Tag: Rio-Process/Post-2015

Region:

North Africa

Organization:

Civil society participation

G77 earn Fossil of the Day as they oppose language to foster civil society participation

Submitted by Secretariat on June 16, 2012 - 6:23pm

Today's first place fossil goes to Algeria!

Today’s Rio Fossil was chosen through a vote by representatives of youth networks and hundreds of global NGOs organized in the Climate Action Network CAN.

The Fossil presentation text reads as follows:

Tags:

Fossil of the Day

G77

sustainable development

Topics:

Region:

North Africa

Organization:

Fossil-PressRelease_-_June15.pdf

UNFCCC

CANADA COMES OUT OF FOSSIL RETIREMENT TO TAKE HOME A SURPRISE SECOND RIO FOSSIL - RECOGNIZED FOR GUTTING THE TEXT IN RIO AND ROLLING BACK ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS AT HOME

Submitted by Secretariat on June 15, 2012 - 5:50pm

Canada was awarded the second ever Rio Fossil of the Day today in a surprise move that brought them out of Fossil of the Day retirement with a real bang. The combined impact of their moves to delete and undermine many key pieces of the Rio texts, while pushing through a budget bill that guts environmental and climate policies at home, has earned them a top spot once again.

Today’s Rio Fossil was chosen through a vote by representatives of hundreds of global NGOs and youth based on Canada’s opposition to funding for a Green Economy, their obstruction of key initiatives to protect oceans and sustainable fisheries, their constant watering down of strong commitments on the phase out of Fossil Fuel Subsidies, and their request to remove the recognition of Common But Differentiated Responsibility in the Rio text.

The Fossil presentation text read as follows:

This evening’s recipient of the Rio Fossil may come as a surprise to some of you. That’s because at the UNFCCC negotiations in Durban last December, the international community gave Canada a lifetime achievement award, vowing never again to waste a fossil on a country that has made itself irrelevant when it comes to combating climate change.

But just when we think Canada has hit the bottom of the barrel, they always seem to find more bitumen – so to speak – moving from conventional forms of obstruction to dirtier, darker and more intensive forms. Yesterday Canadian negotiators continued weakening the language around fossil fuel subsidies along with oceans and fisheries, coming out in favour of continuing billions in handouts to big polluters and against protecting the high seas, the low seas, and any other seas. They also hit the delete button on green economy funding and stayed true to form calling for removal the principle of common but differentiated responsibility…sorry – what they consider to be “guilt payments” to the global south…Not content just being a perpetual thorn in the side of progress here in Rio, the Government surprised us all by flipping the proverbial bird to nature. They turned back the clock on decades of environmental regulations, protections, review processes, most things related to protecting the climate, and generally anything green and or nature-related by pushing through a 400 page budget bill that guts Canada’s environmental review and regulatory processes.

For coming out of retirement with a bigger bang than any of us could have imagined, CANADA this FOSSIL is truly for you…you have earned it!!

The Rio Fossil was presented at a mock award ceremony at the RioCentro space where Canada “cut out”

environmental protections. This Fossil of the Day is another in a long history of Fossil Awards for Canada, the all-time champion who has taken home more fossils at United Nations climate talks than any other nation.

“At home and here in Rio, Canada has really earned this Fossil award for undermining a just and sustainable future,” said Amara Possian, a young woman from Canada who accepted the award. “Canada had to go pretty far to get back on this list, and they’ve managed to do it by fighting against the bare minimum of commitments, like ending $1.4 billion in handouts to the fossil fuel industry.”

The Rio Fossil Awards will be presented daily throughout the negotiations highlighting the country or countries

who do the least to support progress (or the most to block it) on issues relevant to climate change, such as energy, forests, and the green economy.

Tags:

Common But Differentiated Responsibility

Topics:

Region:

Canada

Organization:

UNFCCC

Canada Comes Out of Fossil Retirement to Take Home a Surprise Second Rio Fossil - Recognized for gutting the text in Rio and rolling back environmental regulations at home

Submitted by Secretariat on June 15, 2012 - 5:47pm

The Fossil presentation text read as follows:

For coming out of retirement with a bigger bang than any of us could have imagined, CANADA this FOSSIL is truly for you…you have earned it!!

The Rio Fossil was presented at a mock award ceremony at the RioCentro space where Canada “cut out”

The Rio Fossil Awards will be presented daily throughout the negotiations highlighting the country or countries

who do the least to support progress (or the most to block it) on issues relevant to climate change, such as energy, forests, and the green economy.

Tags:

Common But Differentiated Responsibility

Topics:

Region:

Canada

Organization:

UNFCCC

Climate crisis - what crisis?

