Fossil Of The Day Award Of COP29 Presented To S Korea, New Solidarity For Justice Award Goes To The Palestinian People

18 November

Fossil of the Day: South Korea

This is the Finance COP. Let’s say that again because clearly, the message is not getting through to countries: this is the Finance COP. Therefore, today’s Fossil award goes to a country that has its finance all backwards.

South Korea is currently blocking the long overdue deal for OECD countries to end their $41 billion in annual subsidies for oil and gas from export credit agencies. A leaked government document in September showed how the government is taking an unconstructive negotiating position. The EU, Canada, UK, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand are now all in favour of a deal. South Korea’s last hope of someone to hide behind, the US, also seems to be shifting in favour of a deal.

Public finance is the linchpin to progress across all the negotiation paths in Baku, and with an increasing number of deadly floods, storms and heatwaves globally. This is not the time to use public money to prop up the fossil fuel industry.

This is just another example of governments backing a dying industry instead of truly bankrolling climate action. The elimination of the $41 billion annually in export finance from OECD countries would be a strong signal that we are finally shifting our priorities in the right direction - public money for climate finance. As the world’s largest remaining provider of international public finance that has yet to make a commitment to stop these egregious subsidies, it is time for South Korea to shift the finance and to stop acting like they don’t know where to source the money for climate action.

With things like BTS, Samsung, and Korean BBQ, South Korea may be a trendsetter, but their finance of fossil fuels puts them firmly in the ‘has been’ category.

Dishonourable mention: Finland

We include a dishonourable mention for Finland today, whose technofixes attempt to hide their backsliding into climate laggards. At a time when the world needs to be scaling up their climate finance, Finland is scaling back. Making cuts in the hundreds of millions and covering this up by fudging their numbers, counting market-based loans as climate finance. We’ve seen this before with the $100 Billion goal - there is no place for this in the new Climate Finance Goal (NCQG).

Finland has pledged a mere 8.6% of what their neighbour Sweden pledged to the Green Climate Fund. They are using the same stale tricks, cutting old pledges to the Systematic Observations Financing Facility then making ‘new’ pledges at COP29, but in reality are just undoing their previous cuts.

And it is not just in the finance arena where they are slipping. Their carbon neutrality is falling by the wayside, with carbon sinks collapsing across the country, and inaction on agricultural emissions and transport all contributing to them being way off track for their 2035 deadline.

Reality is catching up with them, being sued for disregarding their own climate laws, and bringing the rest of the EU’s targets down with them. And now with this dishonourable mention on top of it all, It’s time for Finland to step up, pay up for climate finance.

Solidarity for Justice Award

This year at COP29, Climate Action Network is introducing an award to recognise the struggles taking place across the world and the need to support and stand in solidarity with those most discriminated against.

We are honoured to stand with the Palestinian people and award them the inaugural “Solidarity for Justice” Award. This is presented in recognition of the resilience and resistance by Palestinians for over 75 years of Occupation, the ongoing oppression over decades, and the genocide currently unfolding in Gaza. The just and righteous struggle for self-determination by Palestinians and their endurance against the most horrific atrocities for over 400 days of genocide, has been met with global solidarity at a scale not witnessed before. Millions of people are taking to the streets in cities across the world, students occupying campuses, workers striking in solidarity against the shipment of arms, and activists taking direct action against arms sales, all demanding a ceasefire, an arms and energy embargo and an end to the occupation..

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