CAN Intervention on Overall Ambition at Bonn ADP2 Special Event with ADP Co-Chairs, 2 May 2013

CAN Intervention on Overall Amition at Bonn ADP2 Special Event with ADP Co-Chairs

Delivered by Alden Meyer of Union of Concerned Scientists

 

Thank you, co-chairs for this opportunity to share our views.  I am Alden Meyer and I’m speaking on behalf of the Climate Action Network.

CAN believes the scope, structure, and design of the 2015 agreement should be consistent with a high likelihood of success in keeping the increase in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius.  It should contain a set of national targets and actions on mitigation, adaptation, and finance that are aimed at achieving this goal within an overall framework of ambition, accountability, and equity.

There has been a lot of discussion here in Bonn this week on the process and timetable for developing such an agreement by COP 21 in 2015.  CAN suggests the following four-step process.  

1). Countries should agree at COP 19 that national proposals on mitigation action and finance will be evaluated in light of both the collective level of ambition needed to achieve the temperature limitation goal, and on the basis of a set of equity principles that helps assure the overall fairness of country efforts in relation to each other.

The science review starting at the next Bonn session will help guide the first part of this evaluation.  In Warsaw, Parties need to launch a parallel process to develop an equity reference framework; my colleague, Mohammed Adow, will say more about this in our next intervention.

2). Countries should submit their proposals in full accordance with the requirements of both ambition and equity, in sufficient time to allow for full review and subsequent submission of revised proposals before COP 21 in Paris. We would suggest COP 20 as the deadline for such initial submissions.

3). A robust review should be conducted on the collective adequacy of these proposals in satisfying the agreed global temperature limitation objectives, as well as their individual adequacy in terms of both ambition and equity.

4). Countries should then revise their proposals in accordance with the results of this review, and re-submit them in advance of COP 21.

One last point: the main barrier to adequately addressing the climate crisis isn’t lack of knowledge about the problem, nor the lack of cost-effective solutions.  It’s the lack of political will to confront the special interests that have worked long and hard to block the path to a sustainable low-carbon future.  In this regard, the sustained engagement of national leaders in providing strong political guidance is critical to achieving a successful outcome in Paris.  And as we all learned in Copenhagen, this engagement cannot wait until the final moments of these negotiations.

 

Thank you again for this opportunity to share our views.

 

Support CAN

Help us build power in the climate movement by contributing a one-time or recurring donation that will go to supporting our global work as well as various activities and campaigns in communities in different regions.

Donate to CAN

Stay informed

Subscribe to receive monthly updates on the latest on the climate movement including the content from across the network, upcoming climate change events, news articles and opinion pieces on climate, straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter