'Disillusion' and frustration at climate negotiations
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Statement on the Bonn climate talks (June 10, 2015)
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We, the African civil cociety organisations participating in the Bonn Climate Change Conference, are gravely concerned about the progress of negotiations and wish to express our utmost disillusionment on the mistrust reigning the corridors of the new World Conference Centre here in Bonn.
One day to the close of official negotiations, and just 10 days of negotiations before COP21 in Paris, consensus on key elements of the new climate change package seems to be a mirage, leaving us the people at the frontline of climate change impacts in Africa - indigenous peoples, women, small-holder farmers, hunters and gatherers, fisherfolk, women and youth - at the mercy of nature which has become hostile due to the limitless pursuit of comfort by those who have caused the climate change crisis.
Are we staring at another Copenhagen debacle? Who should be held accountable for the imminent Paris disaster that has started beckoning? By this time we should be having a draft proposal that captures the spirit of science and responsive to the priorities/demands of vulnerable people, such as adaptation, loss and damage, finance, capacity building, transparency and accountability.
Rather, priority, whether in pre-2020, post-2020 or Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), is biased towards mitigation, repeating the same pattern that has been defined and determined by countries wielding the biggest power, and those which bear the biggest responsibility on climate crisis.
We join the rest of the civil society, from both the North and the South, in renewing our demands for Paris:
Address the urgency of climate change:
Spark the global energy transformation:
Set science based targets based on justice:
Introduce strict rules and regulations:
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BONN CLIMATE TALKS: TIME TO STOP COLOURING IN THE HOMEWORK TIMETABLE
As the Bonn climate talks head towards a conclusion on Thursday Christian Aid has warned that negotiators are in danger of wasting their last hours, avoiding real progress on the substance of the Paris climate deal.
Mohamed Adow, Christian Aid’s Senior Climate Change Advisor, said: “There has been too much time spent fiddling around with the unimportant details of the text. Negotiators have acted like schoolchildren colouring in their homework timetable and not getting around to any actual homework.
“It’s time to put the colouring pens away and really get down to work. They must create a clear list of options which can be worked out by ministers before the next session in Bonn in August.
“The co-chairs of the ADP negotiations need to use the mandate they’ve been given and deliver a robust text soon otherwise they will cause further unacceptable delays and result in countries sleepwalking into Paris.”
BONN, Germany, 10 June 2015 -- The issue of loss and damage has taken center stage at the penultimate day of the UN climate talks, with climate justice groups demanding that richer countries commit to support developing and more vulnerable ones for unavoidable climate impacts beyond current climate action.
"African nations and others in the developing world are already dealing with losses and damages resulting from extreme heat, wild weather, sea level rise, and other unavoidable climate impacts beyond their control or capacities," said Augustine Njamnshi of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.
"If only developed countries have cut their emissions and provide funds and technology for adaptation sooner, as they were obligated to do so, we will not be in such a dire situation right now," he added.
Negotiations on loss and damage continue to go slow, but civil society observers noted how the United States and other Northern countries are resisting its very mention in the new climate agreement.
"We have had the Warsaw mechanism on loss and damage since 2013, which can potentially compensate for the harms vulnerable communities already face and protect climate refugees," said Gita Parahi of Friends of the Earth. "We call on the developed country governments to own up to their responsibilities and include loss and damage as a distinct part of the Paris deal, with clear funding streams."
"Keeping global warming within even 1.5-degree Celsius may already cause massive loss and damage, and that is why we need even more mitigation and adaptation efforts, especially from developed countries, before the Paris deal takes effect in 2020," said Harjeet Singh of ActionAid.
"While we welcome the implicit recognition that the G7 have given to loss and damage, focusing only on insurance falls far short of the kind of approach we need. When we talk about loss and damage we have to talk specifically about who will pay and how," he added.
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Climate Vulnerable Forum
GENEVA Switzerland, 10 June 2015 - Climate vulnerable states and civil society experts called today world leaders to seize the opportunity of COP21 in Paris to reinforce the protection and fulfillment of human rights. The Climate Vulnerable Forum, with Costa Rica as the host, brought together today leading states involved in the UN Human Rights Council and the UN climate change negotiations (UNFCCC) alongside experts on international environmental law in an event co-organized with Universal Rights Group and the Mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and the Environment. The participants discussed how human rights ties to the 2 degrees temperature goal, which COP21 must decide whether to retain or reinforce in December, emphasizing that more ambitious outcomes from the Paris negotiations would promote greater enjoyment of fundamental human rights. Leading the discussions, the representative of Costa Rica as host stated that: “Paris is a tremendous opportunity for the international community to reinforce the enjoyment of a wide range of fundamental human rights that are already being affected by the impact of climate change. COP21 provides us a unique chance to step up the global response to the historic challenge of climate change. Greater ambition in Paris, by strengthening the 2 degrees goal, would strengthen the protection of human rights globally.” The declaration is supported by the report prepared by John Knox, Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and the Environment, on “The Effects of Climate Change on the Full Enjoyment of Human Rights”. The report highlights the adverse implications of the current international 2 degrees goal and was submitted as a formal input to the UNFCCC just prior to the Bonn session by the Climate Vulnerable Forum. It is being currently discussed in Bonn in the context of the periodic review of the adequacy of the 2 degrees goal. For Professor Knox: “Even a two degree increase in temperature would have a grave effect on the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including rights to life and health, and make it more difficult for countries to fulfill their obligations under international law to protect human rights from harm.” “COP21 in Paris is one of the most important human rights conferences ever held. The UN has repeatedly recognized that climate change has serious negative implications for a range of internationally-protected human rights, especially for people living in already vulnerable situations. An ambitious Paris agreement therefore has the potential to make a major contribution to the full enjoyment of human rights for billions of people around the world, as well as for future generations. Failure to check global warming, on the other hand, will consign a large proportion of the population to a more difficult and dangerous future” added Executive Director of Universal Rights Group, Mr. Marc Limon. The meeting also spotlighted the February 2015 “Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action”, which has been adopted by 20 states and represents a commitment to ensure that the UNFCCC and climate change policies are informed by human rights perspectives. The UN Special Procedures report on climate change and human rights represents a first initiative by States to ensure formal consideration of human rights in the context of a key UNFCCC decision. Note to Editors: UNDP works with developing countries to design and implement climate change solutions. UNDP is the largest service provider in the UN system on climate change and manages a $1.3 billion climate change portfolio of mitigation and adaptation projects over 140 countries to transition toward low-emission and climate-resilient sustainable development. The portfolio focuses on integrated climate strategies, cross-sectoral climate resilient livelihoods, promoting access to clean and affordable energy services, promoting low emission and climate resilient urban and transport infrastructure and access to new finance mechanisms. The independent experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. The Climate Vulnerable Forum is an international partnership of 20 countries highly vulnerable to a warming planet. Since 2009 the Forum serves as a South-South cooperation platform for participating governments to act together to deal with global climate change. facebook.com/ClimateVulnerabilityMonitor