Submitted by Secretariat on June 15, 2012 - 3:30pm

Most of the world’s leaders will be here in Rio in a few short days to assess (non-)progress in sustainable development and to address the accumulating environmental and social challenges that threaten our well-being, security and even very survival.

Oddly enough though, the one issue that world leaders have said is the most serious environmental crisis facing humanity, with potentially catastrophic impacts on communities and the planet, is almost invisible here. Only 4 paragraphs out of the current 80-page text are devoted specifically to climate change. Even this short text that fails to go beyond earlier commitments is at risk of sinking under the rising tide of ignorance, shortsightedness and abdication of leadership. While it is good that the dangerous gap between what governments have promised to do and their concrete actions is recognized (i.e. that their planned emission cuts will not keep us below 2 or 1.5 degrees C of warming), no commitment is made to address this gap with faster and bigger emission cuts. Of course climate change is intimately linked to many of the other issues addressed, like sustainable energy and green economy, but without a strong climate change section, the message coming from Rio will be that this issue is not a priority for the world right now.

Rio+20 offers the world a chance to assess the progress (or lack thereof) made in limiting and reducing global emissions – a promise governments made 20 years ago when signing the Climate Convention in Rio – and to make a clear commitment to make up for lost time with stronger and faster emissions cuts. The details will of course have to be negotiated under the UNFCCC, but a clear commitment from leaders here in Rio could help to put some urgency and focus back in the climate negotiations.

If world leaders in perhaps their largest gathering ever will fail to address the greatest threat to humanity, it would be a serious abuse of the trust the world citizens have placed in them, if not an act of sheer cowardice.

Tags:

Action on climate change

sustainable development

Rio 20

Topics:

Secretariat's blog

Where is the energy in Rio?

Submitted by Secretariat on June 15, 2012 - 2:30pm

After being energised by the magnificent rhythms and colours of Brazilian samba, ECO realised that there was something strangely missing from the official negotiation agenda: energy. Right now there are no public meetings on the energy paragraphs, and nothing is scheduled for the remainder of the conference. How can this be?

Intelligent and ambitious approaches to energy are crucial to ensure sustainable energy for all and a world free from climate chaos and dirty and risky energy. The energy section deals with a number of critical issues that mustn’t be lost, namely: sustainable energy for all, renewable energy deployment, energy access, energy efficiency, and the critical issue of fossil fuel subsidies.

Unless country delegates take the energy paragraphs seriously and make bold commitments, there is little

hope in achieving many other goals in the Outcome Document. According to the International Renewable

Energy Agency (IRENA), renewable technologies are now the most economic solution for off-grid electrification and grid extension in most areas, as well as for centralised grid supply in locations with good resources.

Making progress in phasing out fossil fuel subsidies could free up much needed funding from problems to putting the money into funding solutions. If even a small amount of the hundreds of billions of dollars handed out to the fossil fuel industry were redirected to renewable energy and sustainable development, Rio+20 would represent a helpful and hopeful step forward. But all of that is currently at risk of being ignored, much less realised.

ECO urges negotiators to make sure that energy issues don not disappear into the shadows at Rio+20 and instead are given the priority attention they deserve.

Tags:

Rio+20

clean energy

renewable technology

Topics:

UN sustainable Development Summit

Technology

Secretariat's blog

International Youth and NGOs award USA first “Rio Fossil of the Day” at Earth Summit Award given for backpedaling on 1992 commitments.

Submitted by MBrockley on June 14, 2012 - 5:16pm

At the opening of the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development the United States of America was awarded the inaugural Rio Fossil of the Day. The Rio Fossil Awards will be presented daily throughout the negotiations highlighting the country or countries who do the least to support progress (or the most to block it) on issues relevant to climate change, such as energy, forests, and the green economy.

Today’s award was given to the United States for the overall strength of their commitment...to not having any real commitments. This fossil recognizes the United States' (once the considered the only remaining superpower) efforts to delete meaningful commitments from various parts of the negotiation text all through the day yesterday.

The Rio Fossil as presented read:

"This first recipient of the Rio Fossil has consistently refused to commit new funding to sustainable development initiatives in the Rio+20 process, despite handing out upwards of $521 billion to big polluters - more than enough to invest in a just and sustainable future at home and abroad.

The US has actually been deleting meaningful action across the board, such as disregarding the Rio Principle on Equity (Principle 3) - asking for its deletion from the entire text to be replaced by the term ‘inclusiveness’, rejecting the urgent need to work towards advancing sustainable consumption and production patterns , and blocking the launch of a High Seas Biodiversity Agreement to protect marine life in the high seas, which cover 64% of our oceans.

The first Rio Fossil goes to the United States of America!

