Category: Previous Issues Articles

And so here we are again! ECO shall never get tired of engaging with you when you are developing critical rules for implementation of Article 6 to ensure environmental integrity and promote sustainable development. 

Today we present our top line recommendations. And for you, true hardcore followers of Article 6, stay tuned!  Over the coming days, we will outline in detail how and why you should implement these asks within Article 6.

KP transition

COP24 ended in a showdown, and the transition of Kyoto Protocol flexible mechanisms, including the current projects and units issued from these projects was a part of it. From the CDM alone, there could be over 4 billion units available after 2020 if Parties do not put restrictions in place. Today, over 800 million Carbon Emission Reductions (CERs) are already on the market. And don’t get ECO started about AAUs and ERUs… For each of these units used under the Paris Agreement, one less tonne of CO2e will be reduced. Besides, most of these units never made any contribution because the emission reductions they represent would have happened anyway. We know it, you know it, and if they are transitioned into the Paris Agreement, the world will get hotter and we will know why…

Avoiding double counting

Second, on the list is the infamous double counting issue.
... Read more ...

Mozambique is reeling after twin cyclones Idai and Kenneth — the first time in recorded history that two strong cyclones hit Mozambique in the same season. The storms killed an estimated 650 people, destroyed 24,000 homes, and displaced 150,000 people. The cyclones affected about 1.8 million people across the country, and women and girls, being the most vulnerable in times of crisis, struggled more than ever to cope with these devastating storms.  

On the island Ibo in northern Mozambique, a local woman recalls seeing people of all ages “with fear written all over their faces,” rushing inside the fort with injuries after being hit by flying objects. “My husband had gone to the sea for fishing. I prayed silently that he be safe.” she explained. “Our house was a total wreck,” she said, adding “And we could see some of our clothes were hanging high up in the branches of nearby trees. I felt like crying as it took years to build our house but now all was gone.” The wind had shredded her husband’s fishing boat apart, leaving nothing behind to salvage. “Our life depends on fishing and without a boat, it’s going to be tough,” she said. “Already, we have lost everything and we don’t know how we will get money to rebuild our house.”
... Read more ...

ECO woke up this morning thinking about the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and how a song by Britney Spears could reference it. Imagine if the song went: “I must confess I still believe (still believe) when I am not with you I lose my mind, give me a sign! Give me Money one more time”. (and the next time and time after that … you get the idea)

In 2019 the Green Climate Fund needs us all to work together. We need to ensure a successful first replenishment of the fund. To do so, developed countries need to significantly increase their public contributions to at least double their share of the initial resource mobilization and to do so overwhelmingly in grants. ECO remembers the commitment to mobilize US$100 billion by 2020, which, in case you haven’t noticed, is quickly approaching. This first replenishment is, in ECO’s view, a significant step towards this goal and maybe the most important moment for climate finance in 2019. It won’t come for a song. Talk is cheap, but replenishment needs real money and lots of it. Here is why:

Since 2014, countries have pledged a total of US$10.3 billion. This money has not been sitting idle.
... Read more ...

Two crises pose serious threats to life on Earth: the climate change crisis and the biodiversity crisis. Major global intergovernmental assessments from the IPCC and the IPBES have demonstrated that the two crises are strongly interlinked. It is increasingly understood that we must move beyond treating these crises separately, but rather move towards integrated approaches.

How refreshing that the IPBES addressed UNFCCC delegates yesterday, and with the SBSTA Chair paying full attention. ECO hopes that Parties are equally engaged. After all, nature-based solutions could provide 37% of mitigation efforts to meeting the 1.5°C target by 2030 according to IPBES. The challenge is to ensure that climate action lives up to the promise in the preamble of the Paris Agreement of supporting human rights, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring ecosystem integrity.

Much needs to be done, however, for this insight on the dual crises to be recognised and acted upon internationally. Carbon-rich high integrity ecosystems, such as primary forests, grasslands, peatlands and other wetlands, are under significant pressure. Land use change and degradation contribute in mutually reinforcing ways to both the climate and biodiversity crises – increasing emissions, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation

We need to see integration of actions under key international conventions (UNCBD, UNCCD, WHC, and UNFCCC), and other key international instruments (e.g.
... Read more ...

Dear Delegates,

Some of you might have read the famous Harry Potter books and may remember thinking: ‘How implausible to create a story where a bunch of children have to show up at the government ministry to warn adults about the dangers threatening the very existence of their world!’

Well… it’s 2019 and much has happened since 16-year-old Greta Thunberg spoke at COP24. Last month, 1.5 million young people took to the streets of 120 countries, refusing to accept inaction on climate change. The climate emergency is here – and young people are telling us it’s time to act!

ECO is glad many of you want to contribute to climate action at SB50 and – you would have never guessed – we have some great advice for you. From now on, no meeting of governments on climate can be business as usual. SB50 takes place just before a series of international meetings –  MoCA, G20 Summit, the Abu Dhabi meeting, and the G7. Keeping these events in mind and working towards the UNSG Summit, the GCF replenishment meeting and COP25, ECO wishes to see many informal and formal conversations on expectations and plans to deliver political progress in three key areas: Support, Climate Impacts, and Ambition.
... Read more ...

Just recently, Cyclones Idai and Kenneth killed more than 1,000 people in Mozambique and neighbouring countries, forcing the sixth poorest country in the world to take on an extra US$118 million in debt. The climate crisis’ impacts are increasing, and it is imperative that the international community start addressing them adequately.

Six years after its establishment, it is high time to fully operationalize the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM), by putting in place a finance arm and by agreeing on new scalable sources of finance. The review of the WIM that Parties will perform at COP25 needs to fulfill its promise to enhance action and support.  For that, Parties need to engage in a full-fledged discussion on the availability of finance to address loss and damage (L&D) beyond adaptation and similar finance provided, the needs of vulnerable countries, and potential sources to reduce the gap between the two. 

At SB50, ECO would like to see Parties agree on the terms of reference for this review, ensuring it is fit for purpose and enables the WIM to meet its objectives and fulfill its functions. This needs to include whether (i) the mechanism is meeting the challenge of loss and damage currently faced by vulnerable developing countries, and (ii) if it is capable of meeting future loss and damage needs.
... Read more ...

For nearly 30 years climate negotiators have been focused on building a global climate regime that can leverage the ambitious action we need to limit emissions, the resulting climatic disruptions, and to respond to unavoidable impacts. Although there is still some work to be done, the rules are now largely in place. 
The time has now come for climate negotiators and their governments to direct a laser focus on the primary reason the UN Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement were created – limiting warming and facilitating fair and ambitious climate action to reduce emissions and protect and enhance sinks. After all, everything that has been done for the past three decades has been either to lay the groundwork for this effort, or to deal with the impacts and consequences of our failure to act fast enough. 
So let’s get on with it!
This means, first and foremost, taking every opportunity to ensure that the central instrument of the Paris Agreement – Nationally Determined Contributions – live up to their world-changing potential. NDCs 1.0 clearly have a lot of bugs and are not up to the task. It’s a no brainer that every country must revisit their plan and prepare to submit a revised version by 1 September 2020 at the latest, in line with their fair contribution to putting the world on a 1.5°C  path.
... Read more ...