Governments have ignored a recommendation by UN experts and decided to host a network advising on the loss and damage caused by climate change in the expensive Swiss city of Geneva rather than the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
In January, the two United Nations agencies that will manage the Santiago Network on loss and damage recommended that its headquarters should be in Nairobi as it is a relatively cheap location and home to other UN environmental bodies.
But during the first meeting of the network’s advisory board this week, at the four-star Warwick Hotel in Geneva, government climate negotiators rejected that proposal and instead chose the Swiss lakeside city as its headquarters.
The Advisory Board of the #SantiagoNetwork convenes for its inaugural meeting on 18-20 March in Geneva. Established in 2019, the Santiago Network aims to address loss & damage from climate change in vulnerable countries. Learn more: https://t.co/w9UwskGMW1#LossAndDamage pic.twitter.com/m3DTUCiT6g
— Adaptation Exchange by the NWP (@AdaptXChange) March 20, 2024
Last year, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Geneva as the third most expensive city in the world, twice as expensive as the 141st city on the list: Nairobi.
“Missed opportunity” for Global South
Swiss climate ambassador Felix Wertli called the decision an “honour”. “Geneva will offer great added value to the network” because of the wide range of relevant organisations in the city, while the network will in turn help strengthen that international ecosystem, he added.
But, according to a source who attended the meeting, African climate negotiators only accepted the decision grudgingly, asking for their reservations to be officially noted.
The source said Geneva had been pushed mainly by Latin American negotiators, who were angry that Panama had been ruled out for time-zone reasons and argued Nairobi was difficult to get to and did not have enough embassies.
At December’s Cop28 climate summit, the Swiss government said that, if the network was based in Geneva, it would donate 1 million Swiss francs ($1.1m), cover office costs and provide up to 10,000 francs ($11,000) per person for office materials and infrastructure. The network will spend about $8m a year. The source said the Swiss government had emailed board members last month, making the case for Geneva.
Mohammed Adow, the Nairobi-based founder of the Power Shift Africa think-tank, called the decision “yet another stitch-up by the Global North to keep power away from the places where the impacts of climate change are being felt”.
It “fails to put affected communities at the centre of decision-making” and further erodes the trust between the Global North and South that is needed to tackle climate change, he added.
Tasneem Essop, head of Climate Action Network International, told Climate Home it was “a real missed opportunity”. “It is unfortunate that wealthy countries can use their ability to resource infrastructure as a way to secure the presence of UN bodies in their territories,” she said.
Loss and damage expertise in demand
Governments agreed at Cop25 in 2019 to set up the Santiago Network and tasked it with “averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change” by collecting and sharing expert advice. Since then, the host organisation and location of the network’s secretariat has been debated at UN climate talks.
Small islands wanted the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank to host it, while African countries wanted the United Nations Office for Project Services (Unops) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) to host it in Nairobi.
Both groups thought the other would not place sufficient priority – or have enough expertise – on the types of climate damage they are facing. For small islands, the main threats are rising sea levels and destructive storms, whereas Africa is grappling with more frequent and severe floods and droughts.
At Cop28, governments agreed that Copenhagen-based Unops would be the operational host, while Geneva-based UNDRR would organise the expert advice. The two agencies were commissioned to explore the best physical location for the network’s headquarters.
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They shortlisted five options that were safe enough for staff to bring their families, in the European and African time zones, and had a UNDRR presence: Nairobi, Geneva, the German city of Bonn, Brussels in Belgium and the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
They evaluated the five locations based on staff, office and set-up costs, “operational efficiency” criteria like security, infrastructure and the skills of the local workforce and other factors, including being close to other UN agencies.
The reviewers recommended Nairobi as “the optimal location”, citing strong UN relations with the Kenyan government, “maximum time zone coverage” for co-ordinating with developing countries, and its hosting of other UN agencies.
Nairobi is the base for the UN’s African headquarters, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and its sustainable towns and cities programme (UN Habitat), as well as Unops and UNDRR’s African regional offices.
But now that the Santiago Network’s advisory board has opted for Geneva, Unops and UNDRR will look for office space in the city. The network will have eight full-time staff members in Geneva and four regional officers based around the world.
A Swiss government spokesperson said Switzerland had “emphasised its stance of accepting any location choice deemed most beneficial to the affected regions”. It had suggested Geneva to advisory board members “as an alternative venue in case discussions over the future location stalled progress in the creation of the [Santiago Network] Secretariat and its important work”, the spokesperson added.
