Immediate Release

Richard Folland, head of policy and engagement, and in Baku said:

“With the talks on the verge of collapse at the eleventh hour the outcome of this COP is deeply disappointing, shockingly so on the key climate finance objective and on accelerating the transition away from oil, gas and coal. Strangled by the second highest attendance of fossil fuel lobbyists on record in Baku and with progress simultaneously blocked by oil and gas producer voices at G20 in Rio, this COP has taken us dangerously backwards on collective climate action as extreme weather events take their toll.

“It also raises the stakes acutely on the next round of NDCs, which will have to seize the moment if we are to have the slimmest chance of keeping to 1.5C this decade. It will also put a huge amount of pressure on Brazil and their Presidency of COP30 next year. Governments will need to submit ambitious NDCs and show how they can really deliver. An orderly transition to avoid climate chaos and financial meltdown is possible, but the time for it to happen is quickly ebbing away. The time for any more backsliding has passed.

“The suggestion that “decarbonising” the extraction and processing of fossil fuels will solve climate change is essentially a myth. Fossil fuels must be phased out to meet our climate goals. Action on operational oil and gas emissions – especially methane – is also critical. Yet current corporate targets have significant shortcomings, and thus underestimate the impact of corporates’ activities: generally they do not fully reflect methane’s role in driving short term warming and almost universally exclude emissions from non-operated assets in which companies have an equity stake.”