ECO Newsletter

This morning’s ECO brings exciting news for you!

But first, let’s start with what happened a few months ago. This spring, European citizens, especially the youth, took to the streets and called out loud and clear that they wanted more action on climate from their governments. This you all know. All these people on the streets made the climate emergency THE European election topic in many countries. Across the political spectrum, politicians committed themselves to stronger climate action, and the success of climate champions on the ballots confirmed to decision makers that delay is no longer acceptable and that the time to act is now.

And we really mean now! Tomorrow, Thursday, June 20, European heads of state and government gather in Brussels for an EU Summit to discuss the outcomes and conclusions of these European elections. And the main issue on their agenda is the climate crisis and what the EU can bring to the UNSG Climate Action Summit in September. Instructions for the UNSG Summit are clear: no speeches, but new and ambitious climate action that cuts global emissions by half by 2030. UNSG Guterres also sent a letter to the EU and outlined that this means revising the EU NDC with a target of 55% below 1990 levels by 2030.
... Read more ...

How much warming (and resulting climatic disruption) is too much? The 2013-2015 review of 1.5°C of warming concluded there would be serious and perhaps irreversible impacts from exceeding this threshold.

Since the Paris Agreement was adopted, we have had the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5) and more science is coming every day with increasingly alarming news of the consequences of exceeding 1.5°C.

This is where the Second Periodic Review (SPR) comes in. It can help Parties come to grips with the emerging science and escalating impacts and guide them towards an appropriate application of the global goal. This will be an essential input to the Global Stocktake (GST) in 2023. As an extra bonus, it will also start the GST’s work on assessing progress towards meeting that goal.

But today, during the first informal consultation on the SPR, in a jam packed room reflecting the growing interest in this important topic, ECO couldn’t fail to notice that some delegates seem to be too busy working in this bubble to see what happens outside of it: heatwaves in Asia and cyclones like Idai in Mozambique or Fani in India — whether attributed to climate change or not – occur more often and are stronger, just like the IPCC scenarios suggest.
... Read more ...

COP24 requested the SBSTA to consider the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5°C) in order to strengthen scientific knowledge on the 1.5°C goal.

With apologies to Shakespeare (and the planet), it appears that some Parties have come here to bury the SR1.5°C, not to praise it or to learn from it.

There is much in this report that Parties must grapple with and collectively and individually take on board. The report spells out the emissions pathways compatible with this goal, the financing and economic transformations necessary, and the implications for equity and justice.

Parties that are more concerned about climate change impacts than oil revenue want to have a substantive discussion and reach conclusions from that outcome that can help drive action to limit warming to 1.5°C.

But some would prefer to ignore the science, and thus also the impacts, and the suffering of those facing the impacts. After first arguing Parties should completely ignore this request, Saudi Arabia then called for “procedural outcomes” from this consideration – which is UNFCCC-speak for a text that ends discussion of the topic and never looks back.

Now the SBSTA Chair has reported a “gentlemen’s agreement” that dispenses with Rule 16, a rule which calls for an agenda item to be taken up at the next meeting if agreement on an outcome is not reached at this one.
... Read more ...

And so here we are again! ECO shall never get tired of engaging with you when you are developing critical rules for implementation of Article 6 to ensure environmental integrity and promote sustainable development. 

Today we present our top line recommendations. And for you, true hardcore followers of Article 6, stay tuned!  Over the coming days, we will outline in detail how and why you should implement these asks within Article 6.

KP transition

COP24 ended in a showdown, and the transition of Kyoto Protocol flexible mechanisms, including the current projects and units issued from these projects was a part of it. From the CDM alone, there could be over 4 billion units available after 2020 if Parties do not put restrictions in place. Today, over 800 million Carbon Emission Reductions (CERs) are already on the market. And don’t get ECO started about AAUs and ERUs… For each of these units used under the Paris Agreement, one less tonne of CO2e will be reduced. Besides, most of these units never made any contribution because the emission reductions they represent would have happened anyway. We know it, you know it, and if they are transitioned into the Paris Agreement, the world will get hotter and we will know why…

Avoiding double counting

Second, on the list is the infamous double counting issue.
... Read more ...

Mozambique is reeling after twin cyclones Idai and Kenneth — the first time in recorded history that two strong cyclones hit Mozambique in the same season. The storms killed an estimated 650 people, destroyed 24,000 homes, and displaced 150,000 people. The cyclones affected about 1.8 million people across the country, and women and girls, being the most vulnerable in times of crisis, struggled more than ever to cope with these devastating storms.  

On the island Ibo in northern Mozambique, a local woman recalls seeing people of all ages “with fear written all over their faces,” rushing inside the fort with injuries after being hit by flying objects. “My husband had gone to the sea for fishing. I prayed silently that he be safe.” she explained. “Our house was a total wreck,” she said, adding “And we could see some of our clothes were hanging high up in the branches of nearby trees. I felt like crying as it took years to build our house but now all was gone.” The wind had shredded her husband’s fishing boat apart, leaving nothing behind to salvage. “Our life depends on fishing and without a boat, it’s going to be tough,” she said. “Already, we have lost everything and we don’t know how we will get money to rebuild our house.”
... Read more ...

ECO woke up this morning thinking about the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and how a song by Britney Spears could reference it. Imagine if the song went: “I must confess I still believe (still believe) when I am not with you I lose my mind, give me a sign! Give me Money one more time”. (and the next time and time after that … you get the idea)

In 2019 the Green Climate Fund needs us all to work together. We need to ensure a successful first replenishment of the fund. To do so, developed countries need to significantly increase their public contributions to at least double their share of the initial resource mobilization and to do so overwhelmingly in grants. ECO remembers the commitment to mobilize US$100 billion by 2020, which, in case you haven’t noticed, is quickly approaching. This first replenishment is, in ECO’s view, a significant step towards this goal and maybe the most important moment for climate finance in 2019. It won’t come for a song. Talk is cheap, but replenishment needs real money and lots of it. Here is why:

Since 2014, countries have pledged a total of US$10.3 billion. This money has not been sitting idle.
... Read more ...

Two crises pose serious threats to life on Earth: the climate change crisis and the biodiversity crisis. Major global intergovernmental assessments from the IPCC and the IPBES have demonstrated that the two crises are strongly interlinked. It is increasingly understood that we must move beyond treating these crises separately, but rather move towards integrated approaches.

How refreshing that the IPBES addressed UNFCCC delegates yesterday, and with the SBSTA Chair paying full attention. ECO hopes that Parties are equally engaged. After all, nature-based solutions could provide 37% of mitigation efforts to meeting the 1.5°C target by 2030 according to IPBES. The challenge is to ensure that climate action lives up to the promise in the preamble of the Paris Agreement of supporting human rights, protecting biodiversity, and ensuring ecosystem integrity.

Much needs to be done, however, for this insight on the dual crises to be recognised and acted upon internationally. Carbon-rich high integrity ecosystems, such as primary forests, grasslands, peatlands and other wetlands, are under significant pressure. Land use change and degradation contribute in mutually reinforcing ways to both the climate and biodiversity crises – increasing emissions, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation

We need to see integration of actions under key international conventions (UNCBD, UNCCD, WHC, and UNFCCC), and other key international instruments (e.g.
... Read more ...