COP29, Like Every Other COP Is All About Transferring Money from Us to Favored Others

Guest Post by David Wojick via CFact.

UN Climate COPs have always been about big money but until now there was a facade of emission reductions to hide it behind. This time the money is the big thing and it is amazingly crazy. They want many trillions from us starting next year.

That people take this nonsense seriously speaks volumes about the unreality of the UN climate program. But it will be great fun to watch them hit the NO WAY wall.

There are actually three big money issues to watch fail. First is the annual money for nothing from developed countries to developing ones that is supposed to jump from a measly $100 billion a year to a trillion a year and quickly growing to almost two trillion. I am not making this up.

Second is the as yet untold trillions we are supposed to pay the developing countries to make up for their bad weather. Which of these two is crazier is hard to say and I welcome suggestions.

Third is perhaps the most fun. People want China, one of the strongest economies in the world, to stop pretending to be a developing country and put big money into these two pots. By some measures China is by far the strongest economy. For example they produce and use more electricity than the US and EU combined.

Before getting further into the greenback craziness a procedural point must be made especially with Trump coming on. This big money stuff is about the MOP not the COP. How’s that for jargon?

The basis for these annual discussions is the 1994 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is a treaty ratified by 198 countries including the US. The abbreviation COP stands for the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC.

The Paris Agreement is a 2015 supplement to the UNFCCC. It is not a treaty just what is called a Presidential Agreement in international law. President Trump cannot get us out of the UNFCCC but he can easily leave the Paris Agreement as he did last time he was President. Getting together under the Paris Agreement is called the Meeting of the Parties or the MOP.

COP 29 is actually part COP and part MOP. All three big money issues are on the MOP side where we will soon be absent. Off course the COP 29 MOP is under what is left of the Biden Administration so we will still be at the table but any promises made will be laughed at. This twist just adds to the frivolity.

Here’s a bit more on the jargon so you can follow the action. First the astronomical annual payment issue is called the New Collective Quantified Goal or NCQG which strikes me as unpronounceable. Suggestions welcome. At least there is an interior rhyme with C and G.

For purpose of discussion the starting value of the NCQG is $1.1 trillion in 2025 rising to $1.8 trillion in 2019. Yes it is a 5 year plan. No surprise there, right?

The second big money issue is called Loss and Damage. This bad weather pot is just getting off the ground or trying to which may not happen so there is a lot to watch.

The problem is there is more bad weather than money in the world so even possible funds are limited. Thus the basic issue is who gets how much and for what? There are no actual funds at this point. So the debate is entirely academic which diplomats love.

The Chinese issue seems to have no formal name but it is often termed as “China’s contribution.” That China is the world’s biggest CO2 emitter also plays into the guilt trip. China’s answer is that on a per capita basis they are still developing and have a long way to go. We shall see.

Mind you diplomats never say NO so that will not happen. They just never say YES. Watch for it in slow motion since they have two weeks to kill.

The money is laughably impossible and the US is pulling out of the MOP but the show must go on. Stay tuned to CFACT for a lot of fun to come.

#DavidWojick #CFact #China #UN #COP29 #Climate