ECO Newsletter

With one week to go in the June 2014 session, it’s time to see where we stand on some of the key issues. Here is ECO’s take.

Adaptation

There was rich discussion on how adaptation should be addressed in the Paris agreement, but no sense on what that a goal would look like or how it would actually fit into the 2015 agreement. There was no clarity on whether adaptation actions should feature in the INDCs for example. Developed countries need to ramp up financial support substantially for adaptation activities, but there is no agreement, yet, on exactly how to do that.

ECO reminds Parties that COP20 must also take decisions on the governance structure and two-year work plan for the Warsaw Mechanism on Loss and Damage, as well as the Nairobi Work Program’s activities in the areas of health, ecosystems, human settlements and water.

Equity

Equity is central to these negotiations. Without equity, there is no ambition, and without ambition, there is no equity. The good news is that there’s a placeholder for equity indicators in the co-chairs’ draft decision text which must be addressed by countries when they put forward their INDCs.

ECO calls for an agreed list of equity indicators to be included in the final information requirements decision, both to inform the preparation of countries’ INDCs and to be used in assessment of them next year.

ECO was excited by yesterday’s Cities forum where great ideas, such as a plan to phase out of emissions by 2055 from the global building sector, were discussed. Amazing! A number of cities also have plans to go carbon neutral by 2030. Incredible! With this level of ambition, it’s no wonder Parties want to include Cities in the ADP deliberations. Let’s hope yesterday was informative and inspiring for the Parties.

Cities drive national economies and account for the lions’ share of national consumption, 70% of global GHG emissions come from cities. While the plans outlined are encouraging, this needs to be further expanded. The unsustainable urbanisation we are presently seeing leads to phenomena such as urban sprawl and increased car use, which threaten ecosystems and livelihoods, putting a tremendous strain on the natural environment. It does nothing for quality of life either!

ECO would love to see all cities adopt a vision for the future which is free of fossil fuel emissions and try’s to meet the growing demand for energy through 100% renewable energy. Compact efficient cities can alleviate poverty, combat climate change, and increase accessibility and efficient use of  services and utilities like water, energy, and transport.

With cities on the right track, the next step will be to get their respective whole countries to do the same!

Australia is the lucky recipient of the first Fossil of the Day award here in Bonn in recognition of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s stupendously brazen denial of the catastrophic risks posed by climate change. And to commend him in his recent efforts to form a gang of of “like minded” countries opposed to climate change action. News reports say Abbott may have co-opted Canada into his new scheme, and is reaching out to other countries including the UK and India in an attempt to “dismantle global moves to introduce carbon pricing.” ECO salutes Abbott’s commitment and consistency in his wilful blindness to the crippling economic costs of climate change.

Abbott must have missed the memo from the IPCC, when he decided to keep climate change out of the G20 talks that it’s hosting later this year, which spells out how climate change is an economic problem. It’s already costing us but, it doesn’t cost the earth to save the world.

Abbott is clearly looking for recognition of his madcap scheme, and ECO is proud to be among the first to step out and congratulate him for his dedication to the fossilised past. And now, this isn’t a joke, Abbott is actually doing this – sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!
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According to the latest IPCC findings, forests and land use collectively account for 24% of global emissions – 10-12 GtCo2e annually. This is, by far, the largest sources of emissions in certain regions, notably Latin America, Central Africa and Southeast Asia. In 2012m in Brazil, more than 61% of GHG emissions came from forests and farming activities.

Addressing these emissions is crucial to bridge the annual emissions gap of 8-12 GtCO2e by 2020 that would lead to global temperature increases of more than 1.5°C. Targeted actions in key regions can deliver immediate emissions reductions for the 2015-2020 period while necessary reforms in other sectors are under way. This would be a massive help if we are to peak emissions before 2020.

ADP Workstream 2 provides an opportunity to cut emissions fast from high carbon landscapes like forests, peatlands, mangroves, and other wetlands. Once these ecosystems are severely degraded or lost, most of their emissions reductions potential are a thing of the past. Measures to conserve these ecosystems bring many other benefits such as: diverse biodiversity and securing the livelihoods of local communities and maintaining resilience. One way to achieve all of this is to prioritise REDD+ as an immediate action to fund before 2020.
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Dear Japan, France, Germany and South Korea: is that soot on your face?

What’s in your wallet? ECO took a quick look and started coughing from the coal soot in there! A healthy ECO was very happy last week to hear parties in Bonn calling for a phase out of fossil fuel emissions by 2050. News that China and the US were tackling their coal emissions today, makes the coughing version of ECO is very worried. We’re worried we can’t reach that goal until countries put their money where their mouth is, and stop spending public money on coal.This is a waste of scarce resources that could be more wisely spent on renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) projects, particularly in developing countries.

What a dirty waste it has been! Over the past six years, Export Credit Agencies (ECA) in OECD countries provided at least US$32 billion for coal projects abroad. The good news is that some countries are starting to worry about their laundry bills and are beginning to clean up their act. For example, last year, the United States set a new policy to phase out its international public finance for coal.

Next week, at the OECD meeting, governments have a chance to decide to move towards ending ECA financing for coal.
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There is a rumour that developing countries are puzzling over how to build confidence and trust for the Lima and Paris COPs. See below for a few great ideas.

At least $US15 billion, and pledges no later than November: that’s what the Green Climate Fund (GCF) bank account balance should read, and what developing countries need. Parties also made it clear that these pledges should be in addition to overall levels of climate finance and overseas development assistance. ECO does not want to have to write about how developed countries have stolen  money from education and health programs or from the Adaptation Fund, just to fill the GCF.

Finance must and will go up, not down: is another key take away from the ADP discussions. ECO is excited that countries do intend to abide by the Warsaw decision (the main reason why we walked back into these negotiations, Volveremos) to scale up public finance levels.

P.S, to the US: ECO sends its warm regards for reassuring parties using ECO language (finance is going up not down, and there is no falling off a finance cliff, etc).

P.P.S. to all developed countries: this reassurance now needs to translate into concrete commitments and provisions in the 2015 agreement.
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Ministers failed to deliver climate action on Thursday and Friday, and the planet treated us to stifling heat yesterday in Bonn. Fortunately, a cooling breeze from Mexico has reached ECO to remind us that the warming can be stopped and that the heat in Bonn (and in the UNFCCC negotiations) can be reversed.

This breeze started off a few months ago in Mexico, as the government there published its Climate Change Special Program 2014-2018 that commits to unilaterally reduce emissions by 90 MT CO2e by 2018. Additionally, a 2018 Renewable Energy Special Program was agreed to, which sets a goal of increasing renewable energy’s share of electricity generation from the present 15% to 25% in 2018 and 35% in 2024. These renewable power increases would be coming from wind and solar.

Based on energy demand projections, this target actually represents a doubling of present renewable energy generation to 80 TWh per year. The monopolised electricity grid is opening up to more clean and distributed power by independent producers, and provides options for customers to specifically purchase renewables. There is a whisper floating around that there is more of this to come, and it must, especially if funding from the Green Climate Fund is made available to Mexico and if energy reforms are implemented sustainably.
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