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Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
12 Dec 2019
ECO [welcomes] [recognizes] [notes] the publication of the triad of chapeau decisions, known to all you negotiating lovelies by the melodic monikers 1/CP.25, 1/CMP.15 and 1/CMA.2. There are good elements in the current drafts, but there is still room for improvement in the remaining [2][3][4] days of COP. ECO welcomes the strong thread of scientific […]
A Modest Proposal: Share of Proceeds From Aramco IPO
12 Dec 2019
Yesterday, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company, floated 1.5% of its shares on the country’s stock exchange in the world’s largest Initial Public Offering. The IPO is expected to raise at least US$26 billion for the company, and potentially up to $29b – which is the largest influx of financing for fossil fuels since […]
Scale up Adaptation Finance!
12 Dec 2019
ECO would like to remind developed countries of the US$100 billion climate finance commitment they promised to deliver annually by 2020. We are not sure whether you have noticed that there is actually not much time left to hit the target, as 2020 is getting closer. ECO especially worries about the slow progress on the […]
Voices from the Frontlines: Fleeing the Climate
12 Dec 2019
Have you ever thought about what you would do if the climate changed the place where you live? When climate impacts hit, impacting your life and livelihood, you have to decide: stay or go. In the driest corridor of Central America, it has been years since rainfall catastrophically decreased. When the El Niño and climate […]
Just Transition Needs Fast-Tracking, Here in Madrid
12 Dec 2019
Well, after already delaying a year, it looks likely that the 6-year work-plan for the Forum on the Implementation Response Measures has stalled, though discussion continues, facilitated by a pair of Ministers. While it sounds nice to include “recalls the imperative for a just transition,” in the draft decision, let’s be honest, there is NO […]
Adaptation Has To Be in the Mainstream
12 Dec 2019
After a frustrating series of negotiations leading to bland compromises on unblocking funds for poor countries to make plans, a toothless criticism of the committee charged with ambition, and an unseemly struggle for control over the accounts, adaptation has been stranded at this COP. The clue is in the name: climate change. When things change, […]
To the Responsible Parties of the Paris Agreement, From the Youth of Australia
12 Dec 2019
Right now, the youth of Australia are not being listened to by our government, even though the impacts of the climate crisis are here now. Sydney and regional NSW are blanketed with smoke from catastrophic bushfires, with fires all across the country, and air quality 11 times what are hazardous levels. Yet our government is […]
Fossil of the Day
12 Dec 2019
Our voices are being silenced and it´s not funny. Despite emptier hallways this evening, we continue to hold space even as our colleagues are shut outside in the cold simply for raising their voices for a better future and climate justice. Today, the UNFCCC security deserves a fossil but we had previously decided to give […]
Ray of the Year
12 Dec 2019
The Ray of the Year goes to Scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). CAN does not often award Rays of the Day; to receive such an award requires a significant step forward on climate action and these happen lamentably infrequently. However, there is a body that CAN has decided deserves not only […]
Too Many Gaps = One Gaping Political Hole
11 Dec 2019
Dear Ministers, We, the so-called civil society that observes negotiations, would like to call your attention to the many gaps we need to close to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on mitigation, adaptation/resilience, and support. ‘Gap’ is amongst the most spoken words in these negotiating halls, maybe no less than ambition. So which […]