Financing issues the bugbear in striking a deal at COP30

Implementing adaptation strategies a priority but countries lack consensus

- Ang Qing Correspondent

Protesters making a point during a silent demonstration at COP30 in Belem. Developing countries are concerned about whether they have the resources to measure vulnerabilities in the first place, and how they can finance efforts to implement measures to adapt. They are asking developed countries for more funds to help them do so.

(ST PHOTO: ANG QING)

Adaptation refers to actions that help reduce vulnerability to climate impacts, such as building sea walls to keep out rising tides, or early warning systems to reduce lives lost to typhoons.

Neglected and under-resourced for years, adaptation has seen slow progress, as much of the world's attention has been focused on mitigation, or efforts to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

But as climate change starts manifesting in the form of more extreme weather events globally, the Brazilian host of this year's climate talks has called on the nearly 200 countries party to the Paris Agreement to make implementing adaptation strategies a priority.

Countries in Brazil's Belem city for COP30 are hammering out an agreement on a set of indicators for how countries can measure progress on implementing such measures.

However, an initial draft of the decision on adaptation released on Nov 18 was littered with square brackets which reveal a lack of consensus between countries.

The Straits Times explains the sticking points.

The faster the climate changes and the longer adaptation efforts are postponed, the more difficult and expensive responding to climate change will be.

Having a list of standardised indicators will allow nations to better track their strengths and weaknesses against the impacts of climate change.