Aarti Gupta at COP29 press conference: ‘The accountability deficit’

Posted bymaxvandeursenPosted inNews

At COP29 in Baku, TRANSGOV PI Aarti Gupta spoke in a press conference about transparency and accountability in the UNFCCC. In this press conference, Aarti Gupta provided reflections on COP-29 from a Global South perspective.

Key messages:

  • There is a pressing need to address the accountability deficit in the UNFCCC process. 
  • Central to this COP-29 again is a focus on new goals, plans, dialogues, declarations and aspirations, relating to finance, adaptation and mitigation ambition. 
  • Yet will new promises be kept? How do we secure accountability within the UNFCCC, especially from those who most urgently need to act? 
  • Accountability is assumed to be furthered primarily through the Enhanced Transparency Framework (which requires regular reporting on climate actions by countries). But the current design of this framework is not fit-for-purpose. 
  • The accountability deficit, and lack of ambitious and fair action within the UNFCCC, has consequences 
  • For example, it can leave the door open to those pushing for risky and dangerous distractions, such as Solar Radiation Modification, now being discussed in the side-lines at COP-29. This is a risk that we need to avoid at all costs. 

The Business Standard reported on this press conference:

“Dr. Aarti Gupta from Wageningen University emphasised that transparency was a recurring theme, and stressed the accountability deficit in climate pledges. Accountability mechanisms are limited in the UNFCCC framework, she pointed out. Gupta expressed concern over the reliance on self-reported climate finance data, which often lacks verification and a clear picture of actual flows. Without a standardised, multilateral definition of climate finance, self-reporting by developed countries has often been inadequate in capturing the true extent of contributions, she said. Dr. Gupta also raised a red flag on the potential risks of speculative geoengineering solutions, such as solar radiation modification, being discussed as a last-resort climate strategy. These risky, untested methods could detract from meaningful action, she argued. There is serious pushback from the Global South against these options, Gupta stated, underscoring the urgency for strengthened accountability to avoid resorting to these high-stakes technologies.”