Civil society warns UN Security Council climate change a driver of conflict, hunger and poverty
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THE POST-COPENHAGEN ROAD
A fair, ambitious and binding deal is needed more urgently than ever. Climate science is more compelling by the day. Impacts are coming harder and faster. Disastrous flooding in Pakistan, heat waves and forest fires in Russia and hottest recorded temperatures around the globe, amongst other devastating climate-related events, all point to the need for urgent action. Levels of warming once thought to be safe, may well not be, 1.5˚C is the new 2˚C.
Negotiations Post-Copenhagen
Copenhagen was a watershed moment for public interest and support for climate action – and people have not lost interest. More people in more countries than ever have put their governments on notice that they expect a fair,
ambitious and binding global deal to be agreed urgently. Trust-building is essential after the disappointment of Copenhagen. Developed country leadership must be at the core of trust building efforts. Countries must show
their commitment to the UNFCCC process by driving it forward with political will and flexible positions, rather than endless rounds of repetitive negotiations. Many countries are troublingly pessimistic for Cancun, and are working to lower expectations. While others, including countries most vulnerable to climate change, maintain high expectations.
Challenges ahead of Cancun
There are many challenges to getting a full fair, ambitious and binding deal at Cancun, including:
Positive moves afoot
However, more and more countries, both developing and developed, are stepping up their efforts to pursue low-carbon development and adaptation, despite the absence of an international agreement. This can be seen in a variety of ways:
So, what does a pathway forward look like?
Firstly we must learn the lessons of Copenhagen. The “nothing’s agreed until everything’s agreed” dynamic from Copenhagen could mean that nothing would be agreed in Cancun. An agreement in Cancun should instead be a balanced and significant step toward reaching a full fair, ambitious & binding deal at COP 17 in South Africa. This will require parties to work together in good faith to create sufficient gains at Cancun, and a clear roadmap to South Africa. This paper outlines how that could be achieved.
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In her final blog, LDP Fellow, Fatima Ahouli gives insight into COP 23
Paving The Way Forward at COP23
The 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23), presided by Fiji, was the first COP for the newly-elected CANAW Board, and my first COP as a Regional Coordinator. With the kind support of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, CANAW strategic partner, all 7 members of the Board had the opportunity to attend in Bonn and work together as a team for the first time.
Since last August, preparations for COP23 were the focus of the CANAW Board’s work, as well as my own as an LDP and as a Regional Coordinator. This was an exciting and challenging time.
In addition to my usual coordination tasks with our partner and the participants on the logistics, I have had an important role, along with the Board and the CANI secretariat, in coordinating and preparing the agendas for the different meetings and events that the Board and CANAW members needed to attend during the COP23.
In the first week of COP23 we had to quickly organise ourselves, our daily schedules and understand the workings of the conference to make best use of our time and energy. The COP is an extremely busy place with a lot going on. This year the conference was spread across two zones which were 1½ km apart, added an interesting dynamic to ensuring the right people were in the right place at the right time. For me, I had to balance my work in the civil society zone, where there were some fantastic events and opportunities to meet partners and stakeholders, with attending key parts of the negotiations in the main UNFCCC building.
We started having daily meetings, where I shared the updates from the CANI daily as well as from the events that I attended. The Board members as well as the other CANAW members who were present shared their updates and views on the process and progress of the negotiations.
The Board met with 7 delegations from the Arab region (Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine, Soudan and Mauritania, Saudi Arabia), an idea that was agreed on during the daily meetings and had its implementation in the second week of COP23.