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The briefing examines the ongoing negotiations for the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance, focusing on seven critical areas of contention: the financial target amount, the identity of contributing countries, the applicable time frame, the inclusion of loss and damage, alignment with Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement, the quality of finance (concessionality, accessibility, predictability, and effectiveness), and the mechanisms for transparently tracking progress.

The document analyzes the first Global Stocktake's signals on mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, highlighting the systemic challenges for the Global South. It argues that while the GST provides historic targets for transitioning away from fossil fuels and tripling renewables, it lacks concrete financial commitments. The brief emphasizes the need for the NCQG to address the 'trilemma' of climate goals, fiscal sustainability, and political feasibility by expanding fiscal space through non-debt instruments and reforming the international financial architecture.

The document provides a detailed update on the climate trajectories of China and the U.S., highlighting China's rapid expansion of non-fossil energy capacity and the U.S.'s implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It details specific national policies, such as China's '1+N' system and the U.S.'s EPA rules on power plants and vehicles, while analyzing the diplomatic dynamics following the Sunnylands Statement and the transition of key climate envoys.

The document argues that while COP28 increased ambition through technology inclusivity and pledges to scale renewables and nuclear energy, the transition now depends on effective financing and planning amidst significant geopolitical instability. It highlights that 2024 is a critical year due to widespread democratic elections and rising trade protectionism, which may prioritize domestic security over climate action. Looking toward COP29 in Baku, the authors expect a focus on the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG), the phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and the need for more realistic macroeconomic modeling to address a global climate financing gap estimated between $4.5 to $10 trillion per year. The text suggests that because multilateral consensus is increasingly difficult, progress will likely shift toward regional climate weeks and bi- or trilateral partnerships.

The report argues that COP28 failed to uphold human rights and was subject to corporate capture, resulting in insufficient outcomes on fossil fuel phaseouts and the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund.

The document analyzes Africa's role and priorities within the UNFCCC COP process, specifically focusing on the transition from COP27 to COP28 and looking ahead to COP29. It highlights the continent's success in establishing the Loss and Damage Fund and launching voluntary initiatives like the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative, while warning that climate finance remains severely constrained and dominated by loans rather than grants. The brief argues that Africa must shift from a reactive to a proactive approach, integrating gender perspectives and climate-peace-security policies, while balancing the need for energy access with a just transition to low-carbon energy.

The document describes the 'ambition mechanism' of the Paris Agreement, which consists of three primary tools: Long-Term Strategies, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and Transparency Reports. It outlines the criteria for effective long-term planning, such as achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and reducing emissions by 80-90% by mid-century. It also references the First Global Stocktake from December 2023, which indicated that global efforts to reduce emissions, stop deforestation, and triple renewable energy capacity are currently insufficient. The guide provides a checklist for evaluating national climate commitments and transparency reports, emphasizing the need for specific reduction targets and clear accounting of emissions and absorptions.

The We Mean Business Coalition criticizes the draft Global Stocktake text at COP28, stating that the shift from specific phaseout options to a 'meaningless wishlist of optional actions' fails to provide the clear signal necessary for business transformation and the 1.5ºC goal. The coalition urges countries to reject the draft in favor of science-based actions that mandate the phaseout of fossil fuels to align with the Paris Agreement.

The Climate Action Tracker finds that warming projections have not improved since 2021, with current government 2030 targets leading to 2.5°C of warming. The briefing argues that 'abated' fossil fuel strategies and techno-fixes like CCS are insufficient, calling instead for a full fossil fuel phase-out and specific 'must haves' for 2035 NDCs, including tripling renewables and cutting fossil fuel production by 40% by 2030.

The document details Africa's objectives for COP28, emphasizing the need for systemic reform of the global financial architecture to close the adaptation financing gap and operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund. It advocates for a just energy transition that supports Africa's move up the green technology value chain, particularly regarding critical minerals, and calls for the inclusion of community-based organizations and youth in climate decision-making.

The African Climate Foundation (ACF) advocates for COP28 to deliver measurable progress for Africa across the Global Stocktake, adaptation, and finance. The ACF emphasizes that emission reduction targets must be paired with climate finance reforms and the preservation of policy space for African development. Key priorities include a robust Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) with quantified targets, the operationalization of a fit-for-purpose Loss and Damage Fund, and the reform of the global financial system to provide affordable finance and debt restructuring. The ACF also warns against unilateral trade measures, such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which it argues threaten Africa's sustainable development goals.

The document outlines the primary objectives of COP28, including the first 'global stocktake' and negotiations on loss and damage funding. It highlights controversies surrounding the presidency of Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and provides frameworks for reporting on climate justice, the 1.5 degrees C target, and the transition away from fossil fuels.

The briefing highlights the unprecedented inclusion of peace on the COP28 agenda, the role of climate finance as a security tool and geopolitical flashpoint, the environmental and security impacts of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and the security implications of the first Global Stocktake's findings on temperature rise.

The report highlights a significant gap between government rhetoric and action regarding fossil fuel subsidies, noting that world governments provided a record USD 1.3 trillion in such subsidies in 2022. It critiques current UNFCCC commitments for lacking deadlines and clear definitions of "inefficient" subsidies. The authors propose several pathways for action at COP 28 and beyond, including the adoption of a 'cover decision', integrating subsidy reform into the first global stocktake, and requiring more ambitious, time-bound commitments in updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The document also suggests leveraging climate finance discussions, such as the 'net climate finance' concept and the new collective quantified goal (NCQG), to address public financial flows to fossil fuels.

The document analyzes the progress of the Glasgow-Sharm-el Sheikh (GlaSS) work program and proposes four critical requirements for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) framework at COP 28: a qualitative overarching statement for impact, the integration of means of implementation (MoI) for effectiveness, explicit gender and human rights considerations for equity, and clarified roles for further technical and political work for legitimacy. It emphasizes that the GGA must be operationalizable through national monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems to avoid maladaptation and increased losses and damages.

The document highlights a critical gap in climate finance, noting that while developing countries may need between $6 trillion and $9 trillion per year to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions, current funding is insufficient and traditional sources are nearly depleted. It identifies 'cracks' in the transatlantic alliance, citing US domestic political opposition to climate pledges, UK economic downturns, and EU internal divisions. The author recommends that leaders use COP28 and the Global Stocktake to reform multilateral development banks, link climate action to global security and food systems, and resolve disputes between the US and Europe to maintain global leadership in the green transition.

The document outlines the primary objectives of COP28, including the conclusion of the first global stocktake and negotiations over climate finance. It highlights controversies surrounding the summit's presidency and provides a reporting framework centered on the 1.5 degrees C target, climate justice, and the climate emergency.

NDCs are bottom-up climate strategies submitted every five years to the UNFCCC, focusing on short-term emission reductions and adaptation. While they allow countries to tailor plans to their specific capacities, they lack legal binding and sufficient ambition; current pledges would result in 2.7°C of warming. The document emphasizes the 2020-2030 period as the 'decisive decade' and highlights the 2023 Global Stocktake at COP28 as a critical moment for increasing accountability and ambition before the 2025 NDC updates.

The briefing identifies four critical areas for COP28 success: adopting a transformational response to the Global Stocktake, accelerating systems transformation in energy, food, and cities, responding to severe climate impacts through the Loss and Damage Fund and adaptation frameworks, and delivering scaled climate finance to vulnerable nations.

The document argues that Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs) are critical to climate mitigation but face escalating violence, criminalization, and exclusion from global climate processes. It calls for the UNFCCC and COP28 parties to guarantee civic space, prioritize land tenure security—particularly for women—and integrate human rights-based protections into the Global Stocktake and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).