BONN, Germany, (PAMACC News) - If Paris was historic in carving a global climate deal, Katowice will define the political urgency for climate action.

 Negotiations at the just ended United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, focused on the Paris Agreement Work Programme, under which countries are designing the guidelines that will move the climate pact from concepts to actions.

 The Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, at the concluding session, expressed concern at the lack of urgency in moving the negotiations forward.

 “It is time to look at the bigger picture, see the severe impacts that climate change is having across the world, and rise to the challenge,” said Group Chair, Gebru Jember Endalew.

 He expects steady progress be made throughout 2018 on all issues so that poor and vulnerable countries can engage effectively.

“A last-minute rush at COP24 risks leaving developing countries behind,” he said.


The Paris Rulebook

The Rulebook spells guidelines on how to put the Paris Agreement into practice.

There is a call for a fair, robust and transparent Rulebook that inspires confidence among countries to step up and commit to enhanced national climate targets by 2020.

They are essential for determining whether total world emissions are declining fast enough to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. These include boosting adaptation and limiting the global temperature increase to well below 2°C, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.

“I am satisfied that some progress was made here in Bonn. But many voices are underlining the urgency of advancing more rapidly on finalizing the operational guidelines. The package being negotiated is highly technical and complex. We need to put it in place so that the world can monitor progress on climate action,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change.

Progress on Agriculture

Recognizing the urgency of addressing interests in the agriculture sector, the Bonn conference made a significant advance on the “Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture” by adopting a road-map for the next two-and-a-half years.

Farmers are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as prolonged droughts and shifting rainfall patterns, and agriculture is an important source of emissions.  

This road-map responds to the world’s farming community of more than 1 billion people and to the 800 million people who live in food-insecure circumstances, mainly in developing countries. It addresses a range of issues including the socio-economic and food-security dimensions of climate change, assessments of adaptation in agriculture, co-benefits and resilience, and livestock management.

But not with Finance…

Without advances in the talks over the commitment of future financial support from rich countries to developing nations, who are already facing devastating climate impacts, it became difficult for other areas of the negotiations to progress.

LDC Group Chair, Gebru Jember Endalew, stated “Finance is key to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. In the face of climate change, poor and vulnerable countries are forced to address loss and damage and adapt to a changing climate, all while striving to lift their people out of poverty without repeating the mistakes of an economy built on fossil fuels. This is not possible without predictable and sustainable support."

Civil society also expressed some dissatisfaction with the finance dialogue.

“The radio silence on money has sown fears among poor countries that their wealthier counterparts are not serious about honouring their promises. This funding is not just a bargaining chip, it is essential for delivering the national plans that make up the Paris Agreement,” said Mohamed Adow, International Climate Lead, Christian Aid.
 
“For the Paris Agreement to be a success, we need the Katowice COP to be a success. And for the Katowice COP to be a success we need assurances that sources of funding will be coming.”


The Talanoa Dialogue

The Fijian Presidency of COP23 launched the Talanoa Dialogue to spur an outcome for enhanced ambition at the end of this year at COP24.

The first global conversation about efforts to combat climate change was witnessed on Sunday, May 6, at the 2018 Bonn Climate Talks.

The dialogue wrote history when countries and non-Party stakeholders including cities, businesses, investors and regions engaged in interactive story-telling for the first time.

The dialogue witnessed some 250 participants sharing more than 700 stories of climate struggle and inspiration, providing fresh ideas and renewed determination to raise ambition.

Seven groups, known as “Talanoas”, took part in the informal Talanoa tradition of sharing stories to find solutions for the common good. Participants discussed three central questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?

The Dialogue has the goal of taking stock of collective efforts towards progress on the Paris Agreement’s long-term mitigation goal. It will also inform the preparation of parties’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the second round of which are expected in 2020.

“Now is the time for action. Now is the time to commit to making the decisions the world must make. We must complete the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement on time. And we must ensure that the Talanoa Dialogue leads to more ambition in our climate action plans,” said Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji and President of COP23.

