Bonn hosts next round of Paris Climate Agreement negotiations

Work on the text of the Paris 2015 universal climate agreement will continue in Bonn from June 1 -10, 2015.

The meeting will be opened by the Environment Minister of Peru and the Foreign Minister of France, in their respective roles of President of COP 20 and COP 21.

The UN climate change conference in Bonn is the next milestone on the road to Paris, where the new agreement is to be reached at the end of the year.

The meeting will also continue progress on addressing the most effective ways to raise climate action before 2020, which is when the new agreement would come into effect.

The Bonn meeting comes in the wake of a major business and climate summit held in Paris and just ahead of the meeting of the G7 in Germany.

The Paris business summit underlined the way non-state actors across the globe are already undertaking climate action, as well as rallying in support of a strong climate change agreement. 25 worldwide business networks representing over 6.5 million companies from more than 130 countries pledged to help to lead the global transition to a low-emission, climate resilient economy.

Christiana Figures, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC), said “with some 200 days to the UN climate convention conference in Paris, the growing momentum for change and for action is rapidly gaining ground across countries, companies, cities and citizens. News of yet another group of stakeholders committing to long term emission reduction targets or ambitious investments in renewable energies is emerging almost daily—building confidence and a sense of ‘can do’ among nations as we enter the final six months of 2015."

The Bonn session includes the meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP). This is the body tasked with reaching an agreement in Paris and looking at how best to raise ambition to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt societies to climate change ahead of 2020.

The June session is also one of the two annual meetings of the two permanent bodies of the UNFCCC: the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI).

They tackle detailed issues and decisions on the technical, scientific and implementation aspects of the Convention and provide many of the foundations on which the ADP is constructing the agreement.

Work on the Paris Negotiating Text and Raising Immediate Ambition

At the last session of the ADP in Geneva, in February, countries produced the official text, the basis of negotiations at the upcoming session in Bonn. The negotiating text covers the substantive content of the new agreement including mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, capacity-building and transparency of action and support.

Work on identifying ways to scale up climate ambition pre-2020 will take place in a series of Technical Expert Meetings. These meetings will take forward similar discussions from last year focusing this time on scaling up renewable energy supply and energy efficiency in urban areas.

The UNFCCC secretariat is also organizing a Climate Action Fair with partners including business and the private sector to showcase action already taking place on the ground.

The activities surrounding the Technical Expert Meetings and the Climate
Action Fair are also in support of the Lima-Paris Action Agenda, which is designed to demonstrate the wealth of climate action among cities, regions, companies and investors, including those under international cooperative initiatives.

Many of these are being spotlighted in the new Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) portal.

Mexico submits Climate Action Plan ahead of 2015 Paris Agreement

Mexico has submitted its new climate action plan to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the first developing country to do so.

Mexico's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) comes well in advance of a new universal climate change agreement which will be reached at the UN climate conference in Paris in December this year.

Its INDC also includes plans in respect to adaptation and a target to cut black carbon or soot. Mexico is a founding member of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition which was among the many inspiring international cooperative initiatives taken forward at the UN Secretary-General's Climate Summit in 2014.

Including the Mexico submission, 32 parties to the UNFCCC have formally submitted their INDCs. This also includes all the countries under the European Union plus the European Commission, Norway and Switzerland.

The Paris agreement will come into effect in 2020, empowering all countries to act to prevent average global temperatures rising above 2 degrees Celsius and to reap the many opportunities that arise from a necessary global transformation to clean and sustainable development.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC is encouraging countries to come forward with their INDCs as soon as they are able, underlining their commitment and support towards this successful outcome in Paris. Governments agreed to submit their INDCs in advance of Paris.

Developed countries are expected to do so as soon as possible and more bigger developing countries are also likely to submit their INDCs well in advance.

Countries have agreed that there will be no back-tracking in these national climate plans, meaning that the level of ambition to reduce emissions will increase over time. Countries under the UNFCCC have already finalized the negotiating text for the Paris agreement.

The next round of formal negotiations will take place at UNFCCC headquarters in Bonn, Germany, in June.

Forests essential for meeting needs and tackling climate change

The sustainable management and conservation of forests must be considered in the design and implementation of the new sustainable development goals and the new climate change agreement to be adopted this December in Paris.

This is according to UN officials and forest experts in messages for the International Day of Forests, observed on 21 March.

At least 1.6 billion people directly depend on forests for food, fuel, shelter and income, but everyone benefits from the clean air, water, and climate regulation that forests provide. 

