Alright, Presidency. It’s showtime. The curtain has been raised on week 2 but there’s little indication yet about how the final act of this COP will play out. Will it include a vision, a political message to the world in the form of a cover decision that reflects urgency and solidarity? Will it demonstrate resolve to push back against climate inaction, greenwashing, and delay? Your silence worries ECO! We – and many others in this venue – are ready and eager to engage, but you seem to be talking to yourself. We’ve seen virtually nothing of the cover decision so far.
Despite a growing number of statements from Parties, including India, the EU, AILAC, Tuvalu and other Pacific island states, calling for the phaseout of all fossil fuels to appear in the cover decision, rumors abound that it may instead contain language promoting gas as a bridge fuel.
Mark ECO’s words: a cover decision that promotes any fossil fuel – be it coal, oil, or gas – would be an utter failure. For the world’s preeminent climate summit to have remained silent on fossil fuels for so many years was scandalous enough. For it to now come out in support of fossil fuels –whether directly or through language that perpetuates the myth we can “fix” fossil fuels through risky and unproven technologies rather than ditch them – would be a travesty. So, too, would it be an utter failure if the cover decision:
- says nothing about the imperative of keeping warming to 1.5°C or the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment;
- lacks commitments to a loss and damage finance facility, to double adaptation finance, to a transformational shift in financial flows away from fossil fuels and deforestation toward climate-resilient development pathways, based on renewable energy, energy efficiency and ecosystem protection and restoration, or;
- doesn’t call on countries to ratchet up ambition rapidly and dramatically.
Parties cannot backslide on last year’s cover decision in Glasgow, which marked tentative but inadequate steps forward. Time is running out! So let’s get the show on the road.