5 DIGNITAS ■ The Politics of Climate Change Climate change has, worldwide, affected the socio-economic livelihoods of individuals, particularly those belonging to vulner- able groups. Ordinary rights-holders have been across the world often the most vulnerable victims of harmful effects of climate change. For instance, the floods in late October 2024 in the Valen- cia region of Spain illustrated that the negative impact of climate change, together with a lack of sufficient action on state and re- gional levels, can lead to disastrous environmental outcomes that interfere with human rights (Gamallo Carballude 2024, Benítez Ostos 2024). The Valencia floods have caused a death toll of over 220 ordinary persons that state and regional authorities could have prevented with different climate change adaptation and mitigation measures (Hidalgo Pérez, Clemente Pomeda, 2024). Nonetheless, a deplorable blame game started between public officeholders at different levels of the Spanish state and regional authorities in the ensuing weeks and months. The aftermath of a climate change disaster often does more bad than good for climate change resilience. The recent Spanish flood disaster il- lustrates that concrete answers on how to prevent and thereafter respond to negative impacts are often missing or are, in the best- case scenario, only partial. Blame games should be avoided, and adaptation and mitigation measures should be preferred. The recent COP29 in Baku has illustrated that climate change adaptation and mitigation is increasingly turning into an ideo- logical conflict between the Global South and the Global North. The full-fledged responses to tackle climate change on a global level are still missing. The main focal point is a discussion about The Politics of Climate Change Jernej Letnar Černič* * The author acknowledges the financial support from the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (project “Corporate accountability, human rights, and climate change: Towards coherent and just Slovenian and international legal order”, ID JP-50171”). 6 DIGNITAS ■ Editorial how we will cover financial losses and damages for the negative impact of climate change. The Global South countries are plac- ing the primary burden on states and corporations in the Global North to compensate for the adverse effects of climate change on human rights in countries of the Global North. The countries of the Global South present their cases in the form of climate justice deriving from human dignity, advocating that the Global North countries should fully recognise their obligations in climate change adaptation and mitigation. The countries in the Global South have always argued that the Global North has been historically responsible for the nega- tive effects of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights. The Final outcome of COP29 was that the Global North countries agreed to the New Collective Quantified Goal, which would re- quire them to transfer $300 billion for the climate change adap- tion and mitigation in the Global South countries. The New Col- lective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance urged “…all actors to work together to enable the scaling up of financing to develop- ing country Parties for climate action from all public and private sources to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035” (NCQUCF), para. 7)). The Goal argues that it “reaffirms, in this context, Article 9 of the Paris Agreement and decides to set a goal, in extension of the goal referred to in paragraph 53 of decision 1/CP.21, with developed country Parties taking the lead, of at least USD 300 bil- lion per year by 2035 for developing country Parties for climate action…” (Ibid., para. 8). The funds are based three conditions; the plurality of financial sources (Ibid., 8 (a)); in the realm of cli- mate change mitigation and adaptation measures (Ibid., 8 (b)), and “recognizing the voluntary intention of Parties to count all climate-related outflows from and climate-related finance mobi- lised by multilateral development banks…” (Ibid., 8 (c)). The Goals themselves remain essentially legally unbinding, programmatic, and declaratory. Nonetheless, they create soft-law commitments and pressure the Global North countries to bring about positive change. However, the language used by proponents of such or even higher commitments has been optimistic and perhaps utopi- an, as the realities of the international community and real life are more sobering (UNCTAD, 2024). As some commentators note, it will be difficult to translate such commitments into practice (The Economist, 2024). 7 DIGNITAS ■ The Politics of Climate Change The new climate finance goals on climate change mitigation are set ambitiously; however, they again employ the language of ideological division from the Cold War. Notably, small is- land countries from the Global North have submitted that they have disproportionally suffered due to climate change and have called for financial funding to address the negative impacts of cli- mate change. They argue for creative funding mechanisms such as global taxes on energy sources most detrimental to climate change adaptation and mitigation, globally taxing the wealthiest persons, and globally taxing financial transactions and logistics. A more holistic approach to climate change challenges is that all actors, either state or non-state, have responsibility and ac- countability in mitigating and adapting to climate change, there- by avoiding the blame game so often furtively seen in the inter- national arena. The fact is that the negative impacts of climate change also occur in the Global North, not only in the Global South, and there is a need for concerted action from all parts and stakeholders. The politics of climate change should, therefore, focus on drafting binding commitments by taking a reasonable and human rights-based approach. Above all, it should attempt to avoid rule-of-law conflicts and vested interests and should centre on strengthening the position of rights-holders. Such a position could follow a holistic approach that includes accountability of state and non-state actors for business-related negative impacts on climate change. As a result, political leaders should leave the work in climate change adaptation and mitigation to experts, civil society and activists on the ground and avoid using it for private and short-sided aims. LITERATURE AND SOURCES Benítez Ostos, A. (2024). ¿Concurre en responsabilidad patrimonial la Administración ante los daños producidos por la DANA?, Confilegal, 22 November 2024, https://confilegal.com/20241122-opini- on-concurre-en-responsabilidad-patrimonial-la-administracion-ante-los-danos-producidos-por-la- -dana/. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2024). Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, COP29, New collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQUCF), FCCC/PA/CMA/2024/L.22, 24 November 2024. Hidalgo Pérez, M., Clemente Pomeda, Y. (2024). Datos de los fallecidos en la dana por edad, género y lugar: casi la mitad tenía más de 70 años, El Pais, 14 November 2024, https://elpais.com/espana/ comunidad-valenciana/2024-11-14/casi-la-mitad-de-las-216-victimas-mortales-de-la-dana-en-valen- cia-tenian-70-o-mas-anos.html. 8 DIGNITAS ■ Editorial Gamallo Carballude, P. (2024). Notas jurídico-administrativas sobre la reciente DANA en la Comuni- dad Valenciana: competencias y responsabilidad, Universidad de Vigo, 2024, https://fccxxt.uvigo. es/en/notas-juridico-administrativas-sobre-la-reciente-dana-en-la-comunidad-valenciana-compe- tencias-y-responsabilidad/ The Economist (2024). Half a loaf, at best, from the climate talks, 24 November 2024, https://www. economist.com/international/2024/11/24/half-a-loaf-at-best-from-the-climate-talks. UNCTAD (2024). Countries agree $300 billion by 2035 for new climate finance goal – what next?, 10 December 2024, https://unctad.org/news/countries-agree-300-billion-2035-new-climate-finance- -goal-what-next.