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Rich nations at UN climate talks are said to be edging towards a compromise on the thorny issue of loss and damage. Poorer countries want compensation for extreme weather events that they link to large scale carbon emissions. But the US and EU have long resisted this idea, fearing an endless liability running into billions of dollars. However a clarified proposal from the US … was said to concede that the Warsaw Mechanism should be extended and made permanent. They would also “respond to the concerns of developing countries”. –Matt McGrath, BBC News, 4 September 2015 The developing nations are not stupid. They have ensnared the West in a climate trap that green politicians set for themselves. To meet the growing pressure by the West, developing countries are demanding $200- 400 billion dollars – per annum – for so-called climate compensation and adaptation measures, together with billions worth of technology transfers. It is difficult to see how the West, already heavily curtailed as a result of the economic crisis, would be prepared to transfer such an astronomical amount of money. Even in good times it would have been a foolish idea. Most likely, all efforts of reaching a binding climate agreement will fail in coming years. The pressure of lowering expectations of a green utopia will therefore increase. –Benny Peiser, Copenhagen and the Demise of Green Utopia, Die Weltwoche 23 December 2009
1) The Price For Paris Deal: Obama Ready To Consider Extreme Weather Compensation For Developing Nations? – BBC News, 4 September 2015 2) US & EU Considering Loss And Damage Options For Paris Deal –Responding to Climate Change, 3 September 2015 3) Indian PM Modi Urges ‘Climate Justice’ Ahead Of Paris Meet – Press Trust of India, 3 September 2015 4) Pay Up Now! – The Fiji Times, 4 September 2015 5) There Is No ‘Magic Wand’ To Solve Climate Change Warns UN Climate Chief, As Bonn Talks Stall – Business Green, 3 September 2015 6) EU Divided Over Non-Binding Renewables Target – Politico, 3 September 2015 A coalition of the world’s richest countries appears to have accepted that there is a need to address loss and damage from extreme weather events in a UN climate deal, set to be agreed in December. The US, EU, Switzerland and Australia are working on separate proposals on how the contentious issue could be included in the Paris pact, and are expected to deliver their vision at UN climate talks in Bonn on Friday. Two observers monitoring the negotiations have told RTCC this text will recognise the importance of helping poor countries cope with climate-influenced events. –Ed King, Responding to Climate Change, 3 September 2015 Climate change is a “pressing” global challenge and the poor people are ‘most adversely’ affected by it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said and suggested a shift of the discourse on the issue from ‘climate change to climate justice.’ “In my view, the most adversely affected by climate change are the poor and the downtrodden. When a natural disaster strikes, they are hit the hardest. When there are floods, they are rendered homeless. During a quake, their homes are destroyed. “During droughts, they are affected and during extreme cold too, the homeless suffer the most. We can’t let climate change keep affecting people in this manner. Which is why I believe the discourse must shift focus from climate change to climate justice,” Modi said. —Press Trust of India, 3 September 2015 The Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) will call on the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases to compensate all Pacific Islands that are affected by climate change. At the PIDF meeting yesterday, the forum agreed that compensation will be a key component in the Suva Declaration which will be adopted today at the conclusion of the meeting. PIDF Interim Secretary-General Amena Yauvoli said “those who are responsible for emitting the most greenhouse gases should pay” as their actions contradicted what they had agreed upon in the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC). Given the need to address the seriousness of climate change, the UNFCC has set up a Green Climate Fund worth $US100billion. “Its purpose is to fund those nations affected by climate change, the question now is how we can access those funds,” said Mr Yauvoli. –Sikeli Qounadovu, The Fiji Times, 4 September 2015 The two most senior officials in the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat have called on countries at the latest round of talks in Bonn to put forward draft texts for a global deal, as fears grow that the negotiations are once again stalling. At the latest round of talks in Bonn, countries yesterday raised the alarm that time is running out before the Paris Summit at the end of this year where they will be expected to sign a global deal to tackle climate change. –Jessica Shankleman, Business Green, 3 September 2015 The EU has pledged that 27 percent of its energy will come from renewables by 2030 — but now the fight is over how individual countries are supposed to pitch in to reach that goal, addressed in a draft proposal issued by Luxembourg this week. Some countries, especially the U.K. and