Summary of the ADP Co-Chairs special event ADP 2, part 1 Bonn, Germany, 2 May 2013

Transcription

1 Summary of the ADP Co-Chairs special event ADP 2, part 1 Bonn, Germany, 2 May 2013 Note by the Co-Chairs 21 May 2013 I. Introduction 1. Building on the successful experience of the special event held in Doha, Qatar, on 1 December 2012 in conjunction with the second part of the first session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP), the Co-Chairs of the ADP convened another special event with observers at the first part of the second session of the ADP on 2 May 2013 at the World Conference Center Bonn, in Bonn, Germany. The purpose of the event was to provide observers with an opportunity to present and exchange views contributing to the substantive discussions under the ADP. The discussions covered both workstreams under consideration by the ADP. 1 Observers were invited to respond to the points raised in the expert presentations and during the subsequent panel discussions and open exchanges at the workshops and round tables. 2. The Co-Chairs opened the meeting, explained the approach to the discussion and gave the floor to the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Ms. Christiana Figueres, for her opening remarks. The Executive Secretary thanked the Co-Chairs for establishing the practice of special events. She highlighted that in 2013 the Co-Chairs will be able to listen to and absorb much of what observers have to say, and encouraged observers to grasp that opportunity. She also encouraged participants to be as concrete as possible in expressing their views and suggestions. 3. The Co-Chairs then invited the participants to present their views on: (a) The central elements and key design aspects for an ambitious, fair, durable and effective 2015 agreement that mobilizes national action; (b) How to catalyse action and build a practical, results-based approach to increasing pre-2020 ambition. 4. Virtual participation was provided during the meeting. Participants outside the conference venue were able to watch the event via a webcast and provide reactions, views or questions as inputs to the discussion via Twitter. Towards the end of the discussion, the secretariat summarized the inputs received. 1 During its first session, the ADP initiated two workstreams, one addressing matters related to paragraphs 2 6 of decision 1/CP.17 (workstream 1 on the 2015 agreement) and another addressing matters related to paragraphs 7 8 of that same decision (workstream 2 on pre-2020 ambition). See FCCC/ADP/2012/2 and FCCC/ADP/2012/3 (paras. 7, and 30 33). 1 of 5

2 II. Discussion 5. In terms of the actions and commitments in the 2015 agreement, a number of participants called for the establishment of a carbon budget for the target of holding the global average temperature rise below 1.5 C; for defining global goals consistent with that carbon budget; and for the definition of commitments on the basis of historical responsibility or cumulative per capita historical emissions. In this context, some participants highlighted equity, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities, and the right to sustainable development as key guiding principles. Some participants criticized the performance of the bottom-up system and argued that self-determined targets are not sufficient. A number of participants called for stronger commitments from developed countries, with one participant emphasizing that this would create a virtuous circle of ambition. One participant suggested developing a hybrid system to merge elements of bottom-up and topdown systems. 6. One participant called for national targets for mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation, and proposed an overall framework for ambition, accountability and equity. In this context, some participants suggested the establishment of a process to develop and operationalize an equity reference framework, in order to define targets in an equitable and effective manner. Such a framework would evaluate the adequacy of Parties pledges/commitments towards equity and towards the target of maintaining the global temperature rise below 1.5 C. One participant described a pathway for preparing such a framework with the aim of operationalizing it by the twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and highlighted the need for strong political guidance from national leaders to develop and operationalize the framework. 7. In terms of finance, technology, and capacity-building support, one participant lamented the lack of available support and criticized the current regional distribution of support, stating that most funds are distributed to large economies. The importance of ensuring sufficient public funds for adaptation was also highlighted. 8. In terms of the substantive scope of the 2015 agreement, a number of participants suggested that the agreement should include the following elements: mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity-building, as well as other elements defined by decision 1/CP In terms of general aims and approaches, one participant called for new ways to cooperate and expressed the view that the 2015 agreement should encourage long-term investment, technology transfer and project financing. In this context, one participant suggested that the involvement of other ministries, such as finance and industry, as well as experts from governmental and non-governmental organizations in the negotiations would be beneficial. 10. A number of participants emphasized that the 2015 agreement should ensure a level playing field for business in all countries and sectors. 11. One participant drew attention to the changing circumstances of both developed and developing countries and emphasized the need to ensure access to energy and infrastructure, a globally consistent carbon price, as well as a smooth transition to low-carbon economies, while avoiding the risks of locking in a high-carbon infrastructure in the absence of robust mitigation. He also stressed that adaptation should not compete with mitigation, but should instead be an integral aspect of all mitigation projects. Another participant called for changes in energy infrastructures and emphasized the importance of building on the existing architecture while 2 of 5

