00:00One thing we're hearing from officials is linking the climate crisis to the global health crisis.
00:06Now this ties into what we've heard from the World Food Programme.
00:09They estimate that because of the El Nino climate phenomenon,
00:13they estimate that 49 million additional people will be plunged into acute food insecurity by the end of 2027.
00:23So urgency really is the name of the game here in Antalya.
00:27And to discuss things further, I'm joined by Kaveh Gilenpour,
00:30the Vice President for International Strategies at the Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions.
00:36Kaveh, thank you so much for speaking to CGTN.
00:40Now, this COP is all about implementation.
00:43Talk us through what exactly that means.
00:44What are delegates hoping for here at this year's COP?
00:47Well, I think every COP since Paris has been labelled the implementation COP,
00:51but particularly so this year, because essentially the era of foundational negotiations under the Paris Agreement is over.
00:58And now countries are really going to have to step up and implement not only the obligations that they have
01:04under the Paris Agreement,
01:05but to have actions on the ground that are visible to people around the world,
01:09which, as you just said, is important for health.
01:11But we've also seen those terrible, devastating impacts happening in Nepal, the wildfires and floods in Europe.
01:17So implementation, I think, is really about people around the world seeing things improving for them,
01:23including access to energy and energy security.
01:26Well, you mentioned Nepal.
01:27This is the first time that we know that this new funding has been unveiled,
01:32has been rolled out, $20 million going towards Nepal after the tragedies we've seen there.
01:37How significant is that?
01:39Is that a sign of things to come?
01:40And how is that moving the needle here at COP?
01:42I think it's significant.
01:44I mean, developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable, I think, are frustrated
01:47about how long it's taken to set up that fund and to see it dispersing funds.
01:52But actually, it's the quickest we've ever had a multilateral climate fund being established and operational.
01:58And while $20 million is a drop in the ocean from the impacts that Nepal had,
02:03I think it's significant that it's the first time we've seen this happen and responding so quickly.
02:07So I think that's good.
02:08But we need to see much more in terms of financing for developing countries coming out of this process.
02:14And at least on paper, this is the last time that we'll see the United States at a COP
02:19after they start to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords.
02:22What's the significance of that?
02:25Is there any sense of potential nations stepping in to fill the void?
02:29Well, I think you're right.
02:30I mean, technically, the U.S. is still part of the convention.
02:32Their nameplate was in plenary, even though nobody was sitting behind the U.S. flag.
02:37Of course, they didn't send anybody to the last COP, and they're not sending anyone here.
02:41I think the U.S. is leaving a vacuum of leadership.
02:45But I think it's to be felt probably most acutely within the U.S.
02:49because other countries are stepping up and taking advantage of the acceleration to clean energy,
02:55the transition to renewable energy electric vehicles.
03:00And it's a shame that the U.S. and the domestic level is missing out on that.
03:04But countries like China and other emerging economies are stepping up increasingly to fill that void.
03:09And when it comes to stepping up, Brazil has announced a roadmap on how to transition away from fossil fuels.
03:15How much traction do you think that can gain here during these high-level meetings at COP?
03:21And do you think that this can be something that will gain wider traction and more implementation?
03:28Well, as you said, Brazil has just published that, so we're still trying to grapple with the details and understand
03:34the significance.
03:35But what the COP president of COP30 said is a part of this two-tier multilateralism,
03:40where the COP protests can deliver, by consensus, strong top-down signals where all 195 parties or so can agree.
03:48But where they can't agree, coalitions of the willing and front-runners on certain issues,
03:53such as the transition away from fossil fuels or forestry, can come together and lead.
03:58And what I'd like to see coming out of this COP is an increasing number of countries committing to that
04:02transition.
04:03And I feel that we may see an initiative to that effect amongst leadership countries.
04:08And what can we expect when it comes to doing more, especially developed nations stepping in to help provide assistance
04:16when it comes to transitioning away from fossil fuels towards clean economies,
04:22to doing more when it comes to financing adaptation?
04:25Can we expect any major headlines, headwinds in that respect?
04:28There's a lot of expectations at every COP in terms of climate finance, particularly for developing countries.
04:33I think the challenges, the fiscal and political space for developed countries to step up and fill that gap is
04:40limited.
04:41The new collective quantified goal on climate finance agreed in Baku a couple of years ago
04:46emphasised the importance of public finance from developed countries,
04:50but also acknowledged that the vast amount of climate finance is going to have to come from the real economy
04:56and the private sector.
04:57And what I'd like to see is a much more of an acceleration towards operationalising that,
05:02capitalising on the opportunities of climate action through investment,
05:05rather than relying on a dwindling pool of traditional donors from developed countries.