Three-fourths of freshwater, crucial for human survival, comes from forested catchments. Healthy forests are critical for building resilience—the ability to bounce back from storms and other natural disasters.  Mangrove forests, when left intact, reduce loss of life and damage caused by tsunamis.

With a focus on climate change, this year’s International Day of Forests aims to highlight how sustaining healthy forests and tackling climate change go hand in hand.

“Forests are integral to the post-2015 development agenda,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message marking the International Day of Forests.  “To build a sustainable, climate-resilient future for all, we must invest in our world's forests.”

Forests are the largest storehouses of carbon after oceans.  They can absorb and store carbon in their biomass, soils and products, equivalent to about one tenth of carbon emissions projected for the first half of this century.  At the same time, deforestation and land-use changes account for 17 per cent of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions.

Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said the benefits that forests provide are incalculable.  “Forests drive economic development and prosperity, provide jobs and livelihoods, and at the same time, promote health and well-being.  Proven solutions exist to create the future we want; investing in our forests is a pathway to transformative sustainable development.”

Manoel Sobral Filho, Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat, said “As the world’s population grows, demand for forest goods and services continues to increase. The dividends from forest stewardship will benefit us, and future generations.”

"Forests are central to the global effort to meet the climate change challenge, eradicate poverty and realise a sustainable century,” said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.”

Figueres added, “The new universal climate agreement to be inked in Paris at the end of the year needs to put in place a swift peaking of global emissions, a deep decarbonisation of the world-wide economy and climate neutrality in the second half of the century--this will not be possible without smarter and more sustainable ways of managing existing forests and the restoration and expansion of many lost and degraded ones.”

Tackling deforestation, Helen Clark said, requires mobilizing political commitment and working through partnerships. “Addressing deforestation promises wins for our climate, biodiversity, and inclusive development. But tackling deforestation requires political will and leadership from all sectors.”

Global targets set by the international community are driving action that will strengthen forest biodiversity, according to Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.  “These targets provide a foundation for addressing the underlying causes and direct pressures of forest loss as well as improving its status, enhancing benefits to all and ensuring wide-spread participation in forest and tree management.”

Mike Wingfield, President of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations said the many uncertainties associated with climate change require a robust understanding of appropriate forest strategies.  “Global collaboration in forest research plays a key role in improving knowledge that will underpin effective measures for adaptation and mitigation.”

The International Day of Forests is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of all types of forests and trees outside forests.  Global celebrations will range from community-level tree-planting events, to publication of new forest data and analysis, as well as cultural activities featuring art, photographs and film festivals.

UN Communicates Negotiating Text for Climate Agreement

The secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has communicated the negotiating text for a new climate change agreement to governments in all six official UN languages.

This communication means that the formal legal and procedural requirements to allow countries to adopt a legal instrument under the UNFCCC have been fulfilled.

Governments are set to agree a global climate change agreement in Paris, in
December, which will come into effect in 2020. As part of the agreement, every country is expected to contribute now and into the future, based on
their national circumstances, to prevent global warming rising above 2
degrees Celsius and to adapt societies to existing and future climate
change.

“This allows early consideration of the emerging consensus and the options
now on the table by all concerned government ministries so countries can
conclude successfully in Paris,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana
Figueres.

“Paris needs to puts the world on a recognizable track to peak global
emissions as soon as possible, achieve a deep de-carbonization of the
global economy and reach a climate neutral world in the second half of this
century at the latest,” she said.

The negotiating text covers the substantive content of the new agreement
including mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, capacity building,
and transparency of action and support.

Last week’s devastation of the small island State of Vanuatu by Cyclone Pam
brought into sharp focus the human consequences of the threats of climate
change and disasters to sustainable development. Pam hit just as nations
under the UN gathered to reach a new disaster risk reduction agreement in
Japan.

“There is no time to lose. Nations have now agreed new objectives to reduce
disasters and will decide a set of fresh sustainable development goals at
the UN General Assembly in September. The Paris agreement must ensure
climate change does not wipe out these efforts and sets all countries on a
faster track to a clean energy, climate-resilient future,” said Ms. Figueres.

Next Steps in Climate Change Negotiations

2015 will see continued, intense negotiations towards the Paris climate
change agreement. Formal negotiations will continue on the basis of the
negotiating text at the next UN climate change meeting in Bonn from 1 to 11
June.

“The Bonn meeting will be a key opportunity for countries to demonstrate
flexibility and willingness to come to an early resolution of the outstanding issues and to seek common ground on unresolved issues,” said Ms. Figueres.

Further sessions during which countries will have the opportunity to converge on and resolve issues in advance of the Paris conference have been scheduled in Bonn, from 31 August to 4 September and from 19 to 23 October.

