COP19—Warsaw Local weather Convention — International Points

by Anup Shah
This web page created Monday, December 02, 2013

This web page: https://www.globalissues.org/article/803/cop19-warsaw-climate-conference.
To print all info (e.g. expanded aspect notes, exhibits various hyperlinks), use the print model:

On this web page:

Introduction
Assembly end result
In context: widespread however differentiated obligations
In context: Storm Haiyan
Lack of urgency
Extra info
Information tales from IPS

Introduction

November 11 – 23, 2013, Warsaw, Poland was the venue for the nineteenth annual United Nations Local weather Change Convention, also called the nineteenth Convention of the Events — or COP 19.

The aim of this convention was to create a loss and injury pillar of a brand new local weather treaty to be finalized in 2015. The opposite two pillars mentioned in earlier conferences are mitigation (emission reductions) and adaptation pillars.

Again to prime

Assembly end result

The principle end result of the assembly was the institution of a world mechanism for a loss and injury related to local weather change impacts .

Predictably, the loss and injury facet of local weather negotiations introduced out the worst in some international locations. Some creating international locations have been going to withstand the thought of financing adaptation to local weather change, whereas others appeared to hate the thought of local weather reparations for poor international locations. A couple of years earlier, industrialized nations had made a authorized dedication to a world local weather fund. Unsurprisingly, not a lot got here of it, as Inter Press Service summarized,

In 2009 on the semi-infamous Copenhagen talks, the wealthy international locations made a cope with creating international locations, saying in impact: We’ll offer you billions of {dollars} for adaptation, ramping as much as 100 billion {dollars} a yr by 2020, in alternate for our mitigation amounting to small CO2 cuts as a substitute of creating the large cuts that we must always do.

The cash to assist poor international locations adapt flowed for the primary three years however has largely dried up. Warsaw was purported to be the Finance COP to carry the promised cash. That did not occur.

International locations like Germany, Switzerland and others in Europe solely managed to scrape collectively guarantees of 110 million {dollars} into the Inexperienced Local weather Fund. Growing international locations wished a assure of 70 billion a yr by 2016 however have been blocked by the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan and others.

Stephen Lehey, South Scores Eleventh-Hour Win on Local weather Loss and Injury, Inter Press Service, November 24, 2013

It received to the purpose that lots of of representatives from numerous NGOs walked out of the negotiating rooms to protest in opposition to developed international locations’ reluctance to decide to a loss and injury mechanism. And this was a day after the G77+China group of 133 creating international locations walked out of negotiations over the identical factor.

Wanting by the briefing studies from the revered NGO, the Third World Community, Plainly on the floor, whereas an end result was ultimately thrashed out, there are numerous areas of weak point of ample vagueness to fulfill everybody that contentious points which might be seemingly resolved can nonetheless be challenged and altered sooner or later.

Again to prime

In context: widespread however differentiated obligations

A few years in the past all nations agreed that local weather change was largely the results of actions from as we speak’s industrialized nations, as carbon dioxide — the primary greenhouse fuel — stays within the ambiance for many years. But, the poorest would find yourself struggling essentially the most for an issue they largely didn’t trigger. The approaches to mitigation (emissions discount) would due to this fact be completely different for these teams of nations — the widespread however differentiated obligations precept.

It’s on this context that the dialogue for loss and injury has come about. And it’s one thing that wealthy international locations are eager to do away with .

The years of resistance on this concern (and plenty of others) means every time it’s mentioned once more the reactions appear to get much more hostile. Mixed with the shortage of detailed context within the mainstream media protection of this facet, it then turns into simpler every time to see culprits as China and India given their huge greenhouse emissions lately, in comparison with the far higher quantity by the industrialized nations over the longer interval. See this web site’s part on local weather justice for extra detailed background.

Again to prime

In context: Storm Haiyan

Storm Haiyan was the biggest cyclone on document to hit land

The assembly got here on the time when the devastating Storm Haiyan had simply killed hundreds within the Philippines and affected hundreds of thousands extra. It was an ominous warning of what could possibly be extra frequent as local weather change continues to take maintain.

It was additionally an instance of how poorer nations could possibly be affected by an issue they’ve largely not been chargeable for and that whereas all of the worldwide outpouring of support and help was extremely welcome, that help for stopping and adapting to such occasions is paramount and efforts are urgently wanted to curb emission will increase.

In an emotional speech the Philippines lead negotiator for the convention, Naderev Saño, obtained a standing ovation for asserting that he’ll go on a starvation strike till a significant end result is in sight.

Again to prime

Lack of urgency

Inter Press Service (IPS) famous the seeming lack of urgency given the years and years of delay and watering down of significant motion:

To have probability at staying below two levels C, industrialised international locations must crash their CO2 emissions 10 % per yr beginning in 2014, stated Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Centre for Local weather Change Analysis on the College of Manchester.

We are able to nonetheless do two C however not the best way we’re going, Anderson stated on the sidelines of COP 19 in Warsaw. He puzzled why negotiators on the within are usually not reacting to the truth that it’s too late for incremental adjustments.

I’m actually shocked there isn’t a sense of urgency right here, he advised IPS.

Stephen Lehey, South Scores Eleventh-Hour Win on Local weather Loss and Injury, Inter Press Service, November 24, 2013

Again to prime