Talanoa inspires discussion between countries not as negotiating blocs but as one of people to people. But it is important that this is translated into a clear political process.

The Polish Presidency must take up the baton from the Fiji Presidency and work with all countries towards a political outcome for stronger national targets by 2020.

Political Action in Katowice

All input received to date and up to 29 October 2018 will feed into the Talanoa Dialogue’s second but more political phase at COP24.

To be meaningful, the Talanoa Dialogue “must deliver concrete outcomes that drive an increase in ambition and support to put us on track to achieving the 1.5 degree temperature goal set in Paris, guided by equity and science," said Mr. Endalew.

Talks resume in Bangkok from September 3-8 where negotiators will pick up “informal notes” forwarded by this session. They will attempt to turn these notes and various inputs from countries into the basis for a negotiating text ahead of COP24 in Katowice, Poland.

“The science is clear: we need to get into higher gear to reach Paris goals and we need to have the courage to go beyond traditional politics. Meeting in the middle is no option this time,” said Marcel Beukeboom, Climate Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

A stronger political leadership remains critical to achieve the major milestones envisaged for COP24 in Katowice, Poland.

The UN Climate Change talks are an integral part of a broader, worldwide debate on climate change.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.

The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

The ultimate objective of all agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.

“The time for stories has long since passed,” said Meena Raman of Third World Network. “We live in a world with over 1℃ warming and the devastation is already severe. We cannot allow for that warming to go beyond 1.5℃ and we need a political process to prevent that.”

PAMACC News - Illegal charcoal trade has been identified as key driver to deforestation globally. To stem the massive tide of  illegally harvesting, production and exporting from different forests across the globe, Somalia has joined other stakeholders to push for cross-border efforts for meaningful results. The Somalia's government made their voice heard at the UN-supported conference on charcoal in Mogadishu, May 7th2018.

According to a press release from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) the Somalian government have joined other stakeholders to call for international cooperation in halting illegal export of charcoal.

Certain forestry products like charcoal are not allowed to be exported from Somalia the release say. The country has struggled to protect its natural forests from rapid and widespread illegal logging and for these measures to be effective, international cooperation with other African countries and Gulf states was imperative.

« “We need a holistic response to address the issues of charcoal in Somalia. Both the demand and

supply side have to be tackled – to do this we need cooperation to implement the UN Security Council Resolution and ensure the environmental, economic and human losses that happen because of illegal charcoal trade are curbed, »  said the Deputy Prime Minister

It should be recalled that a similar call for international cooperation was made by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2017 to stem massive exportation of charcoal from Myanmar to China. The FAO tracks forest cover globally, said in the report that between 1990 and 2015, Myanmar lost about 15 million hectares of forest and other wooded land.

 In Cameroon government officials say there is increasing amounts of charcoal burning for cooking and heating in recent years as Cameroon's electricity and gas supplies fail to keep pace with demand, raising concerns among forest stakholders about growing deforestation and carbon emissions in the country. The Cameroon government has also condemned this growing trend pledging to intensify efforts at eliminating the scorge in line with the 2012 UN resolution against illegal charcoal trade and export.

The charcoal supply for Cameroon's two biggest cities comes principally from the East region, which harbours rich forest reserves that are important for Cameroon in particular and the Congo Basin in general.

DEFORESTATION FEARS

Experts fear that if the energy crisis continues unabated it could contribute to growing deforestation that could worsen climate change and lead to more severe weather.

"Charcoal is obtained from the burning of trees, and if this trend continues you can imagine the quantity of trees the country is going to lose and what impact this will have for the future," said Ebia Ndongo, director of forestry in the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife.

Like in Myanmar, the export of charcoal from Somalia has been banned, both by a 2012 United Nations Security Council resolution and by the Somali Government, due to its destructive effect on the environment and its exacerbation of conflict and humanitarian crises.

