The UN climate conference is drawing to a close. We are in the last few hours, hopefully, and waiting with bated breath to have the final versions of language agreed by all parties.
COP24 was supposed to develop a set of rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It was tasked to set in place procedures and guidelines which will determine how the Paris Agreement will be delivered. Accounting and review of climate commitments, commitment and review of finance, and setting up mechanisms that keep transparency for reporting and sharing information were the central elements to this discussion. We have come a long way from where we started and most experts say that we have a start of the rule book. Complicated as it was, it is clear that we have made some progress, while more work needs to happen to make the rulebook robust and one that can deliver on the mandate of the Paris Agreement- the first multilateral agreement to combat climate change which acknowledged contribution from all countries to able to mitigate and adapt to a warming world.
IPCC 1.5 report bought out the urgency for the world leaders to act, the fact that scientists from around the world revealed that we have just over 12 years to act if we are to keep the temperatures below 1.5 degree Celsius, did not seem to inspire increased ambition, which should now be the homework going forward. It was evident that role of key actors like cities, states and businesses cannot be ignored if climate action has to be real.
The decision on carbon markets which became crucial as the crunch moments built up, seem to hold up the resolution as we write this, yet the centerpiece of the negotiations to our mind, is a rulebook which has seen a
There are more details on issues around transparency, flexibility, global stock take , finance and loss and damage, none of which are new to a seasoned negotiator but could do with some explanation.
Headline outcomes:
Governments will update their climate plans by 2020, and several countries have used the COP to announce that they have already started their preparations (see below)
Parties agreed to use the 2019 UNSG summit as an opportunity for Heads of States to demonstrate their plans to enhance ambition by 2020.
Rulebook got signed off, operationalizing the Paris Agreement, putting all countries on a level playing field to account and report on their climate action.
Donor countries agreed to increase predictability on climate finance, with the aim of providing greater confidence to vulnerable countries.
COP25 will be held in Chile, with a pre-COP in Costa Rica.
Governments arrived in Katowice with the warnings of the IPCC 1.5 report ringing in their ears. Taking on the scale of the technical and political complexity has been no mean feat, but - in the end - countries moved ahead. They achieved what was possible but will not be regarded by many as an adequate response to the dire warnings of the IPCC and the extreme weather events hitting the world faster and harder.
Against geo-political headwinds the UN climate talks did offer signs of hope. Countries agreed common rules that will ensure greater scrutiny and transparency on the progress of global climate action, building confidence between countries and their citizens, businesses and investors. They also agreed that 2020 is the year for countries to come forward with tougher climate plans. And that the UN Secretary General’s 2019 summit will mark the halfway point in that journey.
Highlights of country commitments for higher climate targets
Costa Rica declared it is planning to review its NDC by 2020
The Maldives announced that it will review its NDC in 2019
Chile said it has already started a process of reviewing its NDC
Ukraine announced that it would review its NDC by 2020
Vietnam announced that it is planning to update their NDC available by 2019
Norway said that they are looking at how it can enhance ambition by 2020
Qatar mentioned that they are now elaborating a new NDC
Lebanon commented that they are trying to revise their NDC before 2020
Barbados mentioned a new NDC
Highlights of finance commitments
Adaptation Fund: total contributions US$538m before COP24 (total: US$127.14m with CER sales) with COP24 pledges totalling US$129m / Largest contributions: Germany pledged €70m, Italy pledged €7m, France: €15m, EU commission: €10m
Green Climate Fund: total contributions (as of November 2018) US$10.3bn / Largest contributions: Germany and Norway pledged to double their GCF contributions (€1.5bn and $516m respectively) in the upcoming replenishment
Least Developed Countries Fund: total contributions (up to date) of US$1.33bn with COP24 pledges totalling US$28.2m / Largest contributions: Sweden pledged $5.5m (50Kr), France pledged €20 million
Calls to action during COP24
Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg became the face of COP24 when she challenged world leaders not to steal the future, and triggered school strikeactions in Katowice (photos) and around the world.
The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), a coalition of the 48 most exposed nations, re-released its Jummemej Declaration calling for increased global action and the update of climate plans from all countries by 2020.
Pacific Small Island Developing States released a declaration “on the urgent need for scaled up action on climate change”, calling for “dramatic steps” to decrease emissions and calling on OECD countries to phase out coal by 2030.
A High Ambition Coalition (HAC) declaration signed by more than 30 developing and developed countries promised increased ambition by 2020, in line with long-term Paris Agreement temperature goals, through - among other things - enhanced national climate plans and accelerated action in the short term.
Katowice Call: Five former UN climate talks presidents issued a ‘call to arms’ to governments demanding COP24 to deliver a pathway to new or updated climate plans (NDCs) by 2020, progress on climate finance and a strong rulebook.
