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Building the Global Adaptation Goal
8 Dec 2014
There’s a lot of curiosity about the idea of a global goal on adaptation. As you know, ECO is all about clarity, so here’s our short guide to this important proposition. The global goal on adaptation should build the resilience of people and ecosystems to the impacts of climate change. Actions towards the goal must […]
Embracing Technology Assessment
8 Dec 2014
ECO observes that the critical missing piece of the technology transfer puzzle is technology assessment. And why? Because all kinds of technology, even those we generally like, carry some level of risk. But some are much riskier than others, and that’s the point. Here’s a well known example. Decades ago, lead became a common additive […]
Human Rights in the CDM
8 Dec 2014
In June this year, the Santa Rita hydropower dam in Guatemala was approved under the Clean Development Mechanism despite grave concerns about human rights violations related to the project. Communities in the Alta Verapaz region report that all those who were consulted on the project were actually the employees of the project. Attempts for consultation […]
Fossil
8 Dec 2014
Oh, what a horrible dream! The Saudi delegation seem to be dreaming of a world made of men, only men . . . and a stream of pollution. Saturday’s fossil went to Saudi Arabia for speaking out strongly against the recognition of gender equality in the implementation process. The European Union also fell in disgrace […]
What We Need – Solidarity
8 Dec 2014
Our Filipino colleague writes: Before leaving for Peru, I hoped I’d see progress and unity at COP – especially given Lima’s key role on the road to Paris. So far I’ve been disappointed, and to add insult to injury another typhoon is lashing through my birth country. As I write, a million people are living […]
High Level Finance Dialogue: Not Just Another Talk Shop, Please
8 Dec 2014
Rolling into week two of COP20, ECO extends a warm welcome to Ministers and reminds that essential to success in Lima is concrete progress on climate finance. And what better time to do so than at Tuesday’s High-level Ministerial Dialogue on climate finance? The Secretariat frames the Dialogue as a unique opportunity for Ministers to […]
Mind the adaptation $ gap
6 Dec 2014
ECO became very dizzy from just flipping through the pages of the UNEP Adaptation Gap Report launched yesterday: even with emission cuts to keep the world below 2°C, climate change adaptation is likely to cost developing countries $150 billion a year during 2025-2030 and could climb as high as $500 billion by 2050. Put this […]
No Coal in the Green Climate Fund!
6 Dec 2014
ECO is troubled by recent revelations about bilateral finance for coal-fired power plants being counted towards climate finance obligations under Fast Start Finance. ECO is also concerned that the Green Climate Fund Board has not explicitly ruled out the possibility that the GCF might fund fossil fuel projects. It seems painfully obvious that something called […]
High Five for Five-Year Commitment Periods
6 Dec 2014
ECO is delighted to announce that the ADP draft decision text now contains the option for a proposed amendment for paragraph 9, which would read: “decides that all parties shall communicate a nationally determined mitigation contribution for 2025″. This is exactly what ECO has been calling for, and the Marshall Islands was awarded the Ray […]
Typhoon Hagupit, a call for international support through Loss and Damage
6 Dec 2014
Imagine a country hit by three of the world’s deadliest storms of the past three years and are about to face another typhoon. No this is not the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Unfortunately this is not fiction. Typhoon Hagupit is bearing down on the Philippines – smashing into the Eastern Samar province which was devastated by […]