“In The Light of Equity”

15 May 2017

The importance of the Global Stocktake for enhancing the ambition of future climate action cannot be overstated. Since equity and ambition are two sides of the same coin, the Parties decided to conduct the Global Stocktake “in the light of equity.”

It is important to review what “equity” in this context means. It is very clear from the context of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement that it refers to the right to development and eradication of poverty. Hence, the Global Stocktake needs to be conducted in a manner that reflects these notions of equity between countries. Parties have already put forward, in their NDCs and in their APA submissions, very interesting suggestions regarding how equity has and could further inform the national determination of their contributions. This information is by no means sufficient, but it’s a start, and it should be used as the basis for future consideration of the role of equity as an overarching principle informing all streams of the Global Stocktake. In addition, further creative thinking about how to conduct a Global Stocktake that is informed by the principle of equity between countries is badly needed.

Additionally, we know that the Global Stocktake must assess collective progress towards the long-term goals of the UNFCCC in a comprehensive manner. Each of the long-term goals must be interpreted not only on the basis of article 2.1 but also on the basis of the cross-cutting principles contained in the preamble of the Paris Agreement.

The Global Stocktake thus offers an opportunity for parties to comprehensively consider their collective progress, in terms of progress towards each of these high-level goals and in terms of food security, gender equality, just transition and human rights. Such an assessment would be extremely valuable, as it would enable parties to share their hard-won experience with the implementation of climate action that also promotes social development. By so doing, Parties would enhance international cooperation.

To be absolutely clear, given the context of Paris Agreement and UNFCCC, Eco believes there is no doubt that “in the light of equity” can only be interpreted to mean equity between countries.