Ready for the 2018 Momentum?

Assignment: Submit clear views on the objectives, scope and modalities of the 2018  facilitative dialogue. Due: Before Marrakech.

A key outcome from Paris was Parties’ acknowledgement that current ambition levels are inadequate. The 2018 facilitative dialogue, mandated from COP21, presents a clear opportunity for countries to ramp up means of implementation, increase ambition within their proposed INDCs, and enhance the commitments already undertaken by Parties under the KP and the Cancun agreements.

ECO has some suggestions for delegates on how to make best use of the 2018 facilitative dialogue. Remember how good Paris felt? Well, delegates, we can achieve even greater heights in 2018! The overall objective for this dialogue should be to improve and revise current INDCs, taking into account the scientific evidence provided by the IPCC’s special report on 1.5°C. To achieve an effective outcome, Parties should not limit themselves to mitigation, but should also look at ways on enhancing means of implementation so as to facilitate an increase in ambition, and should factor in impacts in light of the 1.5°C goal.

To help generate real political momentum, the facilitative dialogue should include high level ministerial engagement that injects the needed urgency for action. It also should create space for honest discussions civil society observers, and inputs to the dialogue should draw on the wealth of work generated by academia and civil society on ways to enhance ambition, as well as comparative criterion-driven equity analysis.

COP22 will be important for setting up modalities towards this facilitative dialogue. Rather than duplicating work, modalities for the 2023 stocktake should be applied on a provisional basis for the facilitative dialogue in 2018. This will allow governments to test out the effectiveness of the modalities, providing an opportunity of learning by doing. Depending on the experience from 2018, the modalities for the 2023 stocktake could be revised accordingly.