The UNEP Press release says an estimated 8.2 million trees were cut down for charcoal in Somalia between 2011 and 2017,increasing land degradation, food insecurity and vulnerability to flooding and drought.

It has been estimated that over 80 percent of charcoal produced in Somalia is exported to Gulf States and neighbouring countries.

Illegal trade in charcoal is recognised as a key contributor to insecurity in Somalia, providing a major source of funding for militias, terrorist groups, and other actors linked to conflict, who illegally tax exports.

But Somalian government say they are more than ready to halt the scourge.

« Somali government is commitment to halting illegal trade of charcoal and providing alternative energy options, » the Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, Mahdi Mohamed Guled, reaffirmed at the opening of the conference.

 He also called for urgent action and support from the

international community and countries that are importing charcoal.

“We need a holistic response to address the issues of charcoal in Somalia. Both the demand and supply side have to be tackled – to do this we need cooperation to implement the UN Security Council Resolution and ensure the environmental, economic and human losses that happen because of illegal charcoal trade are curbed,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.

He notes that the environmental destruction brought on by the charcoal trade contributes to drought,flooding, the loss of livelihoods and increase in food insecurity.

« Together with conflict, this exacerbates the humanitarian situation in Somalia,” said the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Peter de Clercq. “But due to high levels of poverty in Somalia and lack of opportunities, many are forced to turn to unsustainable and illegal livelihoods, such as charcoal production. The people of this country deserve better”.

Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo, UN Environment Regional Director for Africa, also emphasised on the need for regional partnership to stop the unsustainable production, use and export of charcoal in Somalia, expressing the willingness of UN Environment to support such cooperation efforts.

 “UN Environment and its partners are supporting the Government of Somalia to develop sound policy frameworks to support the ban and find alternatives to charcoal,” she said.

The UNEP Press release said participants at the event, were expected to develop a concrete road map for action, including enforceable regional policies, to halt charcoal trade, as well as itsunsustainable production and use within Somalia.

 The high-level summit is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment, and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from Sweden, the European Union and Italy.

BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - As the Bonn climate talks came to close on May 10, civil society and non-party stakeholder groups reiterated their call for urgent climate action.

Thegroups demand that governments follow-up the Paris Agreement with increased urgent action to prevent average global warming from rising 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

At an action event at the Bonn climate change talks in advance of the closing session of the Talanoa Dialogue, groups highlighted that Parties must reinforce the Paris Agreement goal and commit to enhanced action as a matter of survival for vulnerable countries.

“Perception on climate change has changed over the years,” said Olivia Adhiambo, Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance. “Though we may differ on what action to take, the consensus across the world is that the climate has changed, and that someone somewhere has caused the problem. Climate change is no longer an isolated scientific and environmental issue, it has dimensions in all human development indicators.”

Adhiambo says PACJA believes that climate change is a poverty issue because it has exacerbated poverty in the world; an equity issue because it disproportionately affects the poor nd vulnerable countries and sectors of the society, and a justice issue because it was caused by rich people and the poor are mostly affected.

For the last nine days, delegates have been negotiating the various technical issues under the UNFCCC technical and implementation bodies, the Subsidiary Body for implementaion (SBI), and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA).

Key among the issues discussed include climate finance, a key enabler to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, importance of Agriculture to developing country parties in terms of adaptation, the finalization of the Paris Rule book for implementation, and increasing climate ambition through the Talanoa dialoge regarding emission cuts. This is view of the fact that the current collective pledges made under the Paris Agreement, are not enough to meet the target of limiting global temperature rise to below 1.5 oC.

In fact, according to the analysis, even a full implementation of current unconditional and conditional Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) makes a temperature increase of at least 3oC by 2100 very likely.

“In a world that is already warmer by about 1ºC, people and communities around the world are already facing serious threats to their human rights,” said Sebastien Duyck, Senior Attorney, Center for International Environmental Law, during a climate action event organsied by both the north and south civil society groups.

