Category: Previous Issues Articles

ECO has been sitting on the edge of its chair waiting to find out how the work of the Warsaw Loss and Damage Mechanism has progressed since the first meeting of its ExCom at the end of March.

Disappointingly, the much anticipated ExCom presentation left ECO puzzled: precious few insights were presented on the content of the work plan. The veil of secrecy has not been fully lifted, Yet, ECO is motivated by ExCom’s decision to open up the work plan for input from Parties and other stakeholders until July 1. What’s more, it will also webcast its next meeting live. Based on the comments received, the ExCom plans to advance the work plan by its second meeting, planned for the end of July. They will even accommodate observers who are not travelling to Bonn. ECO hopes that the work plan developed by the ExCom will leave some space for further inputs from those Parties who might not otherwise be able to meet the deadline.

Here are some ECO suggestions for those planning on making submissions:

–   Prioritise the needs of those segments of the population and ecosystems which are particularly vulnerable;

–   Consider key loss and damage areas such as slow-onset events, the functioning of social protection systems, migration and displacement, non-economic losses like that of ecosystems and their services, and financial instruments to provide for rehabilitation and redress needs;

–   Design a long-term work plan, not just a two-year set of activities.
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ECO noted a range of opinions in Thursday’s ADP stocktaking plenary – particularly on the question of how negotiations should go forward with which texts. Some Parties supported working with text based on a synthesis of Party contributions. This would mean that the co-chairs would be sent into the kitchen to cook up a text based on ingredients selected by Parties. Other countries want Parties to prepare the main dish, with negotiations held directly on Party submissions compiled to a single document. The fear is that this could run to a hundred-plus page cookbook.

A few countries seemed to want to try both approaches. This interesting proposal works with both approaches and raises the question of whether Parties could work with two documents at the same time and achieve a compromise. In this spirit of conciliation, ECO proposes that Parties look for inspiration from the Post-2015 negotiations on SDGs. This process uses a dual text approach to ensure the soufflérises.

In utilising the Post-2015 dual-text model, ADP co-chairs could call for conference room papers (CRPs) that they compile into an INF document featuring all Party submissions, with attribution. The co-chairs would prepare a companion document, a synthesis text developed from the CRPs, other submissions, and Party statements at this session.
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Ever since hearing so much support for action on renewable energy in Workstream 2, ECO has had an ear worm on our mind…

 

It’s totally not crazy what I’m ‘bout to say

Sunshine she’s here, fossil fuels can take a break

Solar power’s gonna fill this space

With the sunshine and wind power showing the way

 

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel like a room with PV on the roof

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel like Renewable Energy is the truth

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you know what sustainability is to you

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel like renewable energy’s what you wanna do

 

Here come fossil fuels talking CCS and crap,

Yeah,

Don’t give all you got, you gotta hold 80% back,

Yeah,

Don’t you worry ‘bout the economy we’ll be just fine,

Yeah,

No offence to you, don’t waste your time

Here’s why

 

Because I’m happy

Clap along in South Africa with 4 million solar roofs

Because I’m happy

Clap along with Uruguay’s 1.3% GDP investment in wind power that’s the truth

Because I’m happy

Clap along with Mauritius, Costa Rica, South Africa, Nicaragua* and for you

Because I’m happy

Clap along if you feel like renewable energy’s what you wanna do

 

Pollution has to go down

Looking at emissions goin’ down

The level’s too high

Bring it down

Need policies to bring pollution down

I said

Let me tell you ‘bout

Solar brings pollution down

Can’t help but

Bring it down

The levels too high

Wind brings emissions down

Can’t help but

Bring emissions down

 

I said

 

Because I’m happy

Clap along with Uruguay with a 90% (RE) 2015 target as the proof

Because I’m happy

Clap along with Mauritius for 60% (RE) by 2025 and that‘s the truth

Because I’m happy

Clap along with Nicaragua for 90% (RE) by 2020 if you know what happiness is to you

Because I’m happy

Clap along with Costa Rica for 100% (RE) by 2021 if you feel like that’s what we ought to do!

 

*Top five investors in RE based on per GDP ranking.

On June 6, Brazil became the first Party to deliver a REDD+ reference emission level to the UNFCCC under new rules established in Warsaw. This should be a reason for celebration: agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) constitutes 24% of global emissions, and Brazil has been reducing deforestation rates in the Amazon. ECO applauds this here and in another article, even if Brazil has stumbled a bit in recent years. Yet, the more ECO looks, the more this REDD gift seems like a black box.

Brazil has been a bit shy about its latest accomplishment. According to Brazilian civil society, the numbers behind the submission are surprisingly secret. No open consultations at home before finishing the reference level? No transparency around the data used? But when the Brazilian Climate Observatory asked for a copy of the submission, the proud Brazilian government lost its mojo. Somehow it was powerless to send the submission to its own civil society, instead leaving it to the UNFCCC Secretariat to share it in due time.

ECO really wants to see Brazil as a leader, especially on deforestation. But in a week where disrespecting observers has become de rigueur, Brazil’s lack of transparency and failure to engage its own civil society overshadows its REDD+ submission.
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The most anticipated event of the year has finally arrived (no, not the Bonn intersessionals!). Last night, after an early stumble, Brazil beat Croatia in the opening game of the 2014 World Cup. Just as much of the world looks up to Brazil’s national team, many Parties admire Brazil’s great success in tackling deforestation, with a 70% reduction during the past decade. And rightly so! It’s worthy of a good cheer.

