UNFCCC COP20, Lima
Set the Path for an Equitable, Fair and Sustainable Climate Regime!
We demand Climate Justice!!
The 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP20) from 1 to 12 December in Lima need to recognise their paramount responsibility to deliver the basis for a climate regime that will change the course of a planetary emergency. Parties should avoid scenarios of past practices where discussions lead to an ambiguous outcome without any concrete results.
The world is waiting, particularly, the multitude in most adversely affected countries such as the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) for Lima to deliver on two concrete elements under the Ad-hoc Durban Platform of Action (ADP):
- Agreeing on an ambitious mitigation action and climate finance provision pre-2020.
- Delivering the draft negotiating text of 2015 Paris agreement which will take effect post-2020; and agreed “information” to be forwarded on each country’s “intended nationally determined contributions”.
Together, these need to pave the way to protect the needs and rights of climate impacted peoples and support all; particularly small-scale farmers to adapt to a changed climate, and begin the global transformation away from dirty energy to clean, community controlled renewables. This can only be achieved by recognising the historical responsibility of the North and global elites and thus, a repayment of climate debt.
We strictly demand Parties gathered in Lima:
That time is running out even to secure the less ambitious globally agreed goal of 2oC, when 1.5oC limit is being demanded by people and the LDC states. Current low mitigation efforts set us on track for 4-7oC, which would be catastrophic. Complacency in Lima talks on pre-2020 and post-2020 discussions, therefore, will mean failing the world.
Pre-2020 period: CUT emissions DEEP to achieve 1.5oC; PAY Climate Debt NOW!:
- Emission reduction efforts to ensure equitable share of the global emission budget taking into account of countries’ historical responsibility and capacity and repayment of climate debt.
- Parties enforce the commitments of the Climate Convention under Article 4, sub articles 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.7 and 4.9 passing a final decision to secure all pledged financial resources and more, dispersed pre-2020, to enable vulnerable countries like the LDCs adapt and/or recuperate from the inevitable adverse effects of climate change and extreme events; and voluntarily contribute to mitigation efforts. Sub article 4.9 states “The Parties shall take full account of the specific needs and special situations of the least developed countries in their actions with regard to funding and transfer of technology”.
- Parties that have most failed to bring into force the second commitment of the Kyoto Protocol, which is supposed to cover developed countries’ targets until 2020, should commit to enter into force formally based on their agreement in 2012, with their pledged quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives (QELROs) raised to match the science and equity.
- Parties outside of Kyoto to also increase their financial and emission-cut targets to meet the scale of the need as a core outcome.
- Parties to refrain from bringing in false solutions such as market mechanisms in agriculture which will further impact vulnerable countries, threatening their food security; and instead look into real solutions such as renewable energy access for millions of marginalised communities as a mitigation effort.
Post-2020 period: DELIVER draft negotiating text of 2015 Paris agreement to take effect post-2020!
When drafting the text, Parties must:
- Begin a real participatory process involving all Parties.
- Abide by the principles of the Climate Convention which is equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC) and hence, refrain from rewriting the Convention allowing developed countries to avoid their legal obligations.
- Avoid endless discussions without focusing on negotiating text directly, which is a controlling mechanism to derail Parties from producing real results. Thus, Parties must:
- Ensure that all elements have equal standing in the 2015 agreement in terms of their legally binding status.
- Agree that the scope of the “intended nationally determined contributions” to include all elements and not only mitigation, which is the ongoing tendency of ignoring Parties’ differentiated commitment towards adaptation, finance, technology transfer, and capacity building.
- Parties must anchor the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage in the 2015 agreement; prioritizing its operational mechanism in Lima. The composition of the Executive Committee should be regionally based, with additional spots for LDCs and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), similar to the composition of the Adaptation Committee
Once the 2015 agreement document is agreed to include all elements – mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, capacity building and transparency – contributions should focus on:
- Setting an emissions budget that will give us a chance of limiting warming to 1.5oC without risking geo-engineering; will involve reduction levels globally of more than 71% by 2050 and 26% by 2030 below 1990 levels. These cuts must occur in the context of CBDR-RC and the repayment of climate debt.
- Developed countries’ contribution in the form of QELROs, and providing finance, technology transfer, capacity building, and transparency.
- Developing countries’ contribution to adaptation and mitigation with secured commitment from developed countries’ contribution towards finance, technology transfer, and capacity building.
A lame agreement with weak ambition to confront the climate crisis is as bad as no agreement for the LDCs!
(File) LDC Watch Position Brief for UNFCCC COP20/CMP10, Lima – 77 kB (File Size)
