Tag: Mitigation

Viva México: ECO Welcomes Mexico's 2050 Climate Change Vision; Now Global Funding Must be Made Available to Implement It

Submitted by MBrockley on June 5, 2013 - 2:03am

Mexico's 2050 Climate Change Vision report is a welcome step in its path to a low-carbon future.

Mexico has included an emission reduction goal of 50% by 2050 compared to 2000 and 30% with respect to business as usual by 2020 in its Climate Change National Strategy. While Mexico has communicated it will do everything possible to meet these targets, according to both these documents and the General Climate Change Law, these targets are subject to the availability of international funding and support.

The measures detailed in the report include a massive deployment of public transport systems, stringent energy efficiency standards in the construction and industrial sectors and a rapid escalation of renewable energy as key elements for achieving a low-emissions economy.

Despite this, the best strategies will be waylaid if funding to implement them is not available. A substantial part of the measures included in Mexico's 2050 Vision Strategy are shown to have the potential for significant positive impacts on the Mexican economy, and are intended to be supported through their own funding. However, there are significant actions that would incur short- and medium-term financial burdens for the country and need support from a start in the operation of the Green Climate Fund.

The next step for Mexico should be to develop clear NAMAs on each of these additional measures, with the associated financing requirements. Mexico is presently developing such a program. Developed country Parties must ensure the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC has sufficient resources to support these measures.

There is real opportunity to demonstrate that support is available for leader countries such as Mexico to achieve what they have set themselves to achieve. Otherwise, our efforts to keep global warming below 2°C will be thwarted.

Tags:

Mexico

Topics:

Mitigation

MBrockley's blog

Their Share and a Bit More

Submitted by MBrockley on June 5, 2013 - 2:02am

In the midst of agenda controversies and lack of ambition, ECO would like to acknowledge that some countries are taking proactive actions, by bringing new ideas and commitments to the UNFCCC processes. ECO welcomes some of the contributions and actions by the Independent Alliance of Latin American Countries (AILAC) to develop a process to achieve a good climate deal in 2015.

They're not among the wealthiest nations, nor the poorest; they are middle income countries and, in contrast to many developed countries, they have committed their nations to reduce emissions within their capacities.

In yesterday's ADP plenary, they proposed to lead by example. They also welcomed the AOSIS proposal as a good starting point for action in the energy sector, which they see as being key to begin closing the gigatonne gap. The idea of scaling up and doing the same for other sectors such as transport, industry, waste and forestry is also appealing.

ECO looks forward to seeing more progress on positive actions. But remember, you committed to it, and ECO will be watching...

Tags:

Alliance of Latin American Countries

AILAC

Topics:

Mitigation

Region:

Latin America

MBrockley's blog

Putting the Start Back in SBI

Submitted by MBrockley on June 5, 2013 - 1:57am

ECO is dismayed to have to write another article on the fact that the SBI has yet to begin its work. Boo! ECO would much rather fill its pages with all the ideas it has for the 2015 agreement or on closing the gigatonne gap (or at least some funny cartoons, fake recipes, or mock classified ads). Instead it feels compelled to ruminate on the lack of progress…

Ironically, it seems that this lack of progress has its origins in something that actually did make progress: Doha eliminated more than 3.6 billion tons of the hot air in the Kyoto system. Without this decision Ukraine and Belarus would have accumulated over 2 billion and 400 million tons of hot air in the course of the second commitment period due to their weak targets. There is no point giving the number for Russia as it has comfortably decided not to participate in KP CP2.

The issue, of course, is how that decision was taken. While ECO fully supports resolving the long-standing matter of the rules of procedure, it is suspicious of the motives behind Russia, Ukraine and Belarus for insisting on it right now. For Russia, this just seems like sour grapes as they are not even a party to the second commitment period, and last time a proposal on the rules of procedure was discussed, seemed much more intent on pushing its own proposal to regularly review the Annexes of the Convention (which – oh, ECO doesn’t know – may explain some of the G77 and China’s positioning now on including new items in the agenda). As for Ukraine and Belarus, they would be much better placed to seek financial and technical support to genuine efforts to reduce their emissions rather than blocking the SBI. Blocking gives you nothing.

