ECO Newsletter

In his remarks to the Parties on Wednesday, the Adaptation Fund (AF) chair underscored the great achievement made by the Fund this year. He emphasised, among other things, that the AF has now accredited twelve National Implementing Entities, which allow for direct access of developing countries to the funds of the AF. Experience shows that this has also triggered the strengthening of institutional capacities to manage project funds. For ECO, this is evidence that direct access is no longer a pilot test programme perceived as highly risky, but rather a reality. In addition, two years after its first call for proposals, the AF has approved 25 concrete urgent adaptation projects covering all fields of adaptation, with several more in the pipeline. A key objective is to target the most vulnerable groups.

Because of these significant achievements of the AF and at the same time the scarce resources at its disposal, ECO is seriously worried about the dwindling resources and lack of predictability that poor countries are facing. Due to the over-supply of permits, the lack of mitigation ambition and the global economic downturn, prices for CERs, which provide the main source of income for the AF, have gone down to record lows below US$2.
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In both ADP workstreams, Parties have begun taking positions on the future of CBDR. Some see a global spectrum approach as the way forward. Others advocate a system in which the annexes are nuanced and differentiated. Whatever happens, ECO sees the need for a dynamic system that differentiates on the basis of equity principles.

ECO believes that it is helpful to cluster the various equity principles into three groups:

• Precautionary or adequacy principles – because climate catastrophe would be the ultimate injustice
• CBDR+RC, which remains key, but must be interpreted and operationalised dynamically
• Equitable Access to Sustainable Development – because just and sustainable development are human rights that must be both protected and promoted by the climate regime.

Why wouldn’t Parties want to discuss these principles within a separate, one-year work programme, with the intention of operationalising them? Such a work programme must inform the ADP streams on near-term and post-2020 ambition. ECO calls for a COP decision on this equity work programme to be taken at Doha. The Shared Vision contact groups should prepare this decision.

One way or another, Parties have got to find the space to build greater understanding of one another’s positions if they are to identify areas of convergence.
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Is history repeating itself, or is a strong commitment to gender equality really on the table? During yesterday’s open-ended consultations on SBI agenda 21 (Other matters), the EU introduced a draft decision promoting gender equality in the UN climate negotiation process. The draft text decision, Promoting gender equality by improving the participation of women in UNFCCC negotiations and in the representation of Parties in bodies established pursuant to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or the Kyoto Protocol is in fact a re-affirmation and strengthening of a decision already taken more than a decade ago. During COP7 in Marrakech, the parties agreed to adopt Decision 36/CP.7, which recognized the importance of gender equality in climate decision making; urged the parties to nominate women to elected UNFCCC positions; and requested the Secretariat to keep information on the gender composition of UNFCCC bodies with elective posts.

Despite this decision, participation of women in UNFCCC bodies and as Party delegates overall has remained disappointingly low. With that in mind, the EU delegation submitted this new decision to remind COP participants of the importance of gender equality. In many ways, the proposed decision is similar to the old one: it recognizes the importance of women’s participation as part of effective and equitable climate policy; requests the Secretariat to keep information on women’s participation in the conferences; and sets a goal of gender balance in all UNFCCC bodies.
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Yesterday ECO asked the question every journalist watching these talks wants answered: will countries in the Arab Gulf commit to change course to a greener future here in Doha? So far just one country has given an answer. Lebanon has said that they are striving to submit a supported NAMA. ECO strives with them.

To most people in the real world outside the climate change negotiations, the acid test for success in Doha is whether the outcome will include any further emissions cuts beyond those pledged three years ago in Copenhagen. That is, any action that will actually help us to tackle our ballooning global greenhouse gas emissions.

But when negotiations on this issue finally began on Friday, delegates talked more about what mitigation actions others must take, rather than what they must do.

At least Lebanon seems to have read the script for this COP. It’s time for other countries, including those in the Arab region, to learn their lines. They should recognise their vulnerability to climate change impacts, announce a pledge and show they are ready to be major players in these talks.

