At COP24, many of us recall the vision of the Paris Agreement – that of rights based climate action. In the next 48 hours Parties need to stand up for rights based climate action so that the Rulebook affirms this vision.
- In the guidance for NDCs: Parties should be requested (or invited) to provide information regarding how stakeholders have been consulted in the planning of the NDC as well as their integrated issues related but not identical to human rights. These include Indigenous Peoples rights, the rights of persons with disabilities, just transition, gender equality, food security, ecosystems integrity and protection of biodiversity, and intergenerational equity.
Although it is by no means adequate, this could be one of the only avenues for human rights language in the rulebook, and so it is critical that it is retained!
The latest negotiating text contains brackets around this language and also misses the latter three elements which would need to be added.
- In the guidance on Adaptation Communication – Parties should be requested to provide information regarding how their actions are gender responsive, participatory and based on and guided by knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local knowledge systems – as explicitly mandated in Article 7.5 of the Paris Agreement.
- In the Transparency Framework and the Global Stocktake – The transparency framework contains only a few references to participation and access to information and to the role of gender/Indigenous People knowledge and participation in adaptation action. These options must be retained. The Transparency Framework also contains an option that would enable NGOs to participate actively in the final stages of the transparency process, and Parties must support this option.
In relation to the Global Stocktake the most important reference for now is to secure the active participation of observers at all stages of the GST. Supporting this language would guarantee that a broad range of themes can be discussed as well as ensuring that civil society and Indigenous Peoples perspectives can be heard through the GST.
