NGOs warn of a 'mountain to climb' in climate negotiations
BONN TALKS: PARIS DEAL CLOSE BUT CLIMATE FINANCE IS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Friday, October 23, 2015
As the climate talks in Bonn came to a close on Friday, Christian Aid hailed the progress made on a global agreement to be signed in Paris, but warned that rich countries’ attempts to back out of their prior commitments on climate finance would not work.
Christian Aid’s Senior Climate Advisor, Mohamed Adow, said that despite the fractious end to the negotiations as delegates worked to fine-tune the agreement, overall progress had been good.
“At the end of the last round of talks we had an 80-page text,” he said. “We now leave Bonn with a manageable document, which contains some robust content that will form the basis of the world’s global climate deal.
“At the same point before the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009 there were 180 pages so we’re in a far better position this time around.”
But he added that the sticky issue of climate finance is becoming the elephant in the room and needs to be addressed if the Paris summit is to be a success.
He said: “The reason we have got this far in negotiating a global climate agreement, including poor countries as well as big emitters, is because rich countries promised to deliver a balanced outcome that incorporated climate finance. That is what helped win the cooperation of the developing world.
“But now that we’re on the brink of sealing the deal, rich countries are trying to wriggle out of their commitments. Rich countries cannot erase history: neither their past emissions nor their promises on finance, which have been instrumental in getting us to this point.
“We can’t leave the climate deal to just the energy and environment ministers. Their work needs to be complemented by treasury ministers and heads of state, who must come to the table and bring their cheque books. The deal is ripe but we need the finance if we’re going to pick the fruit.
“As we progress to Paris, it is vital that developed nations get serious about finding sources of finance for 2020 and beyond. Not only is it their obligation, but it will also help to cut emissions. Climate finance will help poor countries leapfrog dirty energy and make a safe, clean and more prosperous world a reality.”
Ends
ACTIONAID:
On the closing day of the final official round of UN climate negotiations before the landmark summit in Paris, ActionAid’s Climate Policy Manager, Harjeet Singh, said:
“The events this week in Bonn have shown there is still a mountain to climb before a deal emerges on the horizon at the Paris summit in December.
“It seems that the EU forgot its claim of standing together with the world’s poor and vulnerable. For months it has remained undecided on how the Paris deal will help poor communities already being battered by climate change. The EU hangs at the threshold dithering on whether and how it should go out and help the people in the storm.
“On finance, rich countries know they’ve failed to meet their climate finance obligations. They refuse to admit it or make a good-faith attempt to fix it, instead proffering loans and double-counting development aid as climate finance. In short,developed nations talk big on a long term solution but are still dreaming of a destination without knowing how they will make the journey.
“Rich countries also continued with their ill-rehearsed Houdini act, coming up with ‘false solutions’. The current proposal of setting a long-term goal to cut carbon through ‘net-zero’ would mean developed nations can continue to live life as normal while the poor are kicked off their land in an attempt to absorb emissions.
“A climate deal which isn’t designed to help poor and vulnerable communities will serve only to further entrench injustice and inequality.”
ENDS
CARE: CRUNCH TIME STARTS FOR PARIS CLIMATE DEAL
Image by The Climate Group
Ban Ki-moon and Christiana Figueres at the COP18 event Momentum for Change partnership in Doha
CARE International urges world leaders to accelerate efforts to avoid the worst effects of climate change and to guarantee support to the poorest and most vulnerable people already hit the hardest.
“It’s clear that all countries want a new climate deal, but the big question is how we will achieve this. The new draft Paris agreement we got today is manageable, but there hasn’t been enough progress in many key issues, like finance. Countries need to work together to bridge gaps and scale-up ambition to limit warming to below 1.5°C,” says Kit Vaughan, Director of CARE International’s Climate Change, Poverty and Environment Network.
“Discussions on loss and damage were very polarised this week. The G77 group, representing most of the climate vulnerable countries, made a strong joint statement on why it should be part of the Paris agreement, whereas many rich countries, including the US and Canada, want no reference at all. As the EU has no clear position yet, it should help to bridge the differences,” says Sven Harmeling, CARE International’s climate change advocacy coordinator and focal person for adaptation, and loss and damage.
“There was a lot of controversy around civil society being excluded from the talks in Bonn. This must not happen in Paris. Civil society has a vital role to play in ensuring the transparency, accountability and fairness of global intergovernmental processes,” says Aurélie Ceinos, CARE France's Climate Change Advisor, and focal person for French COP21 presidency.
“Human rights and gender still remain to be tackled in the draft Paris climate agreement. Almost 70 years ago, the international community adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in Paris. Now the French COP21 presidency has the responsibility to facilitate the adoption of a binding and ambitious climate agreement, placing human rights and gender equality at the centre of the debate,” says Fanny Petitbon, CARE France's Advocacy Manager, and focal person for human rights and gender equality.
ENDS.
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