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Crystal Ball of Climate Finance
8 Dec 2015
Running from one meeting room to the next and eating many a crêpe must be tiresome for ministers. But fear not, ECO is here to summarise the crucial things on climate finance for our new arrivals. If ECO had a crystal ball for climate finance in future years, this is what it would show: Climate […]
Oil Minister Wins Fossil Award for Saudi Arabia
8 Dec 2015
‘[Monday’s] first place Fossil of the Day Award goes, once again, to Saudi Arabia! In the high-level Ministerial discussions Ali al-Naimi the Saudi Oil Minister (come again?) said we cannot discriminate between clean and dirty fuels, a statement that fundamentally undermines what everyone is trying to achieve at the Paris Climate Summit. This statement totally […]
Oil Lovers Win Fossil. Malaysia Honoured
7 Dec 2015
Venezuela and Saudia Arabia received a fossil Saturday night for opposing decarbonisation in a crucial contact group.Malaysia and LMDCs earned an Honourable Mention for championing civil society participation.Read more at http://climatenetwork.org/fossil-of-the-day Oil Lovers Win Fossil. Malaysia Honoured
Transparency: Just a Castle on a Cloud?
7 Dec 2015
The French government made a commitment to civil society: this would be a transparent and participatory COP. Instead, from day one we have been banned from meetings where decisions are actually made. Civil society’s role is to shed light on this process, to ensure that our governments protect their people’s best interests—not the interests of […]
SOS: Save Our 2050 Strategies
7 Dec 2015
To keep global temperature increase to 1.5°C, and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, decarbonisation is an urgent need. We need national plans firmly set in place that focus on near-term action, coupled with long-term decarbonisation. Furthermore, climate resilience will help to avoid locking in high carbon infrastructure and address climate vulnerabilities. In Cancun, […]
Below 1.5–to Stay Alive
7 Dec 2015
Last week’s Joint Contact Group (JCG) on the 2013-2015 review failed to come to a single conclusion on its three year work, which had included the ‘Structured Expert Dialogue’ (SED). SED’s findings were: 1)We are not on track to a ‘below 2°C path’. 2) 2°C warming would be dangerous. 3) Keeping warming to below 1.5°C […]
The Gap In the Text
7 Dec 2015
ECO is disappointed that Parties seem to have all agreed on the ‘no text’ options for the following numbers: The emissions gap: [The emissions gap in 2020 is estimated to be 8-12 Gigatonnes] [The emissions gap in 2030 based on the current INDCs is estimated to be 12-18 Gigatonnes] The adaptation gap: [The Adaptation finance […]
LPAA: No Gate Crashers
7 Dec 2015
Saturday was the Action Day—a big party to celebrate initiatives by non-state actors, subnational entities and national governments. While ECO would like to dance the night away with some guests that promote real solutions benefiting people and climate, like renewable energy and energy efficiency, ECO would hate to have gate crashers. That includes false solutions […]
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
7 Dec 2015
Non, Rien de rien (No, nothing of nothing) Non, Je ne regrette rien (No, I regret nothing) Dear Ministers: Welcome to Paris. As you have no doubt already seen, negotiating texts have been prepared for you. A bit chaotic perhaps, but good enough, and all the options are on the table. You also have probably […]
Staying Below 1.5oC Is Not Just About Science. It Is a Moral Imperative.
5 Dec 2015
All countries questioning the urgent need to include a long-term goal to keep temperatures below 1.5°C should check their conscience. For countries that have suffered the wrath of climate-related extreme events due to the current 1°C temperature increase, any attempt to negotiate a further increase in temperature is a violation of the right to […]