Globe Climate: This is what I learned as a youth delegate at COP28

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Now, let’s catch you up on other news.

Noteworthy reporting this week:

1. Corporate emitters: Canada’s largest emitters commit to better disclosure, but none has backed up targets with spending
2. Canadian Climate Institute: Review shows Canada within striking distance of climate targets – if Ottawa moves faster to put promised policies in place
3. Wildfires: How a B.C. plan to fight fire with fire went awry – and may have made one of them worse
4. The water crisis: Alberta may cap water for oil and gas companies, meanwhile drought conditions force BC Hydro to rely on power purchases
5. Wildlife: Diving into the mystery of Nova Scotia’s great white sharks
6. Research: UBC creates wildfire research centre to find new ways to mitigate the risk from large fires
7. Quebec’s energy future: Michael Sabia’s grand plan to make Quebec a green-energy powerhouse
8. Energy: Alberta poised for largest addition of natural gas-fired power to province’s grid in a single year
9. Investigation from The Narwhal: B.C. officials said Coastal GasLink pipeline plans could withstand ‘extreme weather conditions.’ Then the heat came

A deeper dive

At the world’s climate conference, optimism and skepticism exist at the same time

Rachel Parent was a youth delegate at COP28 in Dubai

My hotel room looked out at a hazy view of the largest oil refinery in the world.

All week, I stared at the vast industrial expanse, rehashing the immense ironies of flying to a climate conference and questioning whether they ever really spark change.

After attending COP28 in Dubai, this is what I learnt: A duality of truths exists.

While many amazing groups are trying to shift the needle on environmental protections, the eventual outcomes of these conferences are highly influenced by those with access to the decision-making spaces. All too often these spaces are hijacked by bad actors.

More than 2,400 fossil fuel lobbyists registered, a number larger than any country’s delegation. One report even found that 35 members of the Canadian delegation were connected to the fossil fuel industry.

The focus on food-systems reform in the conference program also attracted big players, such as agriculture companies Bayer, Syngenta, Cargill and JBS to name a few.

Greenwashing was on full display. Some of the most destructive food companies sponsored sustainable agriculture pavilions, even though industrial agriculture represents up to a third of greenhouse-gas emissions. It is also largely responsible for soil degradation, pollinator deaths, health decline, global deforestation, displacement of Indigenous peoples, heavy fossil fuel use and water pollution.

Regardless, there were still reasons to be optimistic. At previous climate conferences, destructive food systems were left out of the conversation. This year’s focus on nature-based carbon solutions brought to light the importance of transitioning to organic regenerative agriculture. This type of farming sequesters more atmospheric carbon and protects soil, one of the greatest carbon sinks we have.

Despite my initial skepticism, COP28 created an opportunity to have radically honest discussions. I found myself talking about potential NGO collaborations and interviewing musician Nile Rodgers about his work with the We Are Family Foundation. I spoke on stage about the issues of industrial agriculture, transitioning to regenerative systems and the dangers of introducing genetically engineered tree plantations into Brazilian ecosystems in the name of carbon offsetting.

Of course, conferences such as COP28 are far from perfect. Even with the “historic” agreements made there, the world won’t shift overnight.

Real change doesn’t necessarily happen behind closed doors, either. Some leaders propose solutions that are simply too far removed from the average human experience or need. Others keep actual issues affecting communities at the forefront. Fostering a platform for grounded discussions is where hope lies.

While it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the state of our Earth, to succumb to despair is to give up on our communities, the possibility of a better future and on the planet itself. I refuse to do that.

Our natural world and our own lives are worth standing up for.

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More from COP28

A historic deal was struck at COP28 to move away from fossil fuels. Representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the summit to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, signalling the eventual end of the oil age. The decision was made in overtime after days of sharp disagreements between countries.

“After COP28, governments, companies, investors need to tell the people around the world what actions they are taking to move the world away from fossil fuels,” said Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency.

But still some wonder, will countries keep their word? History may provide some insight into that question.

From The Globe:

Analysis: COP28 raises the bar for climate action – but just how much depends where you look

Opinion: Fuel subsidies: They have to go if COP28′s call for a transition away from fossil fuels is to gain momentum

Opinion: What we must take away from COP28: the need to protect houses from extreme weather

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What else you missed

• New NWT Premier to focus on emergency readiness, working with Indigenous leaders
• Canada to pilot options for national emergency response agency in 2024, Sajjan says
• University of Calgary named world’s first United Nations University hub for water
• Alberta researchers call for public inquiry into program to ensure oil sands cleanup
• Lucy the elephant doing well despite health issues, Edmonton zoo says
• International court rules against Guatemala in a landmark Indigenous, environmental rights case
• Glencore’s prized Canadian coal mines come with rising environmental scrutiny
• Business travel emissions dropped between 2019 and 2022 as many firms fly less: survey

Opinion and analysis

Timothy N.J. Antoine: Amid the climate crisis, Canada must do more to help developing economies

Kelly Cryderman: Canadians aren’t crazy to think that carbon pricing is hurting their pocketbooks

Eric Reguly: Westbridge Renewable closes deal to sell first of five solar-power projects in Alberta to Greek industrial giant Mytilineos

Adam Shoalts: We must save wild spaces in Canada’s south – not just for wildlife, but for us

Li Robbins: They own horses, don’t they? On animal rights and a complicated creature

Green Investing

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Innovator of the Year: Hopper’s Fred Lalonde went from hacker to tech titan

Fred Lalonde’s Hopper app is now the third-largest online travel agency in North America. It has built its business by using artificial intelligence to leverage trillions of data points, creating an app geared to Gen Z travellers. It first gained traction by advising travellers not to buy – instead allowing them to track prices on desired routes and sending them updates until prices had fallen to optimal levels. The app has been downloaded 100 million times.

Then there’s Lalonde’s side hustle: trying to save the planet. In September 2022 he launched Deep Sky, a climate-tech startup that’s hoping to capture carbon and store it underground. Several of Hopper’s investors have also bankrolled Deep Sky, and Hopper director Damien Steel quit his post running OMERS Ventures to lead it.

• SDTC fallout: Is it time to change how Canada funds the cleantech industry?
• Companies face emissions reporting mandates even as Canada lags behind
• Analysis: Big Oil’s bid to woo ESG investors fails to impress
• Number cruncher: Eleven sustainable investing funds worth following

Photo of the week

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Guides and Explainers

• Want to learn to invest sustainably? We have a class for that: Green Investing 101 newsletter course for the climate-conscious investor. Not sure you need help? Take our quiz to challenge your knowledge.
• We’ve rounded up our reporters’ content to help you learn about what a carbon tax is and just generally how Canada will change because of climate change.
• We have ways to make your travelling more sustainable and, if you like to read, here are books to help the environmentalist in you grow, as well as a downloadable e-book of Micro Skills - Little Steps to Big Change.

Catch up on Globe Climate

• Natural disasters are making insurance more expensive and limited
• Young people want a seat at the COP28 table
• Ottawa to announce new methane regulations, funding heading into COP28
• Research shows that forests are essential to Canadian climate pledges

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