'A billion babies since Paris pact'
"A billion more babies have been born since the Paris Climate Agreement," remarked Tzeporah Berman, founder of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, during a side event at the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30).
Her statement captured a sense of urgency that many feel is missing from the main negotiating halls.
The treaty is modelled after the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which, despite serious shortcomings, has held for the most part.
Countries that have endorsed the treaty include Pakistan, the Marshal Islands, Vanuatu and many other island nations and countries severely impacted by climate change.
Many participants at COP expect more from "side events" than from mainstream high-level talks between countries. There is a general sense that the fossil fuel lobby has captured the processes.
"The UNFCCC process is already undermined because it's controlled by the fossil fuel lobby," says Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's Minister for Climate Change Adaptation, Energy, Environment, Meteorology, Geo-Hazards and Disaster Management.
The statement was made at a side event regarding the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. During the panel, he added that "We (his country) will be 100% fossil fuels free by 2032 we're seeing the cyclones get worse".
This COP stands apart from the previous twenty-nine, not least because it unfolds in Belém, at the edge of the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon, often described as the planet's "lungs", is responsible for producing a significant share of the world's oxygen.
A speaker from the treaty noted that "In the 1850s people used to think that investing in fossil fuels was insane", but he noted that today, however, were completely reliant on fossil fuels.
One is reminded of the quote from renowned anthropologist, the late David Graeber, that "our economies are designed, so they can be redesigned".
Organisers of the treaty claim that they have purposefully focused on smaller countries that have more to lose, more immediately, from fossil fuels than they have to gain from continuing their use. This is certainly true for island nations like Sri Lanka and the Maldives, but also for Pakistan.
Although the event was not focused on population growth in the Third World, it is important to keep the quote of a "billion babies" in mind, considering that much of the population boom is also happening in the 3rd world, with countries like Pakistan being one of them.
As the second week of COP begins, it is yet to be seen if there are any truly significant developments from the mainstream high-level talks.
The minister from Vanuatu mentioned in his statement that "We're trying to bring ambition back into the process".
This is the most significant statement from the event, considering that the main issue is not a lack of plans to deal with the climate crisis, but the unwillingness of the highest polluting economies to make meaningful changes to reduce emissions.
Will the highest emitting countries do so at their own expense? This remains to be seen.