central and eastern Europeans, want a soft, non-legislative approach which would not interfere with their right to decide their energy mix. In other words, it would allow the U.K. to continue building nuclear power plants and exploring for shale gas, while coal would continue to play an important part in Poland’s power generation. But other countries keener on slashing emissions and switching to solar and wind, like Germany, Denmark and Sweden, want a tougher system to ensure that everyone is doing their fair share. –Anca Gurzu, Politico, 3 September 2015 1) The Price For Paris Deal: Obama Ready To Consider Extreme Weather Compensation For Developing Nations Matt McGrath Rich nations at UN climate talks are said to be edging towards a compromise on the thorny issue of loss and damage. Poorer countries want compensation for extreme weather events that they link to large scale carbon emissions. However a clarified proposal from the US, to be made on Friday, is being seen as a “step forward” by some delegates. Loss and damage has increasingly become a totemic issue for developing nations, who point to events like Typhoon Haiyan as an example of the tremendous damage that extreme weather events can wreak on the most vulnerable. They argue that the world is seeing a greater frequency of these events and they are caused, in the main, by emissions of carbon dioxide that are mainly the responsibility of the rich. The issue has gained considerable traction at these talks in recent years. The question almost derailed the UN process in Poland in 2013. The parties eventually agreed to set up the so-called Warsaw Mechanism, which was given two years to develop a plan of how the issue should be tackled. Many poorer nations felt they had been fobbed off on something they regard as critical to their very survival. They point to reports from insurers which say that losses linked to weather events have risen from around $50bn a year in the 1980s to around $200bn now. In Bonn, the developing countries have proposed that loss and damage should be at the heart of a new global deal. They also want a facility to deal with the displacement of people by extreme weather. According to observers, in contrast to their previous hard line attitude, the US has engaged in discussion on these ideas in a constructive and positive spirit. “At this meeting we’ve seen positive moves that I think give us hope that loss and damage can be successfully concluded and we can agree a successful climate agreement in Paris,” said Julie-Anne Richards from the campaign group, Climate Justice. Welcome response There was likely to be support for other approaches on loss and damage including early warning systems. But an official with knowledge of the proposal stressed that the Warsaw Mechanism was definitely not about liability or compensation. Despite this, the clarified proposal was welcomed by many observers. “It is a big step forward,” said Harjeet Singh from Action Aid. He said that developing countries had been told that loss and damage would now feature in the outcomes that will be agreed in Paris, something he regarded as progress. 2) US & EU Considering Loss And Damage Options For Paris Deal Ed King A coalition of the world’s richest countries appears to have accepted that there is a need to address loss and damage from extreme weather events in a UN climate deal, set to be agreed in December.
Poor countries want compensation for destruction wrought by climate-linked events like Typhoon Haiyan – (Pic: Pio Arce/Genesis Photos – World Vision)
The US, EU, Switzerland and Australia are working on separate proposals on how the contentious issue could be included in the Paris pact, and are expected to deliver their vision at UN climate talks in Bonn on Friday. Two observers monitoring the negotiations have told RTCC this text will recognise the importance of helping poor countries cope with climate-influenced events. Another official with knowledge of discussions emphasised the proposals would not cover compensation or liability linked to climate impacts. Developed countries would seek to emphasise their support for the existing UN loss and damage mechanism created in 2013 along with other means of averting disasters such as early warning systems, they added. Harjeet Singh from the NGO ActionAid welcomed the news as evidence of a shift in thinking among rich nations: “They are not ignoring the elephant in the room or hiding it under the carpet. They are engaging.” Previously, US and EU officials have insisted that climate compensation could not be part of any legally binding UN package in Paris, a position that seems unlikely to change. Wealthy countries fear they could be on the receiving end of ever-increasing payouts if climate impacts intensify, and only agreed to set up a UN loss and damage body in 2013 under duress. But opposition in Washington and Brussels to its inclusion under a global pact appears to have waned in the face of fierce lobbying from NGOs and the vast majority of developing countries, who have branded it a deal-breaker. The mooted document will likely build on a G7 pledge in June to ensure 400 million people in vulnerable regions would have access to climate insurance by 2020, up from an estimated 