As 2024 comes to a close we look back at the most important climate events, meetings, negotiations and initiatives from the last twelve months. Our research and data, articles and projects reveal a year that has been rich with developments and change in both the climate itself and what we can expect from the future.
From Obama to Trump, then Biden and Trump again. The US presidents who have come and gone over the past quarter century have brought different visions and policies when it comes to climate finance. Leveraging her experience in policy analysis of international environmental and climate agreements, CMCC researcher Semercioglu Nazlicicek outlines the history of US contributions to loss and damage funding and what we can expect from a second Trump term in office.
Climate finance was front and center, while a leading actor was relegated to a sideline role. In a CMCC webinar, negotiators returning from Baku take stock of key aspects of COP29, such as the complex context of the negotiations, decisions on the New Collective Quantified Goal, the Baku-to-Belem roadmap, news on the carbon market, global cooperation, and adaptation. Throughout, it emerges that bridging scientific insights with policy is more essential than ever to transform commitments into meaningful climate action.
The United Nations recently adopted the UN Pact For The Future, its latest framework aimed at addressing global challenges and accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reforming international financial systems to better serve developing nations, tackling climate change, and governing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. We take a closer look at what this means for climate science.
The focus of the ongoing COP is to decide on a new finance regime. Major polluters will be asked to massively increase their financial contributions to developing nations. Researchers from IIASA and CMCC show that Loss and Damage needs of vulnerable countries range between roughly 130 and 940 billion Dollars in 2025 alone. On top of money for mitigation and adaptation.
Removing carbon from the atmosphere will play a crucial role in the ability of countries to reach their climate goals. “Alongside the role of carbon capture technologies, enhancing the carbon sink potential land sector is the solution to offsetting residual un-abatable emissions and therefore achieving net-zero targets,” says Maria Vincenza Chiriacò, CMCC researcher and member of the Italian delegation to COP29 – where Parties to the Paris Agreement are working towards establishing clear and rigorous rules for a UN backed-global carbon market.
What does it mean to be the world’s fastest warming continent toppling flooding, temperature and wildfire records as glaciers melt at unprecedented rates and communities suffer like never before? Understanding the latest trends in Europe’s climate, including progress in areas such as renewable energy generation and resilience to extreme events, is the key to effective adaptation and mitigation.
Between 6-9 June 2024, voters across the EU will decide on the next European Parliament, and in the process, set the course for the bloc’s next five years of climate policy. Polls and experts suggest that, although climate issues continue to be a key concern, the next EU Parliament may dilute climate policy. The issue however, is not with the climate policies themselves, but which climate policies are being implemented.
Linda Kalcher, Executive Director of the think tank Strategic Perspectives, outlines strengths and weaknesses of the EC recommendation of reducing 90% net EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and describes opportunities and shapes of a future that is just around the corner.
The Marshall Islands, a nation of low-lying atolls threatened by rising sea levels, is facing an existential crisis. Yet, amidst this adversity, the Marshallese people are not only adapting to climate change but also charting a path for survival. Drawing inspiration from their rich maritime heritage, the Marshall Islands have developed a groundbreaking National Adaptation Plan for Survival (NAP). This plan, unveiled at COP28, outlines a comprehensive strategy for addressing the climate crisis over the next century.
Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) play a pivotal role in shaping climate research and policy. “The main progress lies in democratizing modeling capabilities across different countries, ensuring more pertinent and accurate policy insights,” says Roberto Schaeffer. The need for a shift towards national-level modeling of climate impacts, the complexity of balancing immediate costs with long-term benefits at the policy level, and the representation gap between countries, are at the core of the current discussion around climate modeling.
“I’m anxious to see what emerges from the Global Stocktake. Although the report on our progress has already been published, we really need to build on this and raise ambition”. CMCC scientist Lara Aleluia Reis focuses on things such as credibility, accountability and transparency as key issues that will determine the success of COP28 in delivering a more ambitious pathway that brings us closer to the well below 2°C target. How? It all starts with the Global Stocktake.
