After a year of telling stories and sharing experiences, the Talanoa Dialogue came to an end yesterday. While the talking may have stopped, the need to act more decisively remains.
The purpose of the Talanoa Dialogue was two-fold: to take stock of the collective efforts of Parties in relation to progress towards the long- term goal and to inform the preparation of their NDCs. It is clear from the IPCC SR1.5 that current mitigation pledges are insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C. In other words, we are a long way from our collective goal.
ECO appreciates all the hard work the Fijians have put into making the Talanoa Dialogue a success. We hope that the call to action issued by the Presidents today will motivate people around the world to act now. Nonetheless, it alone is insufficient. The second task – to inform the preparation of their NDCs – must be a key focus of all Parties in 2019. The extent of damage caused by each additional 0.1°C of warming should be enough to spur Parties into action. However, ECO knows you all so well and recognizes that Parties may need a bit more prompting, so here we go: a COP24 decision which reiterates Parties’ commitment to strengthen their NDCs by 2020 (remember paras 23/24 of 1/ CP.21?) and initiate domestic processes to undertake such strengthening, is essential.
ECO is thrilled that Fiji and the Marshall Islands have already strengthened their NDCs and is looking to others to follow suit ASAP! As the UN Secretary-General said in his closing remarks, not only would it be immoral not to take the necessary actions here in Katowice, it would be suicidal.