3 maintaining what has worked well. He also highlighted the importance of ensuring that efforts remained streamlined in order to ensure successful ministerial work. 12. In terms of the role of different constituencies in the 2015 agreement, one participant called for a move away from considering countries as black boxes towards considering disparities in equity within countries, the power relationships that reproduce such disparities, and the social roles that follow from those relationships. In this context, it was proposed that gender-responsive policies should consider the root causes of inequality, which are often the same for both gender and environmental problems. One participant called for measures to support projects that empower women. 13. One participant pointed out that the principle of intergenerational equity was missing from the discussion, and proposed an arbiter body to review commitments against the principle of intergenerational equity. Such a body should arbitrate between Parties, non-state participants and other organizations. 14. A number of participants suggested drawing on the potential of citizens; one participant gave the example of Germany, where citizens own 40 per cent of renewable energy installations. Another participant called for a more citizen-oriented climate agreement that promotes prosperity and social justice. In order to incorporate trade union concerns, she proposed including inputs from an on-going International Labour Organization discussion among labour ministries in the UNFCCC process. 15. One participant highlighted the role of local governments in climate action and made a number of concrete proposals to better integrate local governments in the UNFCCC process, including through roundtables with mayors and ministers, through a 10-year action plan for local governments and through stronger links to the outcomes of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. 16. One participant highlighted the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples, who face significant difficulties in being integrated within existing social categories. The 2015 agreement must integrate a human rights based approach that fully recognizes the status and inherent rights of indigenous peoples (e.g. in terms of land ownership). 17. One participant emphasized the role of natural and social sciences, traditional knowledge, and outreach and education in creating a strong scientific basis for climate actions and in improving public awareness. 18. In terms of the relationship of the 2015 agreement with other arrangements, one participant proposed that there should be a discussion about the contributions that other regimes (e.g. the Montreal Protocol) can make to the work of the ADP. 19. In terms of ways to increase ambition, one participant highlighted that the review of targets under the Kyoto Protocol will only work if there is progress among Parties that have no targets under the Kyoto Protocol. In this context, there was a call to establish a ministerial process to increase the targets for developed countries. 20. Participants were also interested in exploring the role of specific areas in increasing pre ambition. Proposals included: (a) Obtaining stronger pledges from developed countries in 2013 at the nineteenth session of the COP; (b) International cooperative initiatives; 3 of 5

4 (c) Assessing the links between phasing out fossil-fuel subsidies and sustainable development (e.g. though a workshop); (d) subsidies; Financial contributions from developed countries for the reduction of fossil-fuel (e) Regulating hydrofluorocarbons (e.g. through an invitation by the COP to the Montreal Protocol); (f) Considering bunker fuels under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (e.g. through an ICAO decision on carbon pricing in international aviation); (g) (h) (i) (j) (k) Banning new dirty energy projects; Drawing on mitigation and adaptation opportunities in the agriculture sector; Improving the integration of local governments in the UNFCCC process; Simplifying the clean development mechanism; Identifying the technology requirements of different sectors. 21. One participant opposed any discussion on nuclear energy under the UNFCCC. 22. Participants also drew attention to successful mitigation efforts. One participant highlighted the usefulness of proactive industry-led initiatives, such as self-determined contributions with peer reviews, energy-efficiency and conservation measures (e.g. an energy performance partnership), action plans and, in the case of Japan, the Japanese bilateral offset mechanism. One participant highlighted concrete initiatives to reduce tariffs on environmental goods and services. Projects for solar collectors were identified as a way of reducing emissions and empowering women. III. Virtual participation 23. Many comments and recommendations were received via Twitter, including: (a) The need for economy-wide caps, targets for all, mandatory renewables targets, and deforestation targets; (b) The need to ensure that the review of Kyoto Protocol targets delivers ambition; (c) The view that fossil-fuel subsidies are a low-hanging fruit ; (d) The opinion that a spectrum of commitments does not ensure ambition; (e) The need for ambition, equity, compliance and finance; (f) The need to ensure that the Adaptation Fund is provided sufficient resources; (g) The need to ensure that the process prepares for a world in 2100; (h) The need to specify and enhance the role of local governments; (i) The importance of addressing loss and damage. 4 of 5

5 IV. Conclusion 24. At the end of the meeting, the Co-Chairs thanked the participants for sharing their useful ideas and announced their intention to hold another meeting for observers in conjunction with the second part of the second session of the ADP to be held in Bonn, Germany, in June The Co-Chairs also invited participants to consider how non-state actors could further contribute to collective action on climate change, announced their intention to take up that question at the next meeting and encouraged Parties to come prepared with ideas for the next session of the ADP in June The Co-Chairs also encouraged participants to make further submissions, