When: Saturday 13th May, 9pm til late
Whe
re: CASINO DES BUNDESRECHNUNGSHOF
Adenauer Allee 81 53113 Bonn
Bring your badges and cash to buy drinks for all your friends and colleagues.
We need volunteers for Pack Up on Sunday morning, it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Annie at amack@climatenetwork.org for more information.
Accountability and verification of progress in meeting commitments are essential to increasing transparency, and creating confidence that countries are taking actions in line with their capabilities and responsibilities.
In Cancun and Durban, Parties established the International Assessment and Review (IAR) and International Consultation and Analysis (ICA), as a two-phase verification process for developed and developing countries.
Today and tomorrow, 28 countries will be subject to multilateral scrutiny on their climate efforts — the second part of the two-phase verification process. Countries being evaluated include the US, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, France, Russia, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Thailand and Malaysia. Following a technical analysis of country reports during the first phase, this exercise allows for a more comprehensive picture of the actions taken by countries, for a better understanding of how each country gathered the information included in their reports, and for sharing best practices and lessons learned. It also provides an opportunity for other Parties to raise questions and concerns, and for the Party under review to respond and clarify its thinking, or highlight its efforts to fulfill its requirements.
Although the current process is designed to be facilitative and kind to the countries on the hot seat, it ultimately has to help answer the question: is the country in question living up to its obligations and responsibilities?
... Read more ...
ECO is looking forward to the exchanges during the Multilateral Assessment, which will provide a great opportunity for Parties to quiz one another on the details of their progress on implementing their targets. What’s not on the table, though, is a discussion on the adequacy of those targets itself. Which, of course, is an important concern given the substantial mitigation gap that remains relative to a 1.5°C or even 2°C trajectory.
ECO has solicited questions from civil society organisations for several of the Parties undergoing Multilateral Assessment today and tomorrow.
Belarus: Given that your renewable energy target is only 9% by 2030, do you really believe that the Ostrovetskaya Nuclear Power Plant is the best mitigation solution for the 21st century, rather than increasing your renewable energy target?
Canada: Your general statements regarding the need for a just economic transition away from fossil fuels and keeping them in the ground are well received. How do you reconcile this long-term vision, and the domestic policies you implement to achieve it with your continued domestic support of long-lived fossil infrastructure (such as new LNG, pipeline, and tanker projects) and plans to increase fossil fuel exports?
France: You committed to a 2020 target of 23% of renewable energy in final energy consumption.
... Read more ...
This week, following the impeachment of their former president, the Republic of Korea elected a new president: Mr Moon Jae-in, a veteran politician from the centre-left Democratic Party. President Moon said he would be a “president for the people”. He emphasized his direct communication with the people, a welcome contrast to his predecessor Park Geun-hye.
President Moon also underlined that when it comes to major issues, he would raise media attention and open a forum at Seoul’s historic Gwanghwamun Square (where the country’s voices came together demanding change during the impeachment protests).
ECO hopes climate change, including national climate policies and international cooperation, will be among the issues President Moon will highlight in his new role if he really wants to become the “People’s President”. He can walk the talk by:
In addition, given the relatively recent development of its economy, South Korea should consider increasing support to vulnerable developing countries dealing with climate impacts, and loss and damage.
... Read more ...
While the negotiations at the Bonn Climate Change Conference are moving at their usual pace, the upcoming UNFCCC COP 23 Presidency holder, Fiji, is about to be hit by tropical cyclone Ella. ECO notices that while the cyclone season in the Pacific ended in April, this off-season tropical cyclone is gaining momentum and likely to hit and damage the same parts of the Fiji Islands that were severely devastated by cyclone Winston in 2016. Winston is the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, causing US$1.4 billion in damage in Fiji. Many Fijians are still struggling to recover and rebuild their lives, and now all their efforts might be undone. This disaster is, unfortunately, the current reality of the Pacific Island Nations — and must be a stark reminder to all of us that we must act urgently.
ECO understands that addressing loss and damage is the responsibility of the Executive Committee of Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) on Loss and Damage. However, we strongly feel it is equally important to create a space in the formal negotiation process (i.e. SB sessions and the COP) in order to not lose sight of these critical, politically significant topics. Issues such as climate-induced displacement/forced migration; loss and damage finance; non-economic loss and damage; and comprehensive risk management approaches are of particular importance, and the progress on these needs political oversight.