This article was updated on 21/3/2024 to include the Swiss government’s comment
The post African dismay at decision to host loss and damage advice hub in Geneva appeared first on Climate Home News.
African dismay at decision to host loss and damage advice hub in Geneva
Climate Change
DeBriefed 19 June 2026: Bonn talks end in ‘gridlock’ | Energy’s ‘new era’ | Oceans in climate negotiations
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
Bonn talks close
‘SIDE-STEPPING AND STALLING’: UN climate talks in Bonn have ended in “gridlock”, according to Climate Home News. The outlet reported on the failure to balance developing countries’ need for climate-adaptation finance with “richer nations’ desire to move forward” on emissions cuts. It added that both topics were subject to “rule 16”, meaning no agreement could be reached and work will be pushed to the COP31 summit in Turkey. Inside Climate News quoted UN climate executive secretary Simon Stiell, who said the talks had seen “side-stepping and stalling”.
JUST TRANSITION: One “glimmer of hope” came from negotiations on achieving a “just transition”, reported Euronews. The news outlet said negotiators “made headway on operationalising the Belém-Antalya mechanism”, intended to support people in the shift to a low-carbon economy. However, Politico concluded that much of the focus in Bonn had “shift[ed] to efforts outside diplomatic talks – raising questions about the future of global climate negotiations”.
‘ATTACKING SCIENCE’: Agence France-Presse reported on the EU, Switzerland and “dozens of developing nations” warning of “attacks on science” by a “small group of fossil-fuels interests” in Bonn. Table Briefings explained that “the 1.5C target is increasingly being challenged” and the role of the UN climate-science panel – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – in an upcoming assessment of global climate progress “remains controversial”. See Carbon Brief’s full write-up of the talks for more detail.
US-Iran deal
PRICE DROP: The US and Iran announced that they have reached an interim agreement to halt the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz, reported Bloomberg. Oil prices have fallen, as the “long-awaited deal” began the process of “eas[ing]” the global energy crisis triggered by the conflict, according to the New York Times. The Associated Press noted that high fuel prices will “likely outlast the Iran war”.
‘OIL GLUT’: The Financial Times reported that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has forecast a “glut of oil” emerging next year, if the peace deal holds. The IEA said this would allow countries to build new strategic reserves, as they “review their energy strategies and policies in response to the crisis”, according to Reuters.
‘NEW ERA’: Agence France-Presse reported that oil and gas companies have “few illusions about a return to normal for the Gulf energy industry after more than three months of blockage”. One analyst told the newswire that the war “showed the oil and gas industry that Hormuz risk is no longer just a geopolitical headline”.
Around the world
- OCEAN MONITOR: The Trump administration is “abandoning its plan” to dismantle a $368m ocean monitoring system key for tracking climate change after a “bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill”, reported the New York Times.
- CORAL HAVEN: The New York Times covered preliminary research, presented at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya, suggesting there could be three times as many “coral refugia” – where corals are relatively safe from climate change – than previously thought.
- BAD CREDIT: Down to Earth reported that the first carbon credits issued under the Paris Agreement’s new Article 6.4 mechanism are “facing scrutiny over alleged links to institutions controlled by Myanmar’s military junta”.
- OIL BACKTRACK: Reuters reported that oil-and-gas company Equinor has dropped a renewable-energy target and scaled back clean investments, while another Reuters story noted that Shell is selling off its offshore wind assets.
1.1 billion
The number of children facing “at least three overlapping climate hazards”, according to a new Unicef report covered by Agence France-Presse.
Latest climate research
- Including the “permafrost carbon-climate feedback” in climate models increases the chance of exceeding “tipping elements” – such as the Greenland ice sheets, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or Amazon rainforest – by up to 50% | Environmental Research Letters
- The intensity of influenza outbreaks could decline in temperate regions, but increase in tropical areas over the next century, as the climate warms | PNAS Nexus
- European snow cover has declined by 20% for December and January since the start of the industrial era, revealing an “unprecedented ongoing shrinkage of European winters” | Communications Earth & Environment
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
The more than 2m battery electric vehicles (BEVs), 1m “plug-in” hybrids (PHEVs) and 100,000 electric vans on UK roads are already saving drivers a total of around £3bn a year, according to new Carbon Brief analysis. This amounts to savings of more than £1,100 a year in fuel costs for each BEV driver in the UK. The analysis comes amid reports in UK media this week that the government is considering “watering down” its EV sales targets.
Spotlight
Oceans rising at UN climate talks
The state of the world’s oceans is inextricably linked to the changing climate – and many delegates at UN climate talks want to see more focus on this issue, reports Carbon Brief.
Oceans are often described as the world’s “greatest ally” against climate change – absorbing 30% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and most of the heat generated by those emissions.
They are also the site of important climate solutions, such as huge offshore windfarms and the shipping industry’s transition to cleaner fuels.
At the same time, the oceans themselves present a growing danger to coastal communities and sea life due to sea level rise, marine heatwaves and ocean acidification.
These diverse issues have led to growing calls within the UN climate process for more focus on oceans. During climate negotiations this week in Bonn – known as SB64 – nations and civil society had a chance to air these views during an “ocean and climate change dialogue”.
‘Elevate action’
Oceans first entered UN climate outcomes in 2019, when the final COP25 negotiated text requested a new “dialogue” on “the ocean and climate change to consider how to strengthen mitigation and adaptation action”.
The following years saw this dialogue established as an annual event. However, the political weight of these discussions has been limited.
COP31 is being co-led by Turkey and Australia, but with Pacific islands playing a supporting role. These small islands sometimes self-identify as “large ocean states”, stressing the ocean’s centrality in their societies.
In Bonn, figures from across the presidency threw their weight behind this issue. Chris Bowen, an Australian minister and incoming COP31 “president of negotiations”, told attendees:
“Australia, Turkey and the Pacific see an important opportunity to elevate ocean-based climate action.”
Strategies and finance
The two-day dialogue in Bonn involved a series of panels, statements and breakout groups.
One of the main topics was how oceans are integrated into national climate plans under the Paris Agreement, known as “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs).
Three-quarters of the latest round of NDCs mention oceans, with conservation of “blue carbon” ecosystems the most frequently described action. (Landscapes such as mangroves can both absorb CO2 and protect coastal areas.)
Delegates also discussed alignment with the UN biodiversity process, as well as ocean finance, which currently makes up less than 1% of all climate finance.
(As discussions were taking place in Bonn, country officials also gathered in Mombasa, Kenya for the 11th Our Ocean Conference. Carbon Brief’s associate editor Giuliana Viglione attended the conference and will publish a full summary shortly.)
Developing countries were clear that many of the ocean-related actions in their NDCs would depend on receiving more financial support.
‘Political momentum’
With the backing of the COP31 presidency, delegates were hopeful about where this year’s dialogue could lead.
Charles Hamilton, an advisor for the Bahamas who spoke for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in the dialogue, told Carbon Brief that island representatives “are not traveling thousands of miles to just talk and pat ourselves on the back”. He added:
“A dialogue that just remains a dialogue is just more talk – no action.”
Given that, he said “discussions in the dialogue must move into COP decisions and the decisions must be actioned”, noting the importance of finance.
Marina Corrêa, oceans lead at WWF-Brazil, pointed to an upcoming UN climate change Standing Committee on Finance forum as a space to ramp up pressure on ocean finance.
More broadly, she wanted to see the presidencies translate their support into a “leader-level ocean initiative” that could “mainstream” oceans across negotiations.
“We have a really interesting opportunity, in terms of political momentum,” Corrêa told Carbon Brief.
Watch, read, listen
‘HOTTER THAN HELL’: An episode of the BBC’s Rare Earth podcast titled “hotter than hell” considered the issue of extreme heat, with input from experts and “people facing up to the hottest temperatures on the planet”.
NOT BROKEN?: John Drake, a professor of ecology at the University of Georgia, wrote an essay for Aeon – also re-published as a Guardian “long read” – questioning the framing of ecosystems and climate systems “breaking down”.
ON COURSE: On his Volts podcast, US climate journalist David Roberts interviewed UK climate minister Katie White, quizzing her about whether the UK will “stay the course with its climate plans”.
Coming up
- 20-28 June: London climate action week
- 21 June: Colombia presidential runoff
- 24 June: UK Climate Change Committee progress in reducing emissions 2026 report to parliament
Pick of the jobs
- Mongabay, managing editor – Africa | Salary: Unknown. Location: Global
- Contexte, environment reporter – Brussels | Salary: €45,000-€60,000. Location: Brussels
- Climate 200, communications director | Salary: Unknown. Location: Australia
- Energy Tracker Asia, energy transition correspondent | Salary: $3,000-$4,000 per month. Location: South-east Asia (remote)
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
The post DeBriefed 19 June 2026: Bonn talks end in ‘gridlock’ | Energy’s ‘new era’ | Oceans in climate negotiations appeared first on Carbon Brief.
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