The presidents of two of Latin America\u2019s largest economies, Brazil\u2019s Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva and Colombia\u2019s Gustavo Petro, both used their addresses at the summit\u2019s opening to state their commitment to climate action, but claimed a lesser responsibility than developed countries \u2013 calls echoed by Paraguay\u2019s Santiago Pe\u00f1a and Honduras\u2019 Xiomara Castro, plus Bolivian vice-president David Choquehuanca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI come as a representative of the people of the global south, historically colonised and the main providers of resources for the rest of the world. We are facing the worst consequences of the climate crisis while the world\u2019s most powerful individuals make plans to escape to other planets, leaving behind a devastated planet,\u201d Castro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Honduran president, who delivered<\/a> a list of seven suggestions to address the climate crisis, from debt swaps<\/a> to reducing consumption in developed economies, blamed capitalism for the world\u2019s rising temperatures. Bolivia\u2019s Choquehuanca struck a similar tone: \u201cThe global north is responsible for the global imbalance we are seeing. They seek permanent growth to our detriment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Brazil\u2019s Lula, the principle of countries\u2019 common but differentiated responsibilities for addressing the climate crisis was said to be non-negotiable. \u201cThreatening it goes against any basic notion of climate justice. This notion demands that financing and technology transfer obligations be fulfilled,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Petro said emissions \u201ccan be measured in social inequality\u201d as the rich countries are the ones polluting the most. \u201cThey are expanding their carbon consumption and taking humanity towards crisis,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Colombian president also called for a restructuring of the world\u2019s financial systems to help developing countries address climate and sustainable development challenges. He also appealed for unity among countries of the global south in their positions, as the summit heads towards negotiations in its second week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The choice of the United Arab Emirates, a global leader in the oil and gas industry, as COP28\u2019s host attracted widespread criticism from environmental activists, as did the election of the summit\u2019s president, Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, simultaneously the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This has helped to thrust the fossil fuel debate to the top of the summit\u2019s agenda. The first draft text<\/a> of the Global Stocktake, intended to evaluate progress on climate action and to outline what more is needed to limit global warming to 1.5C, currently mentions both the \u201cphase-out\u201d and \u201cphase-down\u201d of fossil fuels \u2013 hotly contested wording, with many fossil fuel-dependent states pushing for the less ambitious latter phrase. The text, including this key final word choice, is likely to change as negotiations move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n COP28 has so far underscored the differing ambitions and paths towards the energy transition among the countries of Latin America, where some, such as Argentina<\/a>, still plan to expand production, while others, such as Colombia<\/a> look to chart a course to a post-oil future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday, Colombian president Petro announced at the summit that the country would formally join a bloc promoting a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty<\/a> that would end exploration and expansion. The campaign, initially led by civil society groups, has so far been supported by 10 countries, mostly small island states, and 95 cities and subnational governments. \u201cIt\u2019s time for more countries to follow suit, first and foremost the rich nations from the global north,\u201d said Alex Rafalowicz, the initiative\u2019s director. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and 100 other countries, Colombia also signed<\/a> up to the voluntary pledge to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 \u2013 one of the key agreements targeted by the COP28 presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCountries have rightly recognised that renewable energy is the future of the Earth\u2019s energy generation needs with this pledge, but without phasing out all fossil fuels at the same time, we will not prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis,\u201d Dean Cooper, global energy lead for WWF, said of the renewable energy pledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the other notable announcements to gain signatories from Latin America was the voluntary pledge by 50 oil companies to reach net zero emissions in their operations by 2050, including state-owned firms Petrobras of Brazil and YPF of Argentina. The Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter<\/a> was hailed by Al-Jaber as a \u201cgreat first step\u201d for the industry, but has been met with fierce criticism: in an open letter<\/a>, 320 environmental groups labelled the voluntary pledges as a \u201csmokescreen\u201d and \u201cdangerous distraction\u201d, which \u201cserves primarily to greenwash the fossil fuel industry\u201d, calling for a full phase-out to be negotiated at COP28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brazil\u2019s Lula was a star of the show at last year\u2019s COP27<\/a>, and since returning as president in January has made notable progress on some of the green pledges that were central to his campaign, notably on slashing deforestation rates<\/a> in the country. COP28, however, was a more complex outing for the leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While acknowledging the progress and potential of renewables in Brazil, Lula faced scrutiny from campaigners over Brazil\u2019s announcement \u2013 and the timing of it during the COP summit \u2013 that it will join OPEC+<\/a>, a group composed of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), plus its oil-producing allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoes the country want to be a climate leader or a fossil fuel-dependent state? It can’t be both at the same time,\u201d said Peri Dias, Latin America representative for environmental organisation 350.org, speaking at COP28. In a meeting with Brazilian NGOs at COP, Lula said that by joining OPEC+ he could \u201chelp convince the biggest oil producers\u201d to use their profits to support the energy transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It hasn\u2019t been all fossil fuels at COP28. Discussions over agriculture are also high on the agenda for Latin American governments. Brazil and Argentina, the region\u2019s agricultural powerhouses, shared similar concerns about potential changes in trade regulations aimed at preventing environmental damage in the sector. Countries also expressed different stances on a new declaration that aims to bring down the sector\u2019s emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the very start of COP28, Brazil, on behalf of the BASIC climate negotiating group, which also includes India, China and South Africa, asked for the inclusion of their concerns over \u201cunilateral and coercive trade measures\u201d on the summit\u2019s agenda. Countries, Brazil\u2019s letter<\/a> to the COP secretaries read, should \u201creiterate opposition to the politicisation of climate change issues and all forms of unilateralism and protectionism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though it ultimately failed to make it onto the COP agenda, Brazil\u2019s request was a reaction to a new European Union law<\/a> to ban the imports of commodities associated with deforestation, as well as to an environmental clause the EU included this year<\/a> as an additional requirement for a trade agreement with Mercosur, the South American trade bloc Brazil shares with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Similar concerns were shared by Argentina, which published a joint statement<\/a> with agribusiness lobby groups. Without making specific reference to the EU, it decried \u201cunilateral and restrictive trade measures that, far from delivering environmental results, actually seek to protect industries and internal markets from international competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his time at COP28, Lula met with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and with Spanish president Pedro S\u00e1nchez, and said the two blocs were on the verge of closing the long-delayed trade deal, agreed in 2019 but yet to be formalised. The EU hit the brakes after former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019, but Lula, currently holding the Mercosur presidency, is keen to see the deal over the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mercosur bloc is holding a presidential meeting this week in Brazil, where the agreement had looked set to be discussed, even finalised. But the deal looks once more to be on the rocks: at COP, French president Emmanuel Macron said<\/a> the agreement, in its current form, \u201cisn\u2019t good for anyone\u201d, while further decisions will reportedly be delayed until Argentina\u2019s radical new president, Javier Milei, takes office on 10 December. The EU, meanwhile, has cancelled<\/a> its trade chief\u2019s visit to the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Gustavo](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231202_Gustavo-Petro-Urrego-cop28_Flickr_53370758258_99dd360712_o-scaled.jpg\")
<\/div>The fossil fuel debate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Countries have rightly recognised that renewable energy is the future of the Earth\u2019s energy generation needs with this pledge, but without phasing out all fossil fuels at the same time, we will not prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis<\/blockquote>Dean Cooper, global energy lead for WWF<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"people](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/20231204_Oil-Change-International-cop28_Flickr_53374752245_ce0010c613_o-scaled.jpg\")
<\/div>Agriculture and trade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Ursula](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Ursula-von-der-Leyen-and-President-Lula_53368544006_6b4493a89c_o_0-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/div>