Daily Summary – 4 Dec 2012
With the Ministers from around the world here in Doha, things have heated up. Vanuatu and its partners from AOSIS, the LDCs and the G77 have been pushing very hard on a number of fronts, with the key priority to raise the levels of ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emission. Our message is ‘we will not leave Doha with less than what we came with’. For Vanuatu, going backwards is not an option. We need increased ambition with real numbers and targets that reflect the science of climate change.
One of the areas of concern to Vanuatu is a drop in the amount of climate finance that is available to us once the Fast Start Finance period ends in 2012. Developed countries have pledged to make available 100 Billion dollars per year beginning in 2020, but what happens from 2012-2020? Will we fall off a financial cliff? In our negotiations we have been pressing countries to make firm commitments on what will come next year. Australia and New Zealand have told us informally that they will keep the money flowing, but that isn’t good enough. Vanuatu needs a black and white medium term finance plan. The UK was the first country to respond to our call and made a pledge of over 2 billion USD over the next two years, with at least 50% going to adaptation projects in developing countries like Vanuatu. This is a great start, but we need others like the EU, USA, Germany and Australia to do the same.
On the Durban Platform, we are making progress. Vanuatu and AOSIS have been playing hardball on the ambition issue, and have presented new draft decision text to establish a firm 2013 workplan for identifying real and immediate ways to reduce emissions pre-2020. Other Partners are now looking at the AOSIS proposal and see it as likely the most viable way forward!
The issue of Loss and Damage is also making progress with the help of AOSIS. We are down to two options for setting up an international mechanism to provide rick reduction support, and insurance facility and a compensation fund. The USA wants us to use existing bodies in the UNFCCC to look at loss and damage (which means loss and damage will only be one agenda item in their work), but Vanuatu and AOSIS propose having a separate body to consider this issue. Most countries are fully behind our proposal, and so fingers crossed the US will back down. We’ve also convinced the USA that we need a clear workplan on loss and damage for 2013. Stand out of the way, AOSIS is coming through!
Vanuatu and AOSIS have been pushing consistently to get a proper scientific review done on the 2 degree target of the UNFCCC; we think 2 degrees is too much, and we know that science thinks so too. With our insistence, more and more countries as saying that we need a comprehensive review that is scientifically sound and well outside the political sphere of the UN. It looks like by 2014 we have a robust review in process.
A new UN initiative was showcased called Lighthouse Momentum for Change which highlights projects and programs around the globe on climate action. Next year Vanuatu should submit a nomination!