🎬Touch your savings

CLIMATE
What’s at stake at COP29?

World leaders’ annual what-do-we-do-about-the-environment conference started on Monday, and it has already accomplished a longtime goal: teeing up a global market for carbon-credit trading.

Days one and two, down: Negotiators at the UN’s 29th annual summit on climate change, COP29, agreed on standards for the sale of carbon credits between countries after years of gridlock. Carbon credits let wealthier nations like the US, Switzerland, and Japan meet climate targets by “buying” smaller countries’ emission reductions—like carbon captured by new trees—without necessarily reducing their domestic emissions.

Some critics decried the agreement as a “back-door deal” that didn’t give enough representatives a chance to chime in.

The most important goal, however, is figuring out how much money vulnerable nations need in climate financing to support disaster relief and clean energy. Some experts say member nations’ current annual target of $100 billion per at-risk country needs to be raised tenfold.

What does Africa stand to gain?

Reforming the financial architecture to unlock more funds to back clean energy projects also remains a major concern for African participants at the conference. This would involve selling “carbon credits” to more developed countries that routinely have higher carbon emissions.

The African Development Bank unveiled a new program to factor Africa’s environmental resources, such as using carbon sinks, in estimating the continent’s wealth. The bank said this would allow countries to access greater funds from international markets.

Vibes could be better: Forty-eight fewer heads of state are addressing COP29 than last year. Xi Jinping and Joe Biden—presidents of the two biggest oil-producing countries—won’t be there, and the island nation of Papua New Guinea is boycotting the 12-day-long summit, which it called “a “total waste of time.”

Looking ahead: Preliminary estimates by the African Development Bank indicate that carbon sinks/credits alone could have boosted Africa’s nominal GDP in 2022 by $66 billion — a 2.2% increase. -CCS.

TRENDING
Hang it in the “digital” Louvre

Do androids paint electric sheep? “AI God,” a painting of computer scientist Alan Turing, sold for $1m+ via auction, which Sotheby said is the first time an artwork from a “humanoid robot” has gone up for auction. The artist in question is Ai-Da, a robot created by artist Aiden Meller. She wears a brunette bob and denim overalls and has cameras in her eyes, AI algorithms, and robotic arms that allow her to draw and paint.

SHOWER THOUGHTS

NEWS
Round the continent

• Congo DRC is on a mission to finance the world’s largest hydropower dam project. The only hitch is getting the World Bank to actually pay for it.

• Nigeria’s Petroleum body, the NNPC has said it’s stopped importing refined petroleum. It now relies exclusively on petrol sourced from domestic refineries.

• Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways have found some reprieve since the production of Boeing 737 Max Aircrafts resumed. They had both been struggling to secure new jets.

• South Africa has partially reopened its border with neighboring Mozambique. It had closed the Lebombo port of entry last week following post-election protests.