That would be something these talks can be remembered for, even after the circus has left town.
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While Norway spends millions of dollars on rainforest protection and renewable energy in developing countries, new data shows that Norway is falling short of reaching its domestic targets. The country has been applauded for using its oil tax income to fund REDD+ and CDM projects as well as ODA. However, this is in stark contrast with new numbers from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showing that at home carbon emissions have increased dramatically.

Bård Vegar Solhjell, Norwegian minister of the environment, will arrive in Doha next week to present ambitious targets in the battle against climate change: a 20 percent reduction in domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2020; a pledge for 500 million dollars annually towards rainforest protection; as well as funds for promoting renewable energy in developing countries; as well as several million for adaptation.

However, the IEA data changes the Norwegian image as an environmental super hero. Norwegian CO2 emissions from fuel combustion have increased by 38 per cent since 1990, more than all other OECD countries except Australia. More worryingly, emission projections toward 2020 show the numbers will only continue to rise. The reason for this increase is that emissions from oil and gas extraction and consumption have risen dramatically.
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New Zealand is topping the Fossil leader board this year and seems determined to stretch its lead. Initially copping an onslaught of condemnation for not re-committing under Kyoto, they are adding insult to injury by continuing to advocate for access to flexible mechanisms for non-legally bound countries, while offering no carrot in return. Their self-centred approach to these negotiations reflects a distinct lack of willingness to participate responsibly.

Increased access to markets is probably a good thing – no one wants to see the CDM collapse entirely – however New Zealand must demonstrate in Doha that it is prepared to pull its weight pre-2020. New Zealand should announce a target of at least 25% below 1990 emissions levels and send a strong signal that they are prepared to make real progress. Yes, these are above the conditional range of your present targets, Minister, but that’s what ambition is. A pledge to significantly scale up finance next year would also serve to restore previously eroded trust, and advance crucial progress on scaling up desperately needed climate funds.

Four fossils in five days give New Zealand a pretty decent hit rate on the fossil ladder. So resigned to inadequacy, the New Zealand Climate Change Minister Tim Groser has started referring to “Fossil” awards as a certainty.
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The First Place Fossil goes to New Zealand and the USA for not wanting to advance common accounting rules here in Doha. CAN was shocked in today’s spin off group on 1b1 when New Zealand had the gall to declare that countries will not agree on common accounting in Doha and thus a pragmatic approach would be to continue talking. Oh New Zealand, if only that approach would work on climate change!! But we all know, as Hurricane Sandy dramatically reminded us, climate change waits for no government. So the pragmatic approach would, in fact, be to finally agree that a tonne is a tonne is a tonne and all must be reduced! The USA has long not moved on this issue and today’s session was no different. But as South Africa helpfully reminded us, it is no longer acceptable to just refer to the system as “rigorous, robust and transparent” but you actually need to agree on the rules to make that happen. Time to get to work!

Canada wins the Second Place Fossil of the Day award. Oh Canada. When will you give fossil a break? You have failed on Kyoto and you are embarrassing on mitigation, but it seems you will not be content until you hit rock bottom on finance too.
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It was with some optimism that ECO joined the roundtable discussion of the ADP workstream two (“workstream 2 degrees”, as one delegate was heard when entering the room). All Parties had noted the pre-2020 ambition gap with grave concern back in Durban, and after a year of little—if any—progress, Doha seems to be a good moment to get down to work.

However, that’s not quite the way that the US delegate started it. First explaining how failing to adopt domestic climate legislation – which he said would have allowed offsets to do about half of the mitigation job, somehow, constitutes a doubling of ambition – as cuts now need to be done entirely at home. Right…The problem is that while the level of domestic effort will in fact be higher, the atmosphere won’t see a single additional ton of emissions reductions.

ECO rather liked the approach by the Ethiopian delegate who sported the ambition to get the country carbon neutral by 2025 – an undertaking not seen as over-ambitious – if needed support would materialize.

ECO agrees with the developing country delegates who pointed out that there is also lots of ambition work to do outside the ADP: finalising the homework in the KP and the LCA before they close; achieving the highest possible ambition including through getting rid of the hot air for CP2 and beyond; and agreeing common accounting for non-CP2 developed country Parties (the free-riders and ship-jumpers) to ensure comparability of efforts.
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