CAN Closing ADP 2.9 Intervention for UNFCCC Website, 11 June 2015

Thank you, honourable Co-Chairs and distinguished delegates for the opportunity to submit a written statement for the website.

CAN believes that the end of the fossil fuel era is inevitable, and the dawning of the age of renewables is unstoppable. The recent G7 declaration points towards this. The world is watching to make sure their governments are part of the solution, and not part of the problem. 

This session has provided an opportunity for enhanced trust building and contributed to a sense of ownership by governments of the draft text for Paris.

Yet the past two weeks in Bonn have left us with feeling that a sense of urgency and purpose has eluded the negotiations. 

Climate change is real, and happening now. As highlighted by the outcomes of the Structured Expert Dialogue 2013-2015, safeguarding human rights, security and well-being requires all efforts to be made to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The first step towards realising this scientific and moral imperative is an urgent need for all countries to increase their mitigation ambition in the pre-2020 period. 

This increase of ambition in developing countries should be supported by ensuring adequate and predictable means of implementation. 

A roadmap towards achieving the $100 billion per year target and clear milestones towards this target by developed countries is essential for increasing ambition in developing countries for the pre-2020 period, along with developed countries increasing their own mitigation targets.

But our work is just beginning. A high level of ambition must carry over to the post-2020 period with all countries putting forward ambitious INDCs as early as possible.

Parties at COP 21 would need to decide on a mechanism with the intent to periodically upscale and enhance mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation to be provided. CAN would like the duration of this enhancement to be 5 years. This will ensure that we do not end up increasing the existing gigatonne gap, and that we continuously have a forward direction instead of a "one step forward, two steps back” approach to ambition.

Since no country can escape the realities of climate change, we support a global adaptation goal that links adaptation requirements to mitigation efforts. This goal should be predicated on the principles of appropriateness, gender equality, and a rights-based approach to adaptation.

However, we must also recognise that mitigation and adaptation efforts cannot always be sufficient. Loss and damage should therefore be anchored in the 2015 agreement on an equal footing with adaptation, and additional finance ensured.

Honourable delegates, the world is counting on you to rise to the challenge and demonstrate the necessary foresight, courage and leadership.

Thank you.