Essay by Eric Worrall
According to small nations delegates they were busy b̵a̵n̵g̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵h̵o̵o̵k̵e̵r̵s̵ finalising the details of their position, when a deal was struck while they were out of the room.
Pacific Islands lash out at COP28 presidency: ‘We weren’t in the room’ when deal was announced
By Natasha Turak,CNBC • Published December 13, 2023 • Updated 6 hours ago
- “We weren’t in the room when this decision was gavelled. And that is shocking to us,” Tina Stege, the climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, told media on Wednesday.
- For Pacific Island nations and many other island and low-lying coastal states vulnerable to rising sea levels, the final COP28 deal falls severely short.
- “We see a litany of loopholes,” the AOSIS statement reacting to the deal said. “It does not deliver on a subsidy phaseout, and it does not advance us beyond the status quo.”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Representatives of Pacific Island states expressed frustration and disappointment at the final outcome of the COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates, saying they were left out of the plenary room when the concluding deal was decided.
“We weren’t in the room when this decision was gavelled. And that is shocking to us,” Tina Stege, the climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, said Wednesday while speaking outside of the plenary.
Anne Rasmussen, the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), told the COP28 Presidency in a closing statement: “We are a little confused about what just happened.”
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Read more: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/business/money-report/pacific-islands-lash-out-at-cop28-presidency-we-werent-in-the-room-when-deal-was-announced/3493297/
You’ve got to hand it to Sultan Al Jaber, he pulled a rabbit out of the hat with this one, if he had anything to do with the absence – lure the noisy shouty people out of the room, so a deal could be struck. Or maybe they just took advantage of their absence?
It’s hilarious that the Alliance of Small Island States couldn’t manage to make one flunky stay in the room while the senior people attended their important meeting. Or maybe they did, and their representative couldn’t get anyone senior on the phone when it all started moving against them.
The new deal of course is pointless and vague, like every other COP deal. As far as I can tell it’s a commitment to transition only energy systems away from fossil fuel, leaving transport alone, with a role for gas as a transition fuel. So I guess Sultan Al Jaber gets to sign his big gas contracts after all.
Still I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of those Pacific Island delegates, when they get back home and explain to the boss they blundered the big payoff. Maybe they would be better off staying in the UAE.
Note I’m just joking about the banging hookers reference, I’m sure the small islands delegates were all attending matters of state which were so important they couldn’t send one member of the team into the conference to keep an eye on things. But anyone who thinks hookers are not a thing in the UAE has never taken a long walk around town at night. To the polite and friendly Dubai doorman who invited me in to the windowless heavy stone construction mens club with the opulently decorated steel reinforced door and lots of single guys continuously coming and going, thanks but no thanks.
