Experts react as UN climate negotiations close
26 May 2016
May 26, Bonn, Germany – Expert observers from Climate Action Network have responded to two weeks of UN climate negotiations as they draw to a close today. Civil society reflected on progress during the session and also on what needs to happen over the coming months, ahead of COP 22 in Marrakesh this November, to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement and boost short-term climate action.
“As Donald Trump takes evasive action to insure his golf course against climate impacts, governments and businesses, with far more at stake than the 18th green, are putting in the hard yards to accelerate the drive for 100% renewable energy, to build prosperous economies for the future.” said Wael Hmaidan, Director at Climate Action Network International
“In Bonn the countries have discussed the need for entry into force in a rapid manner. It is necessary that Parties take action back home to ensure that ratification happens swiftly, and in a manner that facilitates increase of ambition and with rules developed to ensure transparency and accountability of climate actions.” said Vositha Wijenayake, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for Climate Action Network South Asia
“The first week of negotiations post-Paris began with fits and starts. However, Parties managed to agree on an APA agenda and the hope leaving Bonn remains that COP 22 will be the Action COP. However, because of the inadequacy of ambition in current INDCs, Marrakesh needs to make sure that the path is set for the facilitative dialogue in 2018 in order to ramp up ambition to limit global warming to 1.5°C.” said Tina Johnson, Policy Director at US Climate Action Network
“After a slow start, the climate negotiations in Bonn picked up pace this week, and the path to a successful climate summit in Marrakesh this November is clearer than it was two weeks ago. But there is much work ahead if we are to get the meaningful actions that are needed to start to close the substantial gap between the national commitments now on the table and the much greater level of ambition needed to give us a fighting chance of meeting the temperature limitation goals in the Paris Agreement. We also need to ramp up support for efforts to help vulnerable countries deal with the mounting impacts of climate change that are ever more evident all over the world. On both of these fronts, leaders, ministers, and negotiators alike need to summon the political will to back up their strong words in Paris with real action in Marrakesh.” said Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy and Policy at Union of Concerned Scientists
“There has been painfully slow progress on key issues at the SB44 session in Bonn making it necessary to hold more meetings before the next Conference of Parties in Morocco. Raising adequate climate finance and carving out necessary rules and modalities to bring the Paris agreement into force must be the highest priority for all negotiators from now to November.” said Sanjay Vashist, Director Climate Action Network South Asia
“The G7 Ise-Shima summit held in Japan is a great opportunity to maintain political momentum and accelerate negotiation on the Paris Agreement. However as the only G7 country to promote coal at home and the biggest coal financier internationally, Japan nearly fails to deliver strong message on climate. This looks likely to be remembered as the summit at which Japan missed the chance to capitalise on momentum for change and left it to China to lead the world on renewable energy.” said Kimiko Hirata, International Director at Kiko Network
“During the past two weeks in Bonn, we saw that the Paris spirit is still alive, but the implementation of the new climate deal remains a huge challenge. There has been some progress in helping vulnerable countries and people adapt to the dangerous impacts of climate change, but more focus must be given to local gender-equitable adaptation plans and programmes. When countries meet at COP22 in Marrakesh, we expect to see a clearer roadmap for scaling up financial support for adaptation, and for addressing unavoidable loss and damage.” said Sven Harmeling, Climate Change Advocacy Coordinator, CARE International
“Marrakesh needs to be seen as the Renewables COP. It offers an enormous opportunity to shift the conversation from grand political rhetoric to the implementation of short-term concrete actions which will keep the agreed temperature goals of 1.5°C and 2°C within reach. In Marrakesh countries must support the urgent need for more renewable energy in developing countries. There are exciting enterprises like the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative and the Solar Alliance which were launched in Paris and are building on the global need for renewable energy.” said Mohamed Adow, Senior Climate Advisor at Christian Aid
“When countries next meet at COP22 in Marrakech, they need to make serious headway on the rules of the new climate regime and give the necessary teeth to the Paris Agreement. But above all, Marrakech needs to be all about action. Last year’s summit in Paris saw several promising renewable energy initiatives launched and today leaders from three developing country groups, representing over 90 countries, made a strong call for global action on renewable energy in Marrakesh,” said Jens Mattias Clausen, Senior Climate Change Adviser at Greenpeace Nordic.
“This year average global temperatures were more than 1°C higher than before the industrial era – and we have had 7 straight months of record breaking global heat with widespread climate change impacts. As temperatures soar, vulnerable people and ecosystems will have to adapt more drastically and rapidly, but they will also face impacts that go beyond the potential for adaptation. That’s why negotiators need to urgently resolve the issue of adaptation and loss and damage to ensure that the necessary support will be delivered to help those that are least responsible but facing the worst consequences.” said Sandeep Chamling Rai, Senior Global Adaptation Expert for WWF International
“Millions of the world’s most vulnerable people are already facing the disastrous impacts of climate change. Yet, adaptation has been short-changed. COP 22 needs to pick up the unfinished business from Paris. At COP 22, developed countries must present a roadmap to show how they will deliver their $100bn a year promise, and adaptation finance must me a core component of this roadmap.” said Armelle Le Comte, Advocacy Officer for Climate and Fossil Fuels at Oxfam France
“Countries’ agreement to a 1.5°C temperature goal at the Paris talks was a step forward but this week’s next round of talks did not see a realistic conversation about what emissions pathways should look like. It’s extremely dangerous to assume that technologies such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) can be used to commit to the 1.5°C target and solve the climate problem. We know that such proposed solutions require massive and unfeasible amounts of land that will compete with food in an already hungry world. If we are to stay under the 1.5°C goal we must be brave and address the elephant in the room – how we reduce our out of control consumption in a world with limitations.” said Teresa Anderson, Climate Change Policy Officer at ActionAid
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Contact: Tierney Smith, GCCA, email: tierney.smith@tcktcktck.org, phone: +447545255955
About CAN: Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 1100 NGOs working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. More at: www.climatenetwork.org