COP19—Warsaw Local weather Convention — World Points

COP19—Warsaw Local weather Convention — World Points


Creator and Web page info

  • by Anup Shah
  • This web page Created

On this web page:

  1. Introduction
  2. Assembly end result
  3. In context: widespread however differentiated duties
  4. In context: Hurricane Haiyan
  5. Lack of urgency
  6. Extra info
  7. 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 harm 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.

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Assembly end result

The primary end result of the assembly was the institution of a global mechanism for a loss and harm related to local weather change impacts .

Predictably, the loss and harm side of local weather negotiations introduced out the worst in some nations. Some growing nations 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 nations. 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 nations made a cope with growing 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 change for our mitigation amounting to small CO2 cuts as a substitute 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 alleged to be the Finance COP to convey 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 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 Injury, Inter Press Service, November 24, 2013

It acquired to the purpose that a whole lot of representatives from varied NGOs walked out of the negotiating rooms to protest in opposition to developed nations’ reluctance to decide to a loss and harm mechanism. And this was a day after the G77+China group of 133 growing nations walked out of negotiations over the identical factor.

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

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In context: widespread however differentiated duties

A few years in the past all nations agreed that local weather change was largely the results of actions from at this time’s industrialized nations, as carbon dioxide — the primary greenhouse gasoline — stays within the ambiance for many years. But, the poorest would find yourself struggling probably 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 duties precept.

It’s on this context that the dialogue for loss and harm 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 dearth of detailed context within the mainstream media protection of this side, 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 higher quantity by the industrialized nations over the longer interval. See this website’s part on local weather justice for extra detailed background.

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In context: Hurricane Haiyan

Hurricane Haiyan was the most important cyclone on report to hit land

The assembly got here on the time when the devastating Hurricane Haiyan had simply killed hundreds within the Philippines and affected thousands and 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 end result is in sight.

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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 an excellent probability at staying underneath two levels C, industrialised nations must crash their CO2 emissions 10 % per 12 months beginning in 2014, mentioned 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 way in which we’re going, Anderson mentioned on the sidelines of COP 19 in Warsaw. He puzzled why negotiators on the within aren’t reacting to the truth that it’s too late for incremental adjustments.

I’m actually surprised there is no such thing as 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

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Extra info

Because the convention continues to be underway as this web page is written, extra info might be added right here after the occasion is over.

For extra in regards to the points from different organizations, listed here are some beginning factors:

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Information tales from IPS

Beneath is an inventory of tales from Inter Press Service associated to the Warsaw local weather convention and its aftermath.

  1. Local weather Change Threatens Kenya’s Historic Websites in Coastal Area