Happy Tuesday. After 28 years, COP28 finally witnessed a breakthrough as nations pledged $420mn to a global loss and damage fund.

In today’s edition:
⚡️ $420 million pledged to global loss and damage fund at COP28
🚜 Mandatory tracking for 24 million cows in the Brazilian state of Para
🌳 UK development projects must achieve 10% biodiversity net improvement

🔋 Energy (1-Min Read)
Global loss and damage fund after 28 years

What happened: Yesterday at COP28, a basic agreement on the key features of a global loss and damage fund was finally reached by member states, with several nations collectively pledging an initial total of $420mn to get it going.

Details: It only took 28 years. Since the very first COP climate summit, held in Berlin in 1995, vulnerable developing nations have pushed for a funding mechanism to compensate them for loss and damage caused by climate disasters. This results from the disproportionate responsibility developed nations bear for climate change and the disproportionately heavy toll it takes on poorer ones. Totting up the funding, Germany and the UAE pledged $100mn, with other EU nations committing a further $145mn. The UK promised $50mn, and Japan $10mn

Talking points remaining

Will Millions lead to Billions? Announcements will likely strengthen pressure on other large economies to contribute, including those not always defined as ‘developed’ in the loss and damage debate. Funding many more magnitudes higher is needed. Last year, floods in Pakistan alone caused loss and damage worth $30Bn, according to its government.

Who controls the funds: There was also debate as to who should control the funds – The World Bank or a wholly new organisation. Some developing nations feared that giving the World Bank control might give developed nations too much influence. To accelerate the fund’s set-up, it was agreed that the World Bank would retain control for four years before reconsidering other options (Full story here).

 🚜 AgriTech (1-Min Read)
Cow crackdown in the Brazilian state of Para

What happened: We’ve spoken about how cow tracking is helping Brazil combat deforestation. In a show of support for this technology, Brazil’s Para state, known for high levels of Amazon rainforest destruction and with Brazil’s second-largest cattle herd, announced a mandatory cattle tracking program to combat deforestation at COP28. 

Details: Cattle ranching in Brazil contributes to nearly 24% of global tropical deforestation and about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cattle pasture is initially used for deforested areas in the Amazon, and although the practice faces strict legal limits, it continues illegally. Para state’s mandatory cattle tracking will incentivise ranchers to join the traceability system for compliance, with hopes the programme can address deforestation and associated emissions from 24 million cattle and 295k farms in an area larger than France, Spain, and Norway combined. 

The bigger picture: The traceability program is a foundational layer in addressing Brazil’s biggest driver of deforestation and emissions. It also forms part of the Para Government’s efforts to enhance the state’s environmental reputation before hosting the COP30 Climate Change Summit 2025. (Full story here).

🐘 Nature (1-Min Read)
UK Biodiversity Net Gain – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

What happened: The UK Government published draft legislation last week for the UK biodiversity net gain framework. The mechanism will require most major new development projects to achieve a net improvement of 10% in biodiversity from Jan 2024 and smaller sites from April.

Details: For the purposes of BNG, biodiversity is measured in standardised biodiversity units. A habitat will contain a number of biodiversity units, depending on things like its: size, quality and location. Biodiversity units can be lost through development or generated through work to create and enhance habitats. Developers can deliver 10% gain through 1) on-site efforts to restore biodiversity, 2) off-site biodiversity gains on comparable land outside the development site, 3) Buying statutory biodiversity credits from the governments if they cannot achieve 10% BNG from methods 1 and 2. The steps must be followed in order to follow a process known as the biodiversity gain hierarchy.

Risks remain: Policies have been welcomed by the nature community however, concerns remain about capacity and governance for the policies to be enforced. Planning processes in the UK are already stretched. Technology supporting efficient monitoring of nature claims will be key. We spoke about this in our recent deep dives (Nature and AI, Nature and Drones) (Full story here).

💭 Little Bytes (1-Min Read)

💬 Quote: “Science is clear: we need to phase out fossil fuels within a timeframe compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5 Celsius.” UN secretary-general, António Guterres

📊 Stat: China accounts for 26 per cent of the world’s CO2 emissions, followed by the US, India, Russia and Indonesia. Combined, these five nations account for half of the world’s annual emissions — FT

📺️ Watch: Australia is planting ‘koala corridors’ to save beloved creature

🛗 Snippets for your lift conversations (1-Min Read)

Ethiopia has signed an agreement with United Arab Emirates’ AMEA Power for the construction of a 300-megawatt wind farm. The African nation is turning to renewable energy to boost electricity coverage, representing 50% of the population in 2020. (Full story here).

Sultan al-Jaber, president-designate of COP28, has promised to prioritise adapting and transforming food systems at the Dubai climate talks. (Full story here).

Comments by COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber, which throw cold water on a potential commitment to phase out fossil fuels, condemned by activists and observers at the UN climate summit in Dubai. (Full story here).

Hundreds of scientists at the United Nations COP28 climate summit on Sunday launched a research coalition to correct a historic lack of information about the Congo River basin and its rainforest, the second largest in the world. (Full story here).

A new report, commissioned by the COP27 and COP28 leadership, warned that global climate finance — even after tripling over the past decade — is still falling way short of what’s needed to fulfil the Paris Agreement. (Full story here).

 🎣 Gone Phishing (1-Minute Read)

Three of these stories are true, one we’ve made up. Guess which:

Russian Billionaire uses COP28 to push revival of woolly mammoths

Feral goldfish are menacing the U.S. Great Lakes

Paraguay official resigns after signing agreement with fictional country

Chinese Tech Tycoon wants to build an underwater city