Doha, unfortunately, did not eliminate all hot air. Some still remains in the system and is currently caught up behind an EU bubble – here’s looking at you Poland (ECO would love to write about your new found ambition when you host the COP, but has a few articles in mind should you choose to pour cold “coaly” water on the whole thing…). Moreover, while the economies in transition had their “ambition” pushed up by new provisions, all developed countries’ ambition is still inadequately low, with no opportunities for a similar increase given all the loopholes they have deftly crafted.

ECO urges all Parties, economies in transition, the G77 and the like, to work constructively towards resolving this issue immediately and starting the SBI today.

Tags:

SBI

Topics:

Mitigation

MBrockley's blog

CAN Intervention in the SB38/ADP2-2 Bonn Intersessional: ADP Opening Plenary, 4 June, 2013

Submitted by Sam Harris on June 4, 2013 - 9:55am

Photo Credit: Naoyuki Yamagishi

Thank you Co-Chairs. My name is Vositha Wijenayake. I’m speaking on behalf of the Climate Action Network. Good progress was made at the last Bonn session. As this is the last session of our current Co-Chairs it is crucial to continue this progress and to capture it for Warsaw. This intersessional must see pre-2020 ambition come to the front. It is essential to finish Bonn with at least draft elements of a Warsaw decision teaming concrete action on renewable energy and energy efficiency and 2014 dates for developed countries to put forward increased mitigation pledges. Increased finance is also essential to enable developing countries to enhance their NAMAs. The Technical Paper on Mitigation Ambition offers a good springboard. For workstream 1, the momentum on equity at the last intersessional provides an opportunity to establish an equity process that can drive ambition. An “Equity Reference Framework” embodying the Convention’s core equity principles, based upon objective and quantified equity indicators. This will enable Parties to formulate fair and ambitious commitments post-2020. Commitments which must be on the table in 2014 (Ban Ki-moon’s Summit offers an excellent opportunity) to allow sufficient time for both a science and an equity review of the aggregate effort. Thank you.

Topics:

Equity/effort-sharing

Mitigation

Organization:

AWG-ADP

UNFCCC

Climate talks open as NGOS urge nations to make every moment count between now and 2015

Submitted by rvoorhaar on June 3, 2013 - 9:54am

Climate Action Network (CAN) urged countries to continue to make progress outlining the elements of a comprehensive, global agreement that puts us on the path to fair, sustainable development at the UN climate negotiations opening in Bonn, Germany, today.

“Every moment counts,” said Enrique Maurtua Konstantinidis from Climate Action Network Latin America. “Especially given that atmospheric carbon pollution concentration just pushed through the 400 parts per million landmark and that there is likely to be as few as five negotiating sessions between now and when the global agreement is supposed to be signed in 2015.”

Key elements that need to be taken forward to the major talks in Warsaw in November include a way to fairly measure national climate action and financial support which takes into account differing circumstances as well as defining the structure and principles of the agreed international mechanism to deal with communities and cultures which are irretrievably lost as a result of climate change.

Sivan Kartha, from the Stockholm Environmental Institute, said agreeing a way to measure fairness of climate action could be the key to unlocking progress towards the 2015 agreement.

At the same time, Jason Anderson from WWF said countries need to commit to concrete steps to reduce carbon pollution before 2020.

“CAN - the world’s biggest network of NGOs working on climate change - is urging countries to put their support behind a plan for leaders to increase their 2020 carbon pollution reduction commitments next year at a summit being held by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon,” Anderson said.

“This is vital if we are going to rectify the fact we are not doing nearly enough to deliver a safe climate," Maurtua

Konstantinidis said.

The year was not even half way over and we had already seen devastating floods in Argentina and the melting of Arctic sea ice being linked to not only Australia's harshest ever summer, where they needed new colors to define hot on the map but also a frozen spring in Europe and North America.

