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 different hyperlinks), use the print model:

On this web page:

Introduction
Assembly consequence
In context: widespread however differentiated tasks
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 referred to as 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 high

Assembly consequence

The principle consequence 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 nations. Some creating nations have been going to withstand the concept of financing adaptation to local weather change, whereas others appeared to hate the concept of local weather reparations for poor nations. A number of years earlier, industrialized nations had made a authorized dedication to a worldwide 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 nations made a cope with creating nations, saying in impact: We’ll provide you with billions of {dollars} for adaptation, ramping as much as 100 billion {dollars} a 12 months by 2020, in alternate for our mitigation amounting to small CO2 cuts as an alternative of creating the massive cuts that we should always do.

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

Nations like Germany, Switzerland and others in Europe solely managed to scrape collectively guarantees of 110 million {dollars} into the Inexperienced Local weather Fund. Creating nations needed a assure of 70 billion a 12 months 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 Harm, Inter Press Service, November 24, 2013

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

Trying by the briefing studies from the revered NGO, the Third World Community, Evidently on the floor, whereas an consequence was finally thrashed out, there are a lot of areas of weak point of adequate vagueness to fulfill everybody that contentious points which are seemingly resolved can nonetheless be challenged and adjusted sooner or later.

Again to high

In context: widespread however differentiated tasks

A few years in the past all nations agreed that local weather change was largely the results of actions from immediately’s industrialized nations, as carbon dioxide — the principle greenhouse fuel — stays within the environment 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 subsequently be totally different for these teams of nations — the widespread however differentiated tasks precept.

It’s on this context that the dialogue for loss and injury has come about. And it’s one thing that wealthy nations are eager to eliminate .

The years of resistance on this challenge (and lots 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 monumental greenhouse emissions in recent times, in comparison with the far larger quantity by the industrialized nations over the longer interval. See this website’s part on local weather justice for extra detailed background.

Again to high

In context: Storm Haiyan

Storm Haiyan was the most important 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 accountable for and that whereas all of the worldwide outpouring of assist 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, acquired a standing ovation for asserting that he’ll go on a starvation strike till a significant consequence is in sight.

Again to high

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 a great probability at staying below two levels C, industrialised nations must crash their CO2 emissions 10 p.c per 12 months beginning in 2014, mentioned Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Centre for Local weather Change Analysis on the College of Manchester.

We will nonetheless do two C however not the way in which we’re going, Anderson mentioned on the sidelines of COP 19 in Warsaw. He questioned why negotiators on the within should not reacting to the truth that it’s too late for incremental modifications.

I’m actually shocked there is no such thing as a sense of urgency right here, he informed IPS.

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

Again to high