Category: Previous Issues Articles

Running from one meeting room to the next and eating many a crêpe must be tiresome for ministers. But fear not, ECO is here to summarise the crucial things on climate finance for our new arrivals.

If ECO had a crystal ball for climate finance in future years, this is what it would show:

1. Climate finance needs a level of certainty. In a post-2020 world, this could be met by setting collective targets for financial support. To keep us on track, these targets should be reviewed and updated every five years, with separate targets for mitigation and adaptation. This leaves no room for error in our crystal ball predictions.
2. Developed countries should continue to lead the way in providing financial support after 2020. In fact, ECO’s crystal ball foresees that starting with at least US$100 billion annually provided by developed countries.
3. The crystal ball envisions the growing role of other countries, with an accent on South-South cooperation, to complement developed countries—based on comparable responsibilities, capabilities and stages of development.
4. Flows of finance that align the goals of the Convention. In other words, moving all money out of dirty, polluting energy and into low-emission, climate resilient actions—something we can all look forward to.

Non, Rien de rien
(No, nothing of nothing)
Non, Je ne regrette rien
(No, I regret nothing)



Venezuela and Saudia Arabia received a fossil Saturday night for opposing decarbonisation in a crucial contact group.Malaysia and LMDCs earned an Honourable Mention for championing civil society participation.Read more at http://climatenetwork.org/fossil-of-the-day

The French government made a commitment to civil society: this would be a transparent and participatory COP. Instead, from day one we have been banned from meetings where decisions are actually made.

Civil society’s role is to shed light on this process, to ensure that our governments protect their people’s best interests—not the interests of corporate lobbies resisting the transition.

Negotiating behind closed doors undermines the ability of civil society to ensure the accountability of governments and the UNFCCC process, thus pushing for a fairer and more ambitious agreement.  It also adversely affects developing countries, which rely on civil society for technical support they cannot otherwise afford.

Behold, there is at least one defender. ECO is grateful to Malaysia for speaking on behalf of the Like Minded Group of Developing Countries, for its consistent call for greater transparency in this process. The EU, US, Australia and other industrialised countries are a different story. Not only have they failed to challenge the closed-door policy, they have hidden behind it.

We demand access to the negotiations.

To keep global temperature increase to 1.5°C, and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, decarbonisation is an urgent need. We need national plans firmly set in place that focus on near-term action, coupled with long-term decarbonisation. Furthermore, climate resilience will help to avoid locking in high carbon infrastructure and address climate vulnerabilities.

In Cancun, Parties agreed that they would create low-carbon development strategies. ECO and others are again promoting this implementation tool. These plans must be a durable element of the Paris outcome, in the core Agreement, and not end  up in the decisions. Of course, developing countries must be provided with support to create and implement their strategies.

In these nationally appropriate strategies, countries should lay out a trajectory for decarbonisation by 2050, with indicative targets for 2030 and 2040. Details of the policies and measures to achieve low carbon and climate resilient development for the next 5 years should be aligned with the cycles in the UNFCCC.

Focusing on national implementation will also ensure that the plans are appropriate for each country’s special circumstances. By doing this, we can ensure that there is confidence that all countries are participating.

All countries questioning the urgent need to include a long-term goal to keep temperatures below 1.5°C should check their conscience.

For countries that have suffered the wrath of climate-related extreme events due to the current 1°C temperature increase, any attempt to negotiate a further increase in temperature is a violation of the right to life of many human beings and threatens the existence of ecosystems and species. Countries that have already been impacted by the hazards of climate change often do not have the time to adapt. They are therefore are at risk of loss and damage. Their realities must be reflected in the Paris Agreement.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in recognition of the risks faced by its member countries, is calling for accelerated investments in disaster risk reduction and adaptation. Support for inclusive resilience and risk management needs to be scaled up. It also needs to be sensitive to gender, culture and the needs of the most vulnerable. This is what ECO calls for in the decisions on loss and damage and adaptation for COP21.

Changes in the global climate system have already triggered enormous hazards. These have cost thousands of lives and put significant assets at risk in the most vulnerable countries.
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