Sudanese Researcher Lina Yassin on COP30 Climate Talks and UAE-Funded War in Sudan

Climate Negotiations and Least Developed Countries

• 🌍 Lina Yassin, a climate diplomacy researcher from Sudan, supports the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group at COP30, representing 44 nations that contribute minimally to climate change but suffer its worst impacts.
• 💡 Her focus is on adaptation – practical measures like helping farmers deal with unpredictable rainfall, rebuilding after floods, and ensuring hospitals can function during crises.
• 💰 The LDCs require significant finance for adaptation, with a projected need of $310 billion per year for developing countries, yet they currently receive only $26 billion.

Global Responsibility and Climate Finance

• 🏭 Developed countries, having benefited from industrialization fueled by fossil fuels, have a responsibility to support developing nations that need to develop but also transition to low-carbon economies.
• 📉 Funding cuts from agencies like USAID and the UK, alongside the US re-leaving the Paris Agreement, erode trust and multilateralism, impacting climate negotiations.
• ⚠️ Rerouting budgets to military spending, rather than climate action, is counterproductive, as climate change is the biggest security threat.

The Energy Transition and Fossil Fuels

• ⛽ The energy transition away from fossil fuels is a critical but uncomfortable conversation, with fossil fuels being the main driver of carbon emissions but rarely explicitly discussed in negotiations.
• 📢 The presence of numerous lobbyists influences governments to weaken climate outcomes and slow down progress.
• 🚶‍♀️ A just transition is essential, ensuring that moving to low-carbon economies provides jobs and rights for people, so no one is left behind.

The Crisis in Sudan

• 💔 Yassin highlights the immense suffering in Sudan, describing it as the biggest humanitarian crisis and one of the most underreported.
• ⚔️ The conflict is not a civil war but a proxy war funded by foreign nationals with vested interests in Sudan's resources, particularly gold and agricultural land.
• 🇦🇪 The UAE is accused of using the RSF militia to illegally smuggle gold, finance the war, and secure long-term food security through land acquisition, all at the bloodshed of Sudanese people.

Hope and the Path Forward

• ✊ The 2019 revolution, led by youth and women, brought hope for a democratic future, but this was tragically undermined by a military coup.
• 🌍 Despite the ongoing conflict and personal disconnection, Yassin emphasizes that climate change does not wait for peace; floods and crop failures continue to impact Sudanese lives.
• 🗣️ The most effective international approach is to recognize and name the war accurately, shift the narrative, and apply pressure on those funding the conflict to achieve peace.