ECO Newsletter

ECO knows, as you come into the venue this morning, you are preparing for a long night. While progress has been slow and negotiations have been frustrating, ECO still has hope for a positive outcome. To make things easier, we have outlined three issue areas that should be a top priority in reaching an acceptable COP decision tonight.

Ambition
When the final plenary closes this evening, ECO expects Parties to send clear political signals that you will address ambition in all three long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. This includes ambition in providing the necessary support to developing countries to address and act on the climate emergency. It means responding to the science and bringing your national climate plans in line with the 1.5ºC goal. And it entails bringing civil representatives to the table when discussing your national climate plans, so that we can all contribute to achieving the highest level of ambition possible. This ambition needs to be reflected in the enhanced NDCs by 2020, and the UNFCCC Secretariat needs to be given a mandate to produce a synthesis report well ahead of COP26 to assess the aggregate effect of the enhanced NDCs.

Delivering finance to address loss and damage
Will we again delay action and support for loss and damage?
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\Clearly, on climate action, and especially on loss and damage, the global situation and the political situation are sadly out of sync. Here at the COP we started with a great deal of optimism. However, a COP that was perceived as an opportunity to reshape and strengthen the WIM looks now to have been a false promise. The urgency that we are seeing, with unprecedented climate impacts and with marchers on the streets demanding action, has not resonated with those shaping the language in the negotiating rooms. For almost two weeks in the corridors of IFEMA, we have not seen the commitment from Parties that the global community is expecting. So, as we enter the final official day of negotiations, here are some suggestions for developed and developing countries.

Developed countries:

Really, you need to try harder. This COP was supposed to be the moment to demonstrate your solidarity with those on the frontline of the crisis that you caused, and address loss and damage. In these final days before the Paris Agreement becomes operational, you have the opportunity to show leadership and demonstrate that you really meant it when you said finance could be provided on a cooperative and facilitative basis for loss and damage.
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As Article 6 negotiations enter their final hours ECO has a simple and short message for ministers, HoDs, and negotiators: if you cannot agree to a good deal, the only way to uphold the integrity of the Paris Agreement, and multilateralism – is to take the time needed and continue discussions at COP26.

As you are surely tired of hearing from us, ECO wanted to provide a kind reminder of what is the bare minimum for a good deal: no double counting; no carryover of any Kyoto units; social and environmental safeguards, including for human rights; and overall mitigation of global emissions.

ECO trusts the Chilean presidency will show the strength and bravery to stand up for these principles. And to the other ministers, please also show some courage and strongly speak up for these non-negotiable red lines.

While ECO is frustrated and appalled by the Parties blocking environmental integrity under Article 6 — we are looking at you in particular, Brazil and Australia — ECO applauds all those who will stand up to the pressure to “get a deal”, and will prefer coming back to the table at the next session if a good deal cannot be found in Madrid.
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“Ea” is a Hawaiian word that is given many meanings; chief among them is “sovereignty”. For Hawaiians, sovereignty is a word that rings close to the heart. In 1843, King Kamehameha III proclaimed the return of our sovereignty through the Hawaiian Kingdom after a six-month occupation by the British: “Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻaina i ka pono,” loosely translating to: “the sovereignty of this land is perpetuated in righteousness.” It was only fifty years later that once again the word “ea” rang through the islands — only now it was a death knell.

In 1893, the last Queen of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Her Royal Majesty Liliʻuokalani, was overthrown in an American-backed military coup. The “ea” of the Hawaiian people was stolen. Though a majority of Indigenous Hawaiians petitioned for the restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the passage of the 1898 Newlands Resolution led to the annexation of Hawaiʻi as a territory, pulling Hawaiʻi steps closer to her induction into the ever-expanding American empire.

The final stage in extinguishing Hawaiian sovereignty was meted out in 1959, when the Territory of Hawaiʻi was forced into statehood, officially adding it to the stars on the American flag. Sovereign no more, the Hawaiian people looked on with solemn eyes as their home was wrought from their hands by the cold gears of empire.
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Negotiations are falling apart, in a stark reflection of the political climate in Latin America. After several attempts at holding COP25 in Latin America, we have found ourselves back in Europe, hosting a Latin American Presidency in Spain.
 The agenda has polarized talks on common time frames, the transparency framework, and adaptation. Progress in the negotiations on market mechanisms has so far also been incredibly disappointing. 
Have Parties not learned enough from the failure of market responses in Chile to block loopholes?
Going into the final plenary, it seems progress on any of these crucial points is entirely out of the question; countries have acted entirely in their own interests, remaining deaf and unresponsive to the calls for action coming from outside.
The parallels are eerie between the social injustices and oppression of civil society happening in many parts of Latin America and the shrinking space for civil society found here at this COP. The voices of minorities, those who are most affected, least responsible, and fighting for their future, are being ignored, both in Latin American and in this COP.
The Escazú Agreement, which will provide the tools for establishing and protecting a dignified and sustainable environment and provide agency to disadvantaged Latin American communities, also gained little traction in Madrid.
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ECO is in need of a good glass of Spanish wine over which to reflect on COP25’s failure to match the urgent demands for climate action being made by our fellow citizens back home. The emphasis now shifts to real climate action at the national level — where it really counts.
“Net zero” targets have become a rather fashionable way for countries to claim that they are acting on climate change. But this simplistic phrase ignores important components, and allows for obfuscation and delay.
Let’s be honest: there is hardly any carbon budget left to stay under 1.5°C of warming, which means there can be no waiting around for future governments to have the courage to act. Certain countries’ targets of “net zero by 2050” are woefully insufficient. ECO reminds parties that at this rate, the planet, and its people — including our adorable future grandchildren — will be long-fried by 2050.
Emissions must decrease as fast as conceivably possible in rich countries, including a complete phase-out of fossil energy. Action needs to start now, and strong near-term targets for 2025 and 2030 are needed to make sure that any target is effective. We need to not so much bend, as smash the curve for steep reductions in wealthy and high-polluting countries.
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