The United States may have taken the first Fossil, but the field of candidates is opening up, and there are plenty of chances to get on, and off the Fossil podium. The U.S. has a real shot at not being a Fossil if they can become a champion on strengthening commitments and setting an ambitious timeline on ending fossil fuel subsidies in Rio.”

The presentation of the award took place at the RioCentro conference center at the Rio Fossil award ceremony. Organized by youth and NGO’s from across the globe the award was presented in a mock ceremony and accepted on the United States' behalf by Brendan Schoenman from the United States.

“As a young person representing the United States I regret-fully accept this award on behalf of my government" said Brendan. "Although I hope that I never have to stand up and accept this award again and that US steps up to be a champion here in Rio."

Tags:

Topics:

Region:

USA

Organization:

Fossil-PressRelease_-_June14.pdf

International Youth and NGOs award USA first “Rio Fossil of the Day” at Earth Summit Award given for backpedaling on 1992 commitments.

Submitted by MBrockley on June 14, 2012 - 5:16pm

The Rio Fossil as presented read:

The first Rio Fossil goes to the United States of America!

Tags:

UN sustainable Development Summit

Topics:

Region:

USA

Organization:

Climate change and Sustainable Development: Clarifying linkages

Submitted by MBrockley on June 14, 2012 - 3:34pm

Achieving sustainable development entails making progress on the three integrated strands of the social, the environmental and the economic. Climate change and its impacts touch on all the three strands – causing environmental damage and degradation; increasing social vulnerability, and exacerbating economic instability.

The Rio+20 Conference gives us a chance to address two key issues – reinventing our economy and strengthening our international institutions to support and ensure sustainable development. Our ability to build a truly green economy depends on preventing climate disruptions, and dealing with unavoidable impacts of climate in building social, environmental and economic resilience, robustness and integrity. Both adaptation to and mitigation of the impacts of climate change form an integral part of building green economies across the globe so that it actually does become a means to achieving sustainable development.

There are significant concerns that a narrow focus on a green economy will result in the loss of one of the main qualities of the Rio process - an integrated approach to sustainable development and its focus on the three strands of the economic, social and environmental development. There are also fears that focus on a green economy is the next step in a global march to further commercialise and commoditise natural resources and human relations to the detriment of those who are already most vulnerable. Ignoring the climate change agenda and not treating it as an integral part of the sustainable development will only reinforce this concern and further exacerbate the challenges faced.

Within the national context, the long years of treating sustainable development as a separate strain of development, removed from the mainstream economy, requires a serious reorientation and an urgent rethink. As part of this rethink nation states need to reassess the challenges and vulnerabilities their economies face - affecting them environmentally, socially and economically. The devastations of the impacts of climate change – current and future – will need to be counted in the core list of these challenges that we face while we plan and build a green economy.

The window to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic and irreversible runaway climate change is also rapidly closing. Shrinking access of communities to diminishing natural resources, over-utilization of natural resources, unsustainable consumption patterns, and the increasingly fragile and unstable global financial systems are together increasing the vulnerabilities of a large portion of the world's population, exposing them to worsening economic, social, environmental, and climatic impacts. These issues lie at the core of the sustainability agenda that Rio must address. These are reflected in the various issues and themes the Rio process seeks to negotiate.

Globally - and as the consequences of climate change become more visible - freshwater scarcity, access, and sanitation are increasingly issues of concern. Clearly, protecting and restoring water resources are crucial for environmental stability and sustainable development, including poverty eradication, health, agriculture, food security, rural development and hydropower.

Increasing energy access and security within an equitable Green Economy is not only necessary but also entirely doable. The urgency comes from the climate crisis and the current scale of energy deprivation, while the opportunity presents itself in the existing and the prospect of new technologies with the potential to facilitate the necessary energy transformation.

The green economy will not be green if it is built on nuclear and fossil fuel-dependent energy infrastructure. Subsidising the oil, gas and coal industries worldwide demonstrates that nations and the world are not currently financing deployment of sustainable, green and renewable energy. The establishment of an equitable green economy must be accompanied by the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, and other subsidies that harm the environment, distort markets and create barriers to sustainable development.

Technology development and deployment within an equitable green economy would require technology development policy with focus on climate adaptation and dissemination of green technologies that incorporate goals for sustainable development and principles aimed at identifying the range of diverse technologies required for a green gconomy, and facilitation of the maintenance and promotion of environmentally-sound indigenous technologies.

Rio was the birthplace of the UNFCCC. It has now come home to Rio again to seek further ambition and direction in order to build consistency, momentum and comprehensiveness across the multi-lateral framework.

Tags:

green economy

clean energy

Topics: