7/30/2019 ECO 2 / COP18

1/2

LIMATE NEGOTIATIONS DOHA NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2012 NGO NEWSLETTER

SSUE NO 2 PAGE 1 FREE OF CHARGE

2277NNoovveemmbbeerr

Changing

Issue

ECO has been published by Non-Governmental Environmental Groups at major international conferences since the Stockholm Environment

nference in 1972. ECO is produced co-operatively by the Climate Action Network at the UNFCCC meetings in Doha, November-December 2012.

ECO email: administration@climatenetwork.org- ECO website: http://climatenetwork.org/eco-newsletters - Editorial/Production: Kyle Gracey

Climate Finance: Up and Not Down!To our freshly arrived negotiators, getady for a major wake up call (or atast a loud and not particularly polite

oise) on finance, when the countriesost vulnerable to climate change will be

ghtly asking: what happens when Fastart Finance runs out at the end of thisar?

And what happens now that we knowast Start Finance (the money pledgedetween 2010 and 2012) was mostly a

se start? Yes, ECO did the maths andstimates only 33% of FSF was newoney (that is, additional to existing, pre-openhagen pledges), and around 24%dditional to existing aid promises. Onlyne-fifth of finance was spent on adapta-

n, and less than half was available asants. It seems developed countries

eed to re-learn some basics about cli-ate finance. Which part of new and

additional, predictable, and adequate inrelation to rapidly spiralling needs...withbalanced allocation between mitigationand adaptation are they failing to under-stand?

And to those who need illustration ofspiralling needs, please count the un-precedented number of climate relateddisasters in 2012 which - along with sea-level rise, and the gradual but deadly ef-fects on agricultural and fresh water sys-tems - mean that the bill from carbonpollution just keeps going up and up. Ifwe are to tackle the consequences ofcurrent inaction, the hundred billion an-nual figure promised before Copenhagenis now looking implausibly small.

Here in Doha, we are facing a financecliff with fast start finance ending just atthe point when we need ramping up.ECO is concerned that many developed

countries have arrived in Doha unwillingto pledge new resources. For vulnerablecountries this is a daunting prospect, andwill hugely reduce their trust that thesecountries intend to make good on their$100 billion a year by 2020 promise. Byholding back on money they have prom-ised, developed countries are shootingthe 2015 global deal in the foot.

Luckily, ECO is giving countries two ex-tra weeks to do their homework on howto:

SCALE UP ECO will not accept Dohaas a success without reassurance thatclimate finance will go UP, not down andespecially not off a cliff in 2013. For2013-2015, developed countries shouldat least double the amount delivered un-der Fast Start Finance levels and

continued on page 2

n his victory speech after being re-elec-d to a second term, President Obama

welled the hopes once again of peopleound the world who care about climateange when he said, "We want our chil-en to live in an America that is notrdened by debt, that is not weakened

y inequality, that is not threatened bye destructive power of a warming plan-" Those hopes continued to swell

hen in a press conference a few dayster, he responded to a question frome media on climate by saying that he

anned to start "a conversation acrosse country..." to see "how we can shape

n agenda that garners bipartisan sup-ort and helps move this agenda for-ard...and...be an international leader"n climate change. President Obama

appears to understand that climatechange is a legacy issue that was notadequately addressed during his firstterm in office.

The question therefore has to be, whatnext? In his second term, will PresidentObama deliver the bold action needed toreduce the threat of climate change tothe US and the world, by shifting the USeconomy towards a zero carbon future,and making the issue a centerpiece ofUS foreign policy? In the aftermath of su-perstorm Sandy, and the drought, wild-

fires and other extreme weather eventsthat have afflicted the US over the lastyear, it is clearly time for PresidentObama to press the reset button on cli-mate policy, both nationally and interna-

tionally.

First, the world needs to hear from thePresident and his negotiating team herein Doha that they remain fully committedto keeping the increase in global temper-ature far below 2 degrees, that it is notonly still possible but essential to do so,and that the USA is going to provideleadership in this collective effort.

The administration should then makeclear how it will meet its current 17 per-cent reduction target. While US emis-

sions are decreasingslightly both as a resultof the administration'spolicies on renewable

continued on page 2

President Obama: We Hope for Change

7/30/2019 ECO 2 / COP18

2/2

LIMATE NEGOTIATIONS DOHA NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2012 NGO NEWSLETTER

Change continued

nergy and vehicle fuel economy stand-ds and because of sharply lower natur-gas prices that have reduced coal user electricity generation it is unlikelyat without additional regulation or legis-tion that the US will meet its 2020 tar-

et. The delegation should also clarifyhat the Obama Administration will do tot the US on track to the near-elimina-n of emissions by mid-century called

r by the scientific community.

inally, delegations need to hear thate US remains committed to meeting itsr share of the Copenhagen pledge of

obilizing $100 billion in climate financeer year by 2020, as well as which in-ovative finance options the administra-

n is prepared to support to get there.

hese four steps would go a long wayreset US climate diplomacy. They

ould show that instead of dragging theorld down to the level of what is (not)ossible in the USA, President Obama

d his team are going to pull the US up

to what the science and the world de-mands to avoid catastrophic climatechange.