50 million in 2015. The movement from rich nations came as the G77+China group of developing countries released their own proposal for the inclusion of climate compensation in the Paris deal – a longstanding demand of governments vulnerable to storms and sea level rise. “An international mechanism to address loss and damage is hereby defined under this agreement and shall be bound by the principles and provisions of the Convention,” reads its opening line, which the G77 wants inserted in the legally binding part of a Paris deal. Angolan diplomat Giza Gaspar Martins, head of the Least Developed Countries group at the talks, said the decision on Thursday by G77 countries to agree a common position was a “significant” moment for the negotiations. “It used to be it was considered only of importance to small group of countries – in particular small island developing states,” he said. “But there is now a recognition that loss and damage is a more of a development-centric issue… in that sense, we are very happy to have the numbers of all G77 and China to advocate and negotiate as one.” 3) Indian PM Modi Urges ‘Climate Justice’ Ahead Of Paris Meet Climate change is a “pressing” global challenge and the poor people are ‘most adversely’ affected by it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said and suggested a shift of the discourse on the issue from ‘climate change to climate justice.’
Climate change is a “pressing” global challenge and the poor people are ‘most adversely’ affected by it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said and suggested a shift of the discourse on the issue from ‘climate change to climate justice.’ “In my view, the most adversely affected by climate change are the poor and the downtrodden. When a natural disaster strikes, they are hit the hardest. When there are floods, they are rendered homeless. During a quake, their homes are destroyed. “During droughts, they are affected and during extreme cold too, the homeless suffer the most. We can’t let climate change keep affecting people in this manner. Which is why I believe the discourse must shift focus from climate change to climate justice,” Modi said. He was speaking at ‘Samvad- Global Hindu Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance and Environment Consciousnes. The 3-day event is being held by Vivekananda International Foundation here. Asserting that tackling climate change needs collective human action,, Modi said that environmental consciousness are deeply-rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism and with its well- defined treatises on Mother Earth, both the religions can help examine the changes in approach that needs to be made. Noting that the conflict is between between nature and man, nature and development and also between nature and science, the Prime Minister said that these conflicts call for dialogue to bring about conflict avoidance and not just “give and take” conflict resolution negotiations as which is now happening. The Prime Minister’s statement comes as India is gearing up to present its carbon emission cuts targets before the crucial UN climate change conference in Paris later this year. “Ethical values of personal restraint in consumption and environmental consciousness are deeply rooted in Asian philosophical traditions, especially in Hinduism and Buddhism. “Buddhism, along with other faiths, such as Confucianism, Taoism and Shintoism has undertaken greater responsibility to protect the environment,” he said. 4) Pay Up Now! Sikeli Qounadovu THE Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) will call on the world’s biggest emitters of greenhouse gases to compensate all Pacific Islands that are affected by climate change. At the PIDF meeting yesterday, the forum agreed that compensation will be a key component in the Suva Declaration which will be adopted today at the conclusion of the meeting. PIDF Interim Secretary-General Amena Yauvoli said “those who are responsible for emitting the most greenhouse gases should pay” as their actions contradicted what they had agreed upon in the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC). “Our contribution of greenhouse gases emissions is less than one per cent and while we are contributing less, we are facing the full brunt of climate change. So we agreed to compensation in terms of migration and compensation in terms of loss and damage as a result of climate change.” When asked how compensation will be paid out Mr Yauvoli said, “we need to define the methodology and the criteria that need to be followed.” Given the need to address the seriousness of climate change, the UNFCC has set up a Green Climate Fund worth $US100billion ($F217b). “Its purpose is to fund those nations affected by climate change, the question now is how we can access those funds,” said Mr Yauvoli. Meanwhile, in opening yesterday’s meeting Mary Robinson, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, said there had been discussion with relation to compensation “The French Government is stewarding an informal process where ministers from across the world seek to find ways to resolve key issues that are emerging from the negotiations. As part of this process, there is an informal ministerial meeting next Sunday and Monday in Paris to look specifically at climate finance, means of implementation, adaptation and loss-and-damage which are all of vital importance to people in the Pacific and other SIDS.” 5) There Is No ‘Magic Wand’ To Solve Climate Change Warns UN Climate Chief, As Bonn Talks Stall Jessica Shankleman The two most senior officials in the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat have called on countries at the latest round of talks in Bonn to put forward draft texts for a global deal, as fears grow that the negotiations are once again stalling. Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), and her deputy, Richard Kinley, both admitted yesterday they understood the frustration felt by all parties this week at the slow pace of talks, but urged negotiators to keep moving and deliver some fresh proposals. “There’s always a level of frustration because we all want to have a magic wand,” she told BusinessGreen on the sidelines of the talks. “This is a very difficult process about a very, very challenging subject and work has to be done.” At the latest round of talks in Bonn, countries yesterday raised the alarm that time is running out before the Paris Summit at the end of this year where they will be expected to sign a global deal to tackle climate change. At a sombre stocktaking session midway through this week’s talks, countries gathered to express concerns that the negotiations have barely started this week, calling on the co-chairs Ahmed Djoghlaf and Daniel Reifsnyder to inject some momentum into the last two days of this round of negotiations. From Nigeria to Saudi Arabia and the European Union, parties warned that as of today, there is now just seven negotiating days left before the start of the Paris Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in December. The current draft negotiating text remains over 80 pages in length, with all attempts to streamline it having so far stalled. 6) EU Divided Over Non-Binding Renewables Target Anca Gurzu The EU has pledged that 27 percent of its energy will come from renewables by 2030— but now the fight is over how individual countries are supposed to pitch in to reach that goal, addressed in a draft proposal issued by Luxembourg this week. At issue is how much flexibility member states should have when drawing up their national climate and energy plans, which will be key in reaching the collective target, and how strong the European Commission’s role should be in monitoring progress. Some countries, especially the U.K. and central and eastern Europeans, want a soft, non-legislative approach which would not interfere with their right to decide their energy mix. In other words, it would allow the U.K. to continue building nuclear power plants and exploring for shale gas, while coal would continue to play an important part in Poland’s power generation. But other countries keener on slashing emissions and switching to solar and wind, like Germany, Denmark and Sweden, want a tougher system to ensure that everyone is doing their fair share. The worry is that while the EU may reach its promised target by 2030, it could do so thanks to expensive and painful steps by some countries, while others free-ride and do much less. The dispute — known as “governance” — goes to the heart of the division of powers between Brussels and member states. Luxembourg, which holds the presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, has spelled out its ideas for how to finesse the issue in a first draft of conclusions submitted September 1. The goal of the Luxembourg presidency was to present a methodology for drafting national plans. Officials say the idea was to move away from political discussions and towards more technical ones. National climate and energy plans should outline a country’s goals and “set out a realistic indicative trajectory for the achievement of these targets and objectives,” says the draft. Light touch Officials are gearing up for a brutal debate as they try to hammer out a final text over the next months. “What we are looking for is enough flexibility to shape our energy policy to take into account our specificities,” one official from a CEE country said on condition of anonymity. Several EU countries have already circulated informal papers on the topic, either warning against a monitoring mechanism that is too strict or advocating for robust and binding legal frameworks. The U.K. and the Czech Republic wrote in a joint paper at the beginning of the year that the governance system should be “light touch and non-legislative so as to respect member states flexibility over its choice of measures and technologies.” However, in a paper issued over the summer, Germany said there should be “consequences” if countries cannot meet renewables targets. While potential penalties are not spelled out, the uncertainty “constitutes a significant incentive” for member states to pledge a low level of renewables so that they aren’t punished later, according to the paper. Two camps The text mentions a system allowing for “timely corrective action to be taken,” if countries are falling short. But it isn’t clear what would happen if the collective 27 percent renewables target isn’t reached, he added. |