Highlights of climate action in the real economy during COP24
More than 400 global investors with more than USD $30 trillion in assets called on global leaders to increase climate action. Asks include to phase out coal globally and to strengthen NDCs starting the process now in 2018 and completing it no later than 2020.
Five banks (ING, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered and Société Générale) with a combined loan book of €2.4 trillion committed to measuring the climate alignment of their lending portfolios with the well below 2 degree target.
The world’s largest container shipping company Maersk pledged zero emissions by 2050. US energy giant Xcel Energy promised zero-carbon power by 2050 while IKEA Group has pledged to cut carbon emissions from production processes by 80 percent in absolute terms by 2030 from 2016 levels.
The World Bank announced it will double investments in climate action to about $200 billion from 2021-2025.
17 major sport organizations, including the IOC and FIFA, launched the Sports Climate Action Framework, and will form working groups in early 2019 to enhance their work on emission reductions.
Another five leading companies joined The Climate Group’s corporate leadership initiative EV100 and pledged to electrification of their fleets by 2030, among them British telecommunications giant BT Group, European energy company E.ON and logistics company Schenker AG. Find out more here.
Volkswagen announced that it will sell no more combustion cars after 2040 and the production of VW diesel and petrol cars will come to an end in eight years (2026).
Daimler announced it will spend €20bn on battery cells over the next decade, to meet its ambitious target to electrify its entire product line.
43 leading fashion brands, retailers, supplier organizations have - by launching the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action - agreed to collectively address the climate impact of the fashion sector across its entire value chain.
Quote:
Mr R. R. Rashmi, distinguished fellow TERI & former Indian negotiator:
“This COP has made reasonably good progress despite all odds. The conclusions adopted by the COP on the rules and modalities for implementing the Paris agreement are fairly substantive if not as ambitious as were expected. However, the continuing work programme on some issues and the likely climate summit convened by the UNSG next year give ample opportunity to all the stakeholders to close the remaining gaps and scale up their ambition in the post-2020 period.”
Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer at Mahindra Group, India:
“Renewables, energy efficiency, electric vehicles are clear wins today, and make economic sense. There are several stories of change around the world where climate ambition is happening as a result of faster mitigation actions. Policy makers should return from COP with one clear message from business - an increase in ambitious climate commitments, coupled with clear and confident policy signals to business, will enable companies to help deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
Arun Kumar Mehta, Head of Delegation for India - Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change - 12/14/2018 - Said at the media briefing organised after the closing of the India Pavilion
“Our brief was very clear, we are hear to move forward, to play a positive and constructive role. And we have done so.
Our desire would be that everyone is happy with the text. Addressing loss and damage arising due climate impacts is a discussion that will not end here, and will continue to go on in future negotiations as well.The important details around finance from developed to developing countries have been adequately captured and we feel that by the time the talks close, the details on the finance will meet the mandate of the Paris agreement. Text needs to be developed in a way that would allow parties to work together rather than allow parties to walk away.
We believe that we must have a robust agreement, build transparent rules, and factor in the concerns of the vulnerable people of the world.”
David Levaï, IDDRI:
“The COP finally agreed on a set of rules to allow for the full implementation of the Paris agreement. It also called on countries to launch a domestic process to determine how they will be able to enhance their climate ambition. The responsibility is now in the hands of world leaders to come ready to the UN summit next year with a clear plan on how they will transition their economies to become resilient and low carbon. During this COP substantial progress was made on climate finance: contributions to multilateral funds (GCF AF LDCF) as well as progress towards the goal of mobilizing 100bn USD per year from 2020 (almost 75bn in 2016) have contributed to strengthen trust between developed and developing nations. It is clear, nevertheless, that it’s only a step in the right direction: further concrete signals and commitments will be needed to assure developing countries that they will be supported in their efforts to accelerate their transition towards resilient and low carbon societies.”
Laurence Tubiana, CEO European Climate Foundation and key architect of the Paris Agreement:
“Despite all the headwinds, the Paris Agreement has stayed course at COP24, demonstrating the kind of resilience it has been designed for. The decisions made here on the Paris rulebook give us a solid foundation to keep building trust in multilateralism and accelerate the transition all across the world.”
“The societal concern about global warming grew substantially over the year, also due to extreme weather events and the IPCC’s 1.5 degree report. We’ve seen climate marches and children going on school strike for more climate action all across Europe that built momentum for COP24.The Future of Europe Summit in May is a golden opportunity for EU leaders to increase the climate pledges for 2030 substantially and describe the EU’s long-term decarbonisation pathway.”
क्या यह ख़बर/ लेख आपको पसंद आया ? कृपया कमेंट बॉक्स में कमेंट भी करें और शेयर भी करें ताकि ज्यादा लोगों तक बात पहुंचे
कृपया हमारा यूट्यूब चैनल सब्सक्राइब करें
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