One last point: every coach knows thatwhen you find your team down by sever-al goals at half-time, a change in yourgame plan may not be enough it may

also be time to make some substitutionsto the players on the field.

Finance continued

hannel US$10 to 15 billion to thereen Climate Fund.

PROGRESS ON SOURCES To sleepht, ECO needs to see a scaling up ofmate finance to meet the $100 billion

er year commitment by 2020. Advan-ng promising new sources of finance

ll be crucial to provide predictable andalable finance and needs genuinemmitment by developed countries.

CO supports the recommendation one Long Term Finance Work Pro-amme to establish a high-level expertsoup across the ICAO, IMO and UNFC-C secretariats to examine finance-rais-

ing options from a fair carbon pricingmechanism. ECO will give top grades tothe EU member states who allocate atleast a quarter of the upcoming FinancialTransaction Tax to the Green ClimateFund.

STRENGTHEN MRV False Start Fin-ance has taught ECO the tricks for howto count existing aid as new and addi-

tional. ECO is now looking forward tolearning how to do things the right way.Parties now need to agree on MRV re-porting formats on climate finance thathelp assess whether the promises arenew and additional finance, and ensurebalanced allocation between adaptationand mitigation. It is high time that the re-

porting is transparent, verifiable and cla-rifies what is real and legitimateclimate finance.

HIGH-LEVEL POLITICAL PROCESS Finally, ECO intends to be an ongoingand relentless nuisance, by insisting on ahigh level political space for negotiationson finance, if and when the AWG-LCAcomes to an end after COP18. In

whatever context negotiations continue,finance MUST NOT be relegated to thestatus of a technical issue. There isnothing technical about being on the re-ceiving end of climate disaster. Lives andlivelihoods are at stake, and we expectthis issue to be treated with the politicalseriousness it deserves.

Here in Doha, Parties will decide onan appeals procedure that wouldconsider decisions made by theCDM Executive Board. It is crucialthat civil society representatives areeligible to launch an appeal. But wait,

ECO heard that some Parties wouldlike to grant the right to appeal to oneside (investors) only? Dear deleg-ates, this is not a game of two halvesbut two sides of the same coin. In-deed, we would like to remind you

that any appeals procedure mustserve the interests of all affectedstakeholders.

Granting the right to appeal to in-vestors only prioritises corporateprofit over the public interest, espe-cially given the wider impacts that

flawed CDM projects can have onglobal climate change and sustain-able development.

ECO urges delegates to take thisopportunity to adopt a fair and bal-anced means to provide a publiccheck during the CDM project ap-proval process, and promote trans-parency, accountability and integrityin the decision-making process. Takethis critical opportunity to introducemuch needed quality control in the

CDM decision-making process andadopt a robust appeals procedure!

The First Place Fossil is awarded toSA, Canada, Russia, Japan andew Zealand for running away from a

gally binding, multilateral rules basedgime. To the USA seriously, getver your exceptionalism and agree toommon accounting rules already.anada you are exceptional in ways we

annot communicate diplomatically dur-g a fossil presentation, but it is not

ood - withdrawing from the Kyoto Pro-col is completely unacceptable and

our target is an insult to the most vul-erable. As for Japan, Russia and Newealand - you still have a chance toupport the only legally binding regime

nd commit to ambitious targets for theecond commitment period (and thateans no AAU carry over, Russia). We

are looking to hearing from you by theend of the week, because really, do wewant to be lumped into this low-ambi-

tion group?The Second Place Fossil is awarded

to New Zealand. Unlike its neighbourto the west, New Zealand decided notto put its target into the second commit-ment period, citing spurious groundswhen the reality is that it is just a

massive display of irresponsibility. Itsisland partners in the Pacific shouldthink again before ever trusting NZ

again.The Ray of the Day goes to the EU

for having already reached theirpledged 2020 target almost 10 yearsahead of time! They really are the fast-est under-achievers in the KP! Butwait!? The EU has told us that they arenot planning to increase their 2020emissions pledge from the alreadyachieved 20%. How outrageous! Is theEU really planning to go for the next 10years without doing ANY further emis-

sions reductions? EU you will need toquickly increase your target or theclouds will appear and it will start rain-ing fossils on your negotiating table.

SSUE NO 2 PAGE 2 FREE OF CHARGE

Right to Appeal Is Not aGame Of Two Halves