Contact:

For more information or for one-on-one interviews with the NGO experts, please contact Climate Action Network International’s communications coordinator Ria Voorhaar on +49 (0) 157 317 35568 or rvoorhaar@climatenetwork.org.

Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 800 NGOs working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels

Tags:

2015 global agreement

Topics:

Adaptation

Equity/effort-sharing

Mitigation

Organization:

AWG-ADP

UNFCCC

ECO's (Che)easy Guide to Success in Bonn

Submitted by MBrockley on June 3, 2013 - 2:45am

The year is not even halfway through and we have already seen devastating floods in Argentina and the melting of Arctic sea ice being linked to not only Australia's harshest ever summer, where they needed new colours to define “hot” on the map, but also a frozen spring in Europe. Climate impacts like these were hitting all corners of the planet, as carbon pollution in the atmosphere pushed through the landmark of 400 parts per million - levels the world has not seen for millions of years.

And here we are in Bonn again to work out how to get those levels down, not up. With as few as five sessions left before we need to agree to a comprehensive climate plan in 2015, it is high time to roll up our sleeves, put on hold short term interests and work together to refocus the planet away from burning destructive fossil fuels and onto a path to a safe future.

Delegates – you are going to have to earn your Maritim cheese sandwiches! As much remains to be done before COP19 in Warsaw. You need to continue the good work started last month by mapping out the structural and technical elements of the 2015 climate plan to be captured in a draft decision at Warsaw, whilst committing to concrete steps to increase ambition before 2020.

Equity

At the Bonn meeting in April, equity took centre stage. Parties seem to recognize at last that there won't be any ambitious 2015 deal without equity (and no equity without an ambitious 2015 deal). ECO is pleased that the ADP co-chairs, in the informal note on the last Bonn session that contained their reflections of the perceived common ground on Workstream 1, have confirmed the “the principles of the Convention will apply and need no reinterpretation in the 2015 agreement.” This is, for ECO, of course a very important common ground that ADP 2 needs to build on.

It should not be forgotten in the myriad of issues that the Parties need to push in this session to agree to an international mechanism to deal with communities and cultures that will suffer from irretrievable loss as a result of climate change.

Short Term Ambition

Current mitigation commitments have us on a catastrophic 4 degree pathway. Clearly, raising ambition before 2020 must be a priority. And International Cooperative Initiatives are no replacement for increased mitigation and finance pledges. And 2014 is the year for your increased ambition to shine – the KP Ministerial Roundtable next year should be an opportunity for all developed Parties – not just KP Parties – to increase their current, embarrassingly low levels of ambition. And Ban Ki-moon’s Summit likewise offers a good opportunity for developed countries to increase commitments, and developing countries to increase pledges. Of course this will require facilitation by additional means of implementation for developing countries, which is meagre at this time.

The first volume of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report in September will provide the perfect backdrop for such an increase in ambition, as well, of course, for quality input into the First Periodical Review.

The AOSIS proposal on energy efficiency and renewable energy deserves significant attention at this Bonn session. It calls for technical level workshops on implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency-based mitigation options here in Bonn, followed by a submission process and a ministerial meeting at Warsaw, offering plenty of opportunity for countries to consider how clean technology can drive an increase in their pledges. There are, indeed, no shortage of ideas on how countries could increase their ambition. (The UNFCCC technical paper on short term ambition reductions offers a whole range of ideas on how short term pollution reductions could be achieved.) All in all, the conditions look promising for 2014 to be the year of short term ambition increase for all.

Market mechanisms

Carbon markets will be an important topic: Both the CDM and JI are scheduled to undergo reform. The CDM needs to phase out project types that are clearly not additional (large power, for example) and ban project types that are clearly harmful, such as coal power. Human rights need to be respected by all projects. JI, the troubled brother of the CDM, needs much stricter rules, period. The over 95% of JI credits that have been issued under track 1 lack transparency and integrity, to put it politely.

Why we would want to increase the supply of market units by creating new mechanisms is still a bit curious, given that current prices for CDM and JI credits are at 20 Euro cent. Nevertheless, Parties will discuss new market mechanisms (NMM) and a FVA (Framework for Various Approaches). Ensuring quality through clear and conservative rules, international oversight and comprehensive tracking and accounting rules are key.

Never will so many delegates pay so much for Maritim cheese sandwiches. And we don’t mean in Euros (though we all pay quite a bit for them as it is) – we are talking about the sweat on your iPads. ECO expects you to draft decision text for the Warsaw Finance Ministerial, outlining a pathway, including mid term targets, to get to the US$100 billion by 2020. And delegates, the time has come, as the walrus said, to speak of many things. Including where, how and when finance fits under Workstream 1. In order to ensure that sufficient means of implementation are assured to support the level of mitigation and adaptation ambition necessary for the 2015 agreement, these discussions must begin soon.

Much more is needed, of course; expect a few more recipes for success over the next 2 weeks. But for now, all this typing is making ECO hungry...

Topics:

Equity/effort-sharing

Flexible Mechanisms

Mitigation

MBrockley's blog

CAN can Cook

Submitted by MBrockley on June 3, 2013 - 1:49am

FAB 2015 Protocol
(serves billions)

Take a carbon budget compatible with staying below 2°C warming (1.5°C if you want to serve all);
Make sure that the lid covers 100% of global emissions;
To raise, add a framework for equitable burden sharing;
Add two generous cups of money, one for adaptation, one for mitigation;
Bouquet of Means of Implementation (MOI);
Handful of common accounting and transparency;

Pour over 194 government representatives, let boil for two weeks in a conference centre in Paris. DO NOT OPEN DOORS UNTIL A FAIR, AMBITIOUS AGREEMENT IS REACHED. Check for loopholes and legal bindedness. Serve immediately with vigorous enforcement.

Topics:

Adaptation

Equity/effort-sharing

Mitigation

MBrockley's blog

New focus on injecting fairness into climate talks a cause for hope

Submitted by rvoorhaar on May 3, 2013 - 7:27am

130503_news_release_adp2.pdf

Bonn, Germany - May 3, 2013: Experts from Climate Action Network International welcomed a new, positive dynamic emerging from the year’s first UN negotiations in Bonn this week, but urged leaders to ensure that the 2015 climate plan is robust enough to save the planet.

While many countries continued to present their same hackneyed positions in the plenary sessions, there are more parties with constructive plans that ensure fair contributions to climate action by all and do more to reduce carbon pollution before 2020 injected fresh air and confidence into the talks.

Mohamed Adow from Christian Aid said previous silence on the issue of fairness had threatened to derail progress in the negotiations, but by beginning to openly tackle the problem now, confidence has been boosted among developing countries about agreeing a plan in 2015 to save the climate.

“Countries now have to move to concrete discussions to capture the new energy created around equity in Bonn this week,” Adow said. “They can do this by agreeing to review climate action against an agreed framework based on the principles of equity.”

Jan Kowalzig from Oxfam Germany welcomed a plan by the Association of Small Island States designed to have countries commit to deeper cuts in carbon emissions in the next few years.

“By the end of the year in November at Warsaw, leaders have to agree new action that will help shrink the gigaton gap between current pledges and what science says is necessary to avoid catastrophic climate change,” Kowalzig said. “This must include developed countries increasing their pathetically low emissions reduction targets as well as boosting financial support for developing countries to fight climate change.”

Climate Action Network’s Julie-Anne Richards urged countries not to weaken the structure of the 2015 climate plan only to ensure the sign on of countries such as the US.

“We need a plan that secures us all a fair and sustainable future, not one that appeals to the lowest common denominator,” Richards said.

The press conference can be viewed here: http://unfccc4.meta-fusion.com/kongresse/adp02/templ/ovw_live.php?id_kon...

Contact:

Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 800 NGOs working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels

Tags:

ADP2

Topics:

Equity/effort-sharing

Mitigation

Review

Organization:

AWG-ADP

Related Event:

ADP Second Session 2013

Time For a Timetable

Submitted by rvoorhaar on May 3, 2013 - 12:31am

The scope, structure, and design of the 2015 agreement must keep the global temperature increase below 1.5ºC. It must contain national, legally binding targets and actions on mitigation, adaptation and finance to achieve this goal within an overall framework of ambition, accountability and equity.

There has been a lot of discussion here in Bonn on the process and timetable for developing such an agreement by COP21 in 2015. ECO suggests the following:  

First, countries should agree at COP19 that mitigation action and finance will be evaluated in light of both the collective level of ambition needed to achieve the temperature limitation goal, and on the basis of a set of equity principles that helps assure the overall fairness of country efforts in relation to each other.

The Science Review starting at the next Bonn session will help guide the first part of this evaluation. At COP 19 in Warsaw, Parties need to launch a parallel process to develop an equity reference framework. See the box on page 2 for the details. The key is that equity must become an enabler of increased trust and ambition. It is also critical that, when Parties pledge their targets, they should be aware that their pledges will be reviewed both against the science as well as equity criteria.

Ban Ki-moon’s Leaders Summit offers a timely opportunity for countries’ mitigation and finance action to be placed on the table in accordance with the requirements of ambition and equity. Submitting actions at this point will allow adequate time for a full review and subsequent submission of revised proposals before COP21 in Paris. Such a full review should evaluate the collective adequacy of these proposals in satisfying the agreed global temperature goal. Each individual proposal should also be evaluated in terms of its adequacy with regard to ambition and equity.

Turning to the other ADP Workstream, ECO fears that short-term ambition is in danger of becoming the poor cousin of the 2015 agreement – when in fact it is an essential precursor. Sufficient political will to reach a 2015 agreement cannot be built without clear evidence that countries have made progress on the short-term ambition front. If it’s apparent that developed countries are not meeting their obligations to increase their ambition, then there won’t be appetite amongst their developing country partners for a 2015 agreement with an updated interpretation of equity.

So what needs to happen in Workstream two? First and foremost, developed countries must increase their current, weak targets. Despite a constant flow of new evidence of increasing climate change impacts on vulnerable countries and people, not a single developed country has shown any intention to actually increase its target. The KP review process in 2014 is the opportunity to change that, as long as a parallel process for non-KP developed Parties is established, and ministers bring ample quantities of political will with them to the negotiating table.

Some developing countries can increase their ambition too. The wealthy countries of the Persian Gulf, and other advanced developing countries that currently have no pledges, should be prepared to announce them in Warsaw.

We also suggest that Parties engage in discussion about how to create an upward spiral of increasing ambition in developing countries, facilitated by increasing means of implementation. Parties could explore practical ideas about how this could work, e.g. through a dedicated workshop and submissions by Parties. Perhaps the registry could play a role in this process.

Finally, ECO welcomes the proposal tabled yesterday by AOSIS calling for an accelerated ADP process to provide incentives for, and address barriers and disincentives to, more rapid deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technology. This should culminate in a ministerial roundtable and COP decision in Warsaw.

So there you have it – a road map to success in both Workstreams, at no charge from your friends at ECO. But let’s be clear about what’s really needed. The main barrier to adequately addressing the climate crisis isn’t lack of knowledge about the problem, nor is it the lack of cost-effective solutions. It’s the lack of political will to confront the special interests that have worked long and hard to block the path to a sustainable, low-carbon future. In this regard, the sustained engagement of national leaders in providing strong political guidance is critical to achieving a successful outcome in Paris. And as we all learned in Copenhagen, this engagement cannot wait until the final moments of these negotiations.

Tags:

ADP 2

Topics:

Adaptation

Equity/effort-sharing

Finance

Mitigation

Related Event:

ADP Second Session 2013

rvoorhaar's blog

Tag: Mitigation

Photo Credit: Naoyuki Yamagishi

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