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An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure
11 Dec 2015
Some countries (including Saudi Arabia) have questioned the scientific basis for the need to limit temperature increases to 1.5°C. ECO would like to remind everyone, but especially these countries, that Article 3.3 of the Convention (remember it?) states that ‘Parties should take precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent or minimise the causes of climate change and […]
Carbon Markets: All Cards on the Table
11 Dec 2015
The new draft text still features brackets around the sustainable development mechanism provision. Decisions to be made in the next 24 hours include whether offsetting will be allowed (please, NO!), whether developed countries will be able to play the offset generation game, accounting rules, guiding principles and a share of proceeds for climate finance purposes. […]
Response Measures: Lost in Transition
11 Dec 2015
Developed countries in the Convention must ‘take into consideration’ the impacts of the ‘response measures’ [in 4-2-8(h) and 4-2-10]. An interpretation is that victims of mitigation measures such as energy efficiency or alternative energy policies in the North could be compensated for decreased sales. This idea, regularly put forward in the UNFCCC by the Saudi […]
Checklist for 1.5°C
11 Dec 2015
ECO is happy to hear so many Parties supporting a 1.5°C temperature limit. To see if these Parties are serious about 1.5°C, ECO will be looking at the following points: first round of review in 2018 to improve current INDCs of developed countries and enable implementation of conditional INDCs of developing countries stronger action before […]
Let’s Agree We’re Lost and Damaged
11 Dec 2015
The negotiations on the Paris Agreement have reached crunch time, and ECO is concerned that the crucial issue of loss and damage might be crunched at the last minute, as the Thursday text contains several options on loss and damage. ECO is hearing that there have been some constructive discussions in the last days. At […]
[and equity].
10 Dec 2015
However the chips finally fall, the viability of the Paris Agreement will critically depend on its ambition mechanisms. The need for this is agreed. Unfortunately, agreement in principle is not enough. To stay below the 1.5°C limit, at least two additional and very specific things will be needed. The first is equity assessment of individual […]
Facilitate the Facility
10 Dec 2015
If you wonder why vulnerable developing countries have demanded a Climate Change Displacement Coordination Facility (‘Facility’), the 22.5 million people displaced annually by weather related disasters since 2008 are happy to remind you. The Facility, as a placeholder for adequate institutional arrangements, could begin with a focus on closing knowledge gaps by collecting, sharing and […]
A Fashionable Trend
10 Dec 2015
ECO noticed that a small but potentially mighty paragraph that would scale back international public financial support for high-carbon fossil fuels has taken a beating. Prior to being discussed behind closed doors yesterday, Article 6, paragraph 7 aimed to ensure international public finance was not used to fuel (pun intended) the very problem this entire […]
UN Human Rights Day
10 Dec 2015
Sixty-seven years ago today, the international community convened in Paris to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This historic document, and the treaties that grew out of it, set forth the minimum rights essential for a life of dignity for all people, including children, indigenous peoples, workers, the promotion of gender equality and the […]
Midnight in Paris, and the Morning After
10 Dec 2015
The appeal of Paris, the City of Light and Love, is enormous. Up to 40,000 people came here to claim their fair share of the Paris Agreement. But the story of Paris is not only a story of love and light. In recent weeks, Paris has also shown its resilience in the face of terror. […]