Celebrating 50 years since the first UN conference on the environment, Kenya and Sweden, supported by UNEP, co-hosted last week Stockholm+50 – a UN conference on how to accelerate the 2030 agenda and the SDGs.
The Stockholm+50 key recommendations should guide negotiators in Bonn. Particularly Recommendation 3, which reads: “Adopt system wide change in the way our current economic system works to contribute to a healthy planet… phase out of fossil fuels …and recognizing the need for financial and technical support towards a just transition.”
This is a significant step forward on the COP26 outcome, recognizing all fossil fuels and the need to phase-out and not just phase-down the leading cause of the climate crisis. Parties to the UNFCCC must redouble their efforts and ensure the need to phase-out fossil fuels and phase-up just transition action is included in the decision texts, embedding the conclusions of Stockholm+50 into the UNFCCC process.
In addition, the recommendations include the need to recognize and implement the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment – shining a light on the importance of rights-based thinking.
Colleagues in Stockholm were acutely aware of the implementation gap. They were clear that we must “strengthen national implementation of existing commitments for a healthy planet … including by … scaling-up capacity support and development, access to and financing for environmentally sound technologies.”
Governments in Stockholm sent a clear message: “Align public and private financial flows with… environmental, climate and sustainable development commitments…repurpose environmentally harmful subsidies…support economic diversification… honouring the commitment to mobilize US$100 billion every year for climate finance for developing countries”. ECO notes that this US$100 billion was the target until 2020 and is a floor, not a serious reflection of what is needed.
The recommendations call for all of us to reinforce and reinvigorate the multilateral system including by recognizing intergenerational responsibility as a cornerstone of sound policy-making – which is a fancy way of saying ‘listen to young people’.
Young people, inside and outside of CAN, are being extremely clear. We, and they, are calling for a fossil fuel treaty. The Stockholm+50 recommendations support this call. Governments could begin to respond to it today. There is nothing more urgent.