Additionally, ministerial-level meetings throughout the year will include
climate change on their agendas and contribute to convergence on the key
political choices.

These include the Major Economies Forum, with up to four sessions
tentatively scheduled this year; the Petersburg Climate Dialogue (17 to 19
May); and upcoming G7 and G20 meetings.

“These opportunities will help to ensure that countries can inject the right level of political energy and direction. What is needed now is that the views of Heads of State, Ministers and negotiating teams reflect a consistent view of ambition and the means to achieve it,” Ms. Figueres added.

Switzerland submits its Climate Action Plan ahead of Paris 2015

Switzerland has become the first Party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to submit its new climate action plan.

Switzerland’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) comes well in advance of a new universal climate agreement to be inked by governments at the UN climate conference in Paris in December.

The new agreement will come into effect in 2020 and will pave the way to keep a global temperature rise this century under 2 degrees C.

Governments have agreed to submit their INDCs in advance of Paris with many developed and bigger developing countries expected to do so in the first quarter of this year.

The news from Switzerland comes in the wake of a meeting in Geneva where countries also finalized the negotiating text for the Paris agreement. The next round of formal negotiations will take place at UNFCCC headquarters in Bonn, Germany in June.

INDCs have been chosen as the vehicle for national contributions to the international Paris agreement–they include for example details of emission reductions the country will undertake and can include other action plans covering for example adaptation.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC said: “Switzerland is today demonstrating leadership, commitment and its support towards a successful outcome in Paris in 10 months’ time–it is the first but will not be the last. Momentum towards Paris is building everywhere. I look forward to many more INDCs being submitted over the coming weeks and months.”

Countries have agreed that there will be no back-tracking in their contributions. This means that the level of ambition to reduce emissions will increase over time.
The negotiating text from Geneva also signals the ambition among many governments for a long-term goal to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the century.

Seeking climate justice – from Marrakech to Lima and Paris

The Fourth Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-IV) has been an opportunity to reflect activities on the continent that ensure that agriculture is embedded into a solution space, in which climate change has become a risk amplifier.

But Africa would need to have a united voice to seek climate justice at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP 20).

Dr. Tolbert Thomas Jallah, a representative of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) speaks to Kofi Adu Domfeh on the journey from Marrakech to Lima and Paris.

Q:     What was the expectation of a civil society umbrella body like PACJA? 

A:     The agenda is to build the awareness and to raise critical issues on behalf of the citizens and one of those issues that we want to voice here is how to position adequately smallscale farmers if we would be able to feed Africa. The impact of climate change on local communities, those who produce food for us is a major concern to us.

Q:     Going by Conference discussions so far, do you get the feel that this objective is being realized?

A:     It seems we are still far away from the realization of our objectives and even the commitments and pledges that are being made by our leaders; it is disappointing that or leaders are yet to fulfill to those commitments and we want to hold them accountable by raising a united voice by calling on them to sure that pledges, commitment are brought to realization. We are disappointed that the pledges made to curtail the impacts of climate change by the international community are also weak.

Q:     Has it been worthwhile meeting as a continent to deliberate on issues of climate change in relations to agriculture and food production? What is your level of satisfaction?

A:     At the moment we cannot be satisfied with the Conference at all cost because it has been business as usual; we’ve heard from the experts over and over again but we want to hear that the commitments have come to reality. We cannot be satisfied until the situation of smallscale farmers have changed; we cannot be satisfied until our governments have made those pledges to commit 10percent of their annual budgets to agriculture reality; we cannot be satisfied until the money to finance climate adaptation is reaching local communities.

Q:     What then do we need to do as a continent to achieve something significant as we head for COP in Lima in December and later Paris 2015.

A:     We need to go to these conferences with a united voice and an Africa position to ensure that Africa must have the solution for Africa. We need to ensure that our colleagues from the West, the industrialized nations will see reason to accept their historical responsibility as polluters and they will not infringe on us as a continent to pay back what we have done little to create.

Q:      Is what ways do you expect African negotiators to drive this goal?

A:     We need to ensure that Africa and African negotiators will be stable at the table and that they’ll continue to listen to civil society and the voice of civil society will be heard with the help of our negotiators. As we end this phase by 2015, we need to reach an agreement and this must be a global agreement that must have the support of all countries, including the industrial countries who are the major polluters. We want to see our people move from abject poverty to live in prosperity in a continent of abundant natural resources.

End.

Please listen to audio interview...

https://soundcloud.com/kofi-adu-domfeh/seeking-climate-justice-from-marrakech-to-lima-and-paris