Elsaim highlighted Sudan, where 14 of its 18 states have been affected by war. People affected by the conflict had fled to the four relatively calmer states only to face devastating floods from unprecedented rains this year.
Elsaim, a young mother who fled the conflict with her son, was supported by her co-panellists and at times by members of her country's delegation, who took turns to look after her child, while she underlined the need for peace in various events.
As they say it takes a village or a community to get things done.