Published 28.10.2021

Ambitions, the rulebook and climate finance are three concepts that you will hear a lot about during this year’s climate negotiations. Here is a brief explanation.

Ambitions

When the countries of the world signed the Paris Agreement, there was an understanding that the overall ambitions were not sufficient to achieve the goal of limiting the temperature increase to well below 2 degrees and striving for 1.5 degrees. Therefore, they were the only ones to submit reinforced ambitions every five years after 2015. The countries do not negotiate the emission targets that they bring with them to the climate negotiations, they only present them.

The strengthening of the ambitions of the individual countries every five years is seen as one of the most important parts of the Paris Agreement. This time, the countries must submit targets that are valid until 2030. Several countries have already set such targets, or have strengthened them over the past year. It is nevertheless conceivable that the countries will use the summit to present new details on how the goals are to be achieved or new initiatives are launched which can contribute to increased efforts.

Rulebook

These are the details of the Paris Agreement, where there are still some points that need to be negotiated. This applies, for example, to how reporting emissions and how quota trading should work, incl. questions about being able to announce old quotas from Kyoto agreements in the new regime. Norway has been given a special responsibility to lead the negotiations on quota trading.

Climate financing

The parties, which formally divide into industrialized and developing countries, must begin negotiations on a new goal of climate finance. Already in Copenhagen in 2009, most countries were the only ones to have rich countries contribute $ 100 billion a year to climate measures in poor countries. In Glasgow, they will negotiate the new target that will apply after 2025, and which rules will apply in the transition phase from 2020 to 2025.

Climate finance is a nut in the climate negotiations, as rich and poor countries have different understandings of what it is due to. Somewhat simplified, it can be said that developing countries regard the sum as a promise of direct transfers that they will be able to spend on climate measures, whether it is measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions or climate adaptation measures. Industrialized country, on the other hand, sees this sum as funds made available through investments and loans, for example through a government investment fund. Industrialized countries argue that if they invest in or borrow money for climate-friendly projects, then these can trigger investments or loans from other parties as well, and that these funds should also count towards the sum of 100 billion.