While COP28 may be remembered as the beginning of the end of fossil fuels, for climate activist Harjeet Singh, the first day may have been even more important.
The big picture: The announcement of a loss and damage fund at the start of negotiations was a "historic" achievement." It was one that Singh, head of global political strategy for the Climate Action Network International, has been advocating for since 1992.
Yes, but: Having the fund housed at the World Bank was a "bitter pill" that Singh took only to make this fund finally operational, he tells Axios.
The bank is funded by the richest countries in the world and also historically funded fossil fuel projects. It's why Singh and others advocated for a new repository to be created.
What he's saying: "Is World Bank ready? Can it move so fast? And the kind of interference that may come from the board of the World Bank has also been concerning," he says.
Key details of the fund — including whether these are primarily loans or grants, how long it will take to reach communities immediately — also remain to be determined.
Context: Singh celebrated the final, accepted text of the response to the global stocktake, calling it "a long-overdue direction to move away from coal, oil, and gas."
But he added that the resolution is "marred by loopholes that offer the fossil fuel industry numerous escape routes."
The bottom line: Progress made on climate finance for the global South, and language on phasing out fossil fuels, show that the power of "vulnerable countries and civil society" have helped shift the world's priorities, Singh adds.
Heat waves, floods and wildfires dominated the news cycle this year with climate-change related disasters, and global average temperatures, on the rise.
Why it matters: Every month since June has been the hottest such month on record, and the rapid warming is playing out in the form of deadly extreme events worldwide.
With November ranking as the warmest such month on record, NOAA is projecting greater than 99.5% odds that this year will be the world's warmest since instrument records began in the 19th century.
Why it matters: The record, a result of both human-caused climate change and an El Niño event in the tropical Pacific, demonstrates how quickly and significantly the world is heating up.
The dwindlingdiversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) movement appears to be slowing the diversifying of environmental organizations and foundations, according to an analysis of a new report.
Why it matters: People of color in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by climate change and more likely to live in areas with higher pollution, yet white people lead most major non-governmental organizations and foundations focused on solving these issues.
Climactic, a seed venture firm founded by Freestyle Capital's Josh Felser and ex-Lyft executive, Raj Kapoor, has raised $65 million for its first fund.
Why it matters: A growing number of investors have jumped into climate tech investing in recent years as the urgency of climate change has become increasingly mainstream.
Boston Consulting Group will buy 80,000 metric tons of removal services from the direct air capture firm Climeworks as part of a 15-year "strategic partnership" announced Thursday.
Why it matters: It is the single largest purchase by one of Climeworks' corporate customers thus far, the companies said, and expands their existing collaboration.
The historic climate agreement reached at COP28 in Dubai will have ripple effects throughout the global economy, but they are unlikely to play out quickly, or be immediately obvious.
The big picture: The non-binding climate deal is part of the broader 2015 Paris Agreement. It exists in a zone of international law where its obligations are enforced via peer pressure, national laws and political and social movements.
Much of the U.S. is likely to see temperatures of 10 to 20°F above average for the time of year during the last two weeks of December — including Christmas.
The big picture: The expected above-average winter temperatures come in a week when Spain recorded its highest daily December temperature, when Malaga reached 85.8°F on Tuesday, and on the heels of Australia experiencing its hottest winter on record.