One success alone will not be enough for Brazil, you can’t stay a winner forever. While historically deforestation has always been Brazil’s biggest source of emissions this is changing. It is now time for Brazil to commit to an ambitious target that will bring down emissions across all sectors. In order to stay on top of it game, Brazil needs to commit to an ambitious target to bring down emissions across all sectors.

Emissions from agriculture, energy and transport are already higher than emissions from deforestation. ECO has learned that emissions from the Brazilian energy sector more than doubled between 1990 and 2012, making it one of the fastest growing sources of GHGs. It is time for Brazil to stop investing in fossil energy and get on track for a renewable future.
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Don’t sell yourself short, Saudi Arabia, under any definition you’re important!

During Wednesday’s ADP session on the information required for INDCs, Saudi Arabia suggested that only the world’s top 20 emitters should worry about offering mitigation contributions to a Paris Protocol. The rest of the world, they said, should focus on adaptation, as their emissions are “minuscule”.

ECO already debunked the “minuscule” argument yesterday. Nothing is minuscule when you’re phasing-out fossil fuel emissions. And you can’t very well achieve the ADP’s purpose of “ensuring the highest possible mitigation efforts by all Parties” if 80% of Parties don’t mitigate. However, when you look at the countries in the top 20, Saudi has created quite the problem with its creative approach – it’s on the list, any way you slice it.

As ECO digs deeper into this Saudia Arabia-style differentiation, things become more and more curious. Someone call Norway; tell them to toss out their reductions target of 40%. Switzerland? Who needs its 20% target? On the other hand, ECO wonders whether Saudi Arabia has contacted its fellow Like-Minded Developing Country group members (China, India and Iran) to break the news that they should join Saudi Arabia in doing most of the mitigation effort!
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While ECO has been busy this week in Bonn, our spies in Luxembourg have been keeping an eye on EU environment and energy ministers. Yesterday, a joint EU Council meeting tackled two burning, and linked, issues: EU energy security and its post-2020 climate and energy framework. ECO’s intelligence network says this will be agreed in October.

You don’t have to be in the CIA to know that Europe as a whole is getting worried about its energy security. Countries like Germany have a secret weapon: binding targets for renewable energy and energy savings. Achieving these targets in Germany would mean at least 35% of its electricity will be supplied by largely home grown renewable sources. Similar policies in other EU countries will result in a 40% reduction in EU GHGs below 1900 levels by 2030. This recent development makes ECO feel slightly optimistic that EU politicians won’t need a decoder ring to discover that fossil fuels don’t equal energy security.

ECO hopes that all delegates took note of the EU’s intervention at the ADP ministerial meeting last week. The EU’s 40% reduction target by 2030 is just the first initial domestic offer, not the final number on the table with member states like UK, Germany and Sweden already calling for the EU to go further.
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Today, the ADP will meet to take stock of the progress made so far. When this session started, ECO announced its vision: in Paris countries have to commit to phasing out fossil fuel emissions and phasing in a 100% renewable energy future for all by mid-century.  In addition to really ambitious mitigation and financial commitments for the 2020-2025 period, of course!

 

ECO has been listening closely to Ministerial statements and interventions in the ADP.  By ECO’s count, over 60 countries have expressed support for the idea of a phase out. These include the LDCs (all 48 of them), AILAC (another 6 Parties), Marshall Islands, Grenada, Switzerland, Mexico, Norway, Germany as well as other European countries.

 

For example, Denmark spoke of their commitment to completely decarbonise by 2050, while Bhutan reiterated its commitment to remain carbon neutral. Nicaragua will already have reached 90% renewable energy use in power by 2020. South Africa supported the phase out of emissions for developed countries by 2050.

 

Now there may be some differences in terminology, (what with decarbonisation, carbon neutrality, net zero and phase out), as well as in the timeline (mid- or latter part of the century) and scope. But the message is undeniable: support for phasing out fossil fuel emissions and phasing in a 100% renewable energy future for all is growing rapidly.
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Up until now, the Joint Contact Group (JCG) on the 2013-2015 review has done an excellent job in its Structured Expert Dialogue (SED) in absorbing new and relevant scientific intelligence from the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report. When it comes to drawing any conclusions from all of the science though, the JCG is still only discussing procedural issues, like timing of the next SED.

Yes, ECO wants SED sessions at all SB sessions for gathering information from sources other than AR5. SB42, though, should be restricted to JCG only so that it can concentrate on its assigned task: to review the adequacy of the long-term global goal and overall progress towards achieving it. The SB42 session should be reserved for text work in order to prepare decisions for Paris as input into the ADP and to the COP.

To help, ECO suggests that:

– Parties conduct a stocktaking in the JCG at COP20 to capture the relevance of the information gathered from the IPCC AR5 during the SED.

– The JCG sends a strong signal to Workstream 2 of the ADP that the overall progress towards achieving the long-term goal is “off track” and that urgent action under WS2 is required for taking us to a 1.5°C pathway.
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