GLOBAL STOCKTAKE, UAE DIALOGUE STILL AT A STANDSTILL

• A division remains: During the first week of COP30, negotiations on the United Arab Emirates Dialogue resumed without progress compared to Bonn, with differences on the purpose of the dialogue and the nature of the expected results.
• The two opposing views: The EU, AOSIS, EIG and AILAC are calling for a broad dialogue that will produce at least a concise output useful for future policies; the LMDC, India, China and part of the Arab Group, on the other hand, want a narrow mandate, limited to means of implementation and therefore without substantial results.
• No tangible progress: The first week ends without a shared text and with the risk of postponement if positions do not converge in the second week.

During the first week of COP30 in Belém, negotiations on the UAE Dialogue – the mechanism tasked with following up on the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake 2023, particularly on the financial front – resumed exactly where they left off in Bonn in June.

At the heart of the debate are two key issues: the purpose of the dialogue and the nature of the expected outcomes. The first week of COP30 ended with the presentation of a more streamlined informal note by the Presidency and co-facilitators, but despite attempts to facilitate the debate, delegations remained deeply divided.

On the one hand, groups such as AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States), the European Union, EIG (Environmental Integrity Group) and AILAC (Independent Alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean) are calling for the Dialogue to cover all the outcomes of the Global Stocktake and produce at least a summary result that can guide policy and implementation in the coming years. On the other hand, LMDC (Like-Minded Group of Developing Countries), India, China and part of the Arab Group reject any reference to a “mini-stocktake” and are aiming for a very narrow mandate, limited to means of implementation, with a dialogue without substantial outputs.

Even the compromise proposal put forward by AILAC, aimed at balancing the scope of the agreement with a concern for financial barriers, received limited support and failed to sway the more cautious parties. The atmosphere in the room was often tense: some delegations recalled that the same disagreement had already flared up during the interim negotiations in Bonn, while others accused the informal note of “diluting the mandate” or, conversely, of duplicating the Global Stocktake.

At the end of the first week, no significant convergence emerged: it was only possible to clarify and organise the differences, which remain profound. The dossier enters its second week without an approved text, increasing the risk of postponement if positions do not start to converge.

Article by Anna Pelicci, head of the Italian Climate Network delegation at COP30 in Belém.

Cover image: UN Climate Change – Kiara Worth