Posts
Sadly,
nothing on the table, whatever the compromises, is going to save the
Pacific nations. The horse, I fear, has already bolted and it's too
late to close the gate even if if might make us feel better for a
while to do so.
COP21: Draft Paris Outcome on table for climate deal includes Pacific options
Draft
Paris Agreement on the table … relief for the moment for Pacific.
Image: Politico
Draft
Paris Agreement on the table … relief for the moment for Pacific.
Image: Politico
Pacific
Scoop:
Report – By Makereta Komai, editor of PACNEWS, in Paris
After
a week of negotiations, negotiators from 195 countries have produced
a Draft Paris Outcome that
is likely to become the new global climate agreement on 11 December.
To
the relief of Pacific, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
and G77 and China, the proposal by the United States and other
developed countries to remove loss and damage from the Paris
Agreement is now gone, replaced with a proposal (Option 1) to include
it as a stand-alone Article 5.
The
second option wants to push Loss & Damage back to Article 4,
alongside the Adaptation provision.
Ministers
from 195 countries, who take over the reins from officials, will
decide on the two options when they start negotiations today.
United
States chief climate change negotiator, Todd Stern said his
government ‘broadly’ supports the push for Loss & Damage from
island nations, however it will not accept the notion of liability
and compensation.
“This
is a red-line that we cannot cross. It’s not a US centric position
but the position of all developed countries, Stern has been
reiterating at all media briefings during the week.
Way
forward
The US and the French Presidency will convene bilateral meetings into next week to try and reach some consensus on a way forward, now that the draft text is ready for the ministers to craft a new global climate deal.
“We
are however working co-operatively with negotiators from the islands
and the G77 and China to develop solutions that is agreeable to all
parties,” said Stern
Immediately
after the Draft Outcome was endorsed at 3pm yesterday, UN climate
chief, Christiana Figueres tweeted, “One more step in writing of
history, #ADP adopts the Draft Paris Outcome and forwards it #COP21
for finalising.”
On
the long term goal, the two options of ‘below 1.5 degrees’ and
‘below 2 degrees’ remain bracketed in Article 2 (definition) and
Article 4 (adaptation).
“While
many are relieved by the fact that a ‘bridging proposal’ was
tabled on Thursday the fact that some developed countries have openly
challenged this shows that they are not ready to discuss this in the
‘formal Paris text’,” says François Martel, Secretary General
of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF).
The
United States made proposals, which are not acceptable in their
current status while the European Union is not putting up any formal
text for discussion.
Another
blow is that the text on review of temperature target for a 1.5
degrees limit as a safer way to protect all communities, ended up
getting blocked from being sent to ministers, primarily by the Arab
Group with Saudi Arabia leading.
‘Climate
injustice’
“This is climate injustice not only to Pacific-SIDS but also to Africa and other nationals facing losses and damages from both “extreme events” and “slow onset events,” added Martel.
Marshall
Islands Foreign Affairs minister, Tony de Brum said the second week
would determine the future survival of small and vulnerable nations.
“For
me, this is the most important journey of my life. Put simply,
I refuse to go home to my people without a Paris Agreement that
allows me to look them in the eye and say that everything is going to
be okay.”
“I
know the ADP (Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for
Enhanced Action) has been a very difficult process, but what you
haven’t seen is the political goodwill that is there in the
background and is now at the centre of this process now that the
ministers are here.
“With
the French at the helm, I know we are in good hands,” said de Brum.
The
ADP co-chair, Ahmed Djoghlaf said France will once again claim
history if it is able to steer negotiations to a new global climate
deal at the end of the week.
“Just
as France liberated the world in 1789 [referring to the French
Revolution against aristocracy], we hope we will be able to celebrate
the new agreement with France’s leadership on 11 December,” said
Djoghlaf in his closing remark of the ADP plenary.
‘Planetary
challenge’
His comment was echoed by the President of France, Francois Hollande, who issued a ‘planetary challenge’ to ministers to hammer out an outcome that will save the globe.
“I
call on all of you to overcome your regional, country interests and
place the interests of the global community ahead of every other
interest and come up with an agreement that is about our collective
future, said Hollande.
Source: Pacific
Media Watch 9504
Meanwhile, in New Zealand
New
Zealand has been shamed in the latest report on climate change
offenders, but we are not alone.
Paula Bennett, the new minister, best known for beneficiary bashing has admiied she knows nothing about climate change
TV1,
10
December, 2015
The
top three spots are vacant as no country is apparently good enough to
earn a podium position.
The
highest country is Denmark, followed by the United Kingdom and
Sweden.
New
Zealand is way lower at 42, with China, the world's worst polluter
just five spots behind us at 47 and Australia even lower at 59, just
two spots off the bottom.
Incoming
climate change minister, Paula Bennett, said the list was created by
"a bunch of environmentalists that are always quite critical".
Prime
Minister John Key was talking the talk in Paris, announcing New
Zealand's move to abolish fossil fuel subsidies was a step towards
helping the planet.
"Removing
these subsidies frees up resources to invest in low-carbon energy
pathways, health or education," he told the UN climate change
conference on December 1.
But
that very speech earned him an award, and probably not one he'd want
- "fossil fuel of the day" from the Climate Action Network,
because subsidies on consumption might be gone, but New Zealand is
still subsidising fossil fuel production.
And
it's this perceived short-sightedness that has seen New Zealand
tumble down the ranks of the annual climate change performance index.
"Actual
actions and actual policy that the Government's coming up with - they
don't look that good on the international stage," said Dr James
Renwick, climate scientist.
That's
something the incoming Climate Change Minister, Paula Bennett has no
such concerns about.
"The
ranking, quite frankly, doesn't look too scientific. From what I've
seen it's a bunch of environmentalists that sort of always are quite
critical of what anyone is doing. So I'm not sure I'm too worried
about their ranking and their considerations," she said
For
now, the Government is committed to a 30 per cent reduction in
greenhouse gas levels
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