... Read more ...
At these Subsidiary Bodies you could be forgiven for thinking that the issue of loss and damage was (you guessed it) living up to its name and lost irreversibly. The issue is discussed at a small, grossly underfunded body – and rarely, if ever, in an open negotiating session. The conspiracy theorists among you may indeed suspect that the aim all along was to keep it in a permanently damaged state.
Delegates: in 2013, you established the WIM with three functions: to enhance knowledge; to strengthen dialogue and coordination; and to enhance action and support, including finance. Yet after 3 years, vulnerable people and countries are no closer than they were in 2013 to receiving loss and damage finance.
Lucky for you, dear colleagues, ECO has been doing some thinking. Today, a side event on loss and damage finance, governance, and implementation options, promises to explore the key questions and options, and provide concrete next steps. There will be another event on the same topic next week.
ECO suggests that you attend and engage. After all, no one is going to accept the first ever Pacific COP without concrete progress on finance for loss and damage.
ECO was shocked to hear that observers were asked to leave the SBSTA informal consultations of Article 6. In the spirit of all that was achieved in Paris, being open, inclusive, and transparent is key. Observers have insights, expertise, and different perspectives that can help move discussions forward in a constructive manner.
The 2020 pledges and the NDCs submitted in 2015 were a step forward for global climate action. But they still leave us with two unresolved problems: a huge emissions gap, and a huge gap in climate preparedness that is hitting vulnerable communities the hardest. Looking further into the future, with the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030, Parties have recognized the enormous challenge the global community is facing: In the next three and half decades, we collectively have to improve the wellbeing of all people around the planet, while putting in place zero-carbon economies and societies that are more inclusive, and protect the vulnerable.
In Fijian culture, when problems cannot be resolved through traditional means, the community has an additional resort — they organize a “talanoa”, a relaxed gathering open to anyone. It is intended to be as inclusive as possible, so that new solutions can be forged. Likewise, ECO recalls that in Morocco, the word “marhaba”, meaning “welcome” and “come in”, reflects openness and willingness to discuss and take the next step together.
Recognizing the role of our High-Level Champions from Morocco and Fiji, ECO wants to say “marhaba” to all Parties and non-state and sub-national actors to our planetary talanoa: the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action.
... Read more ...
Transparency, covered by Article 13 of the Paris Agreement, is crucial to make sure the Paris Agreement works. Without strong transparency provisions, how will we even know if we are on track to reaching the Agreement’s objectives and if everyone is implementing what they pledged. Transparency is also really complicated. For anyone not aware of this, it became apparent in yesterday’s contact group. A big part of the discussion is still focused on the conceptual elements of Article 13. But delegates, you only have until 2018 to finalize strong modalities, procedures, and guidelines, so it is time to really get to work on these.
The objective is to build a common, robust, and inclusive framework to enhance clarity and effectiveness. Sure, the agreement must account for different national circumstances, allow for flexibility where needed and reflect equity. But it also has to be strong enough to make all countries accountable for doing what they pledged.
The modalities, procedures and guidelines need to be robust enough to ensure we get the necessary level of detail on individual Parties’ actions and the support they are providing or receiving. Delegates should also make sure we get information on how countries are implementing their commitments in a way that respects overarching principles reflected in the Agreement, including the integrity of ecosystems, human rights, food security, just transition, indigenous peoples’ rights, gender equality, and intergenerational equality.
... Read more ...
As every avid ECO reader will know, ECO hates gaps. For years, ECO has called on delegates to do all they can to close the adaptation gap, plug the finance gap and reduce the ambition gap as fast as possible. But this time around, there is an in-session workshop to support the development of a GAP – and ECO is all in favor.
That is because this GAP refers to the gender action plan and the UNFCCC urgently needs one. Women’s rights should be central to every aspect of the UNFCCC negotiations – but they still are not.
While there will be no formal negotiation session on the gender agenda item at Bonn, there will be a 2-day workshop starting today, open to all Parties, UN organizations, observers and other stakeholders. The objective is to make progress on a gender action plan, mandated under the COP22 extension of the Lima Work Programme on Gender. The outcome will inform negotiations towards a decision at COP23.
Join the workshop and show support for women’s rights today from 10.00 to 13.00 hrs and tomorrow from 15.00 to 18.00 hrs in Room Santiago de Chile.