In line with a human rights approach, Duyck said the survival of the most exposed to the impacts of climate-related natural disasters is already at risk while the growing temperature undermines the rights to food, water and livelihood of millions.

“These human rights impacts will only grow in magnitude with the increase of temperatures - undermining the ability of the most vulnerable States to protect their own people. Keeping the increase of temperatures below 1.5ºC is a necessity to protect human rights,” he added.

The gender face of climate change impacts is not a debatable issue anymore. There is consensus that women are at the frontline of climate change impacts, and Luu Thi Thu Giang, Climate Change Specialist, CARE International, was categorical about this matter.

“Today climate change impacts already hit many poor people in developing countries, like in my own country Vietnam,” she said. “Climate change impacts women and men differently. Often, it is poor and marginalized women and girls who are most affected. However, they are essential agents of change to build resilience against climate change impacts and to achieve the rapid shift to renewable energies necessary for limiting climate disruption to 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. Gender equality and climate action must go hand in hand.”

According to available climate science data, the impacts of climate change are already being felt, especially in developing countries. One way in which this is happening is through destruction to sensitive ecosystems that support millions of people’s livelihoods. And Sandeep Chamling Rai, Senior Advisor for Global Climate Adaptation Policy, at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) believes the best way to protect against the already suffering millions of people, is to keep global temperature rise as low as possible.

“As the earth’s temperature rises, so does the threat of permanent loss of ecologically sensitive places and species,” he said.“Biodiversity loss at the scale we could be seeing over the coming decades will cause profound changes to the sensitive ecosystems that sustain the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, mainly in vulnerable countries. The best way to protect against this is to keep global temperature rise as low as possible.”

Meanwhile, it os worth noting that the sustainability of urban cities has emerged as an important aspect of the climate discussions considering the role cities play in environmental management and protection. Therefore, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)’s Local Governments for Sustainability is leading the adena for susinable cities.

The aim is to help the ICLEI Network of up 1, 500 councils to become sustainable, low-carbon, resilient, ecomobile, biodiverse, resource-efficient and productive, through green economic and smart infrastructure, impacting over 25% of the global urban population.

And Yunus Arikan, Head of Global Policy and Advocacy, ICLEI said: “Failure to meet the 1.5-degree goal will hurt inhabitants in all human settlements, from poles to islands and from coastal zones to drylands, in particular the urban poor. Climate neutrality is the backbone of the success of Paris Agreement, and it cannot be achieved without climate neutral cities and regions.”

In its efforts to promote sustainable cities, through the Talanoa Dialogues in more than 50 cities and regions, ICLEI is working with local, regional and national governments to seize the opportunity of the Urban World to turn the 1.5 degrees celcisusgoal into a reality.

It is without question that the vulnerable people are at the centre of climate talks, mainly because they are suffering for something that they have not caused. And Mohamed Adow, International Climate Lead, Christian Aidbelieves that keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees for the world’s most vulnerable people is not just a ‘nice to have’, but rather essential to ensure they maintain and improve their way of life

“The world warms at different rates and in Africa where I am from, a global average rise of 2 degrees equates to much more extreme temperatures,” he said.“For low-lying island states, a 2-degree rise will mean being wiped from the map as sea level rise threatens to wash them away.   If rich countries are to be believed when it talks about solidarity with the poor then they need make sure we’re on track for a world that these people can live in.”

The message from civil society groups is loud and clear—urgent and ambitious climate action to keep the planet safe. However, while the clear picture of what has been achieve at the Bonn talks is yet to be established, UNFCCC Executive Secretary indicated a positive outlook during a medaai round table on Monday.

“The reports I am getting so far, are positive, including on the Talanoa Dialogue,” Espinosa said. “As you know the discussions about how to capture and derive from the Talanoa dialogue, general conclusions, is only starting now, it’s only a new process, it’s the first phase which happened yesterday, and delegations are starting now to think about what they would like to see as the outcome of the dialogue.”