EJCJC Network at the COP28: Carbon Markets and Climate Justice
In December 2023, the 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) ended on an ambiguous note. While some people applauded the final decision text, others were left defeated and outraged. For the first time, a COP concluded with a written call to transition away from fossil fuels. Nevertheless, for many participants, this was not enough; in fact, this was just the “bare minimum.” Critics pointed out the shallowness of the text, seen as weak, ineffectual and full of loopholes for the fossil fuel industry. The location of COP28, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, has also drawn criticism due to the region's strong ties with extractive industries, such as oil and gas.
During the COP, the conference's integrity continued to be questioned due to the significant presence of fossil fuel lobbyists - nearly four times more than COP27. Some viewed the presence of lobbyists in conflict with the goal of promoting sustainable, equitable, and just climate solutions. Indeed, several reports highlighted the fossil fuels efforts to place Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technology at the heart of the political agendas. Many leaders and scientists view CCUS as impractical and inadequate for substantial emissions reduction, while climate activists denounce the danger of misuse that could allow fossil fuel companies to continue their operations without significant reductions in pollution and emissions.
COP28 saw significant participation from Columbia University, with several faculty members, students, and researchers in attendance. Among them was Johanna Lovecchio, who works at Columbia Climate School and is a member of the Climate and Environmental Justice (EJCJC) Network. At COP28, Johanna Lovecchio championed environmental justice, following up on a Climate Week roundtable during NYC Climate Week hosted at Columbia Climate School alongside partners at Namati, Grassroots Justice Network, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and Columbia World Projects.
The roundtable report titled "Carbon Markets, Nature, Rights and Climate Justice," released ahead of COP28, encapsulates the essence of the challenges Lovecchio was engaging in. The report, available on the Columbia Climate School's website, delves into the complexities of nature credit and offset markets, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in ensuring fair outcomes, accountability, and transparency. The report acknowledges that market growth is neither inevitable nor guaranteed of nature positive nor equitable outcomes. Among the risks, the report identifies “greenwashing, underpricing, double counting and over accounting based on counterfactuals, displacement and threats to sovereignty, lack of land and marine tenure rights, discounting of future climate risk and biodiversity baselines, additionality, and inadequate local jurisdictional policy and governance.”
At COP28, a panel discussion on the report’s policy considerations included Peggy Shephard (WE ACT for Environmental Justice), Rebecca Iwerks (Namati), and Ana Maria Camelo Vega (Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment), among others.
The panel was in the context of the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4 (which established an international carbon crediting mechanism), the creation of an Article 6 Supervisory Body, which will oversee voluntary carbon markets. This discussion was not just a response to the dominance of and assumptions related to carbon markets and offsets at the conference but also a proactive step towards inclusive and fair climate solutions that are grounded in the governance, ecological, and customary realities of local communities worldwide.
The report and follow-up at COP28 offer a summary of all discussions, policy recommendations, and initial ideas for legal, design, knowledge sharing, and clinic-based support programs. These efforts underscore how an inclusive approach might be modeled in order to design and align academia with the field of practice and the needs of local communities. It is critical to ensure that the outcomes of carbon markets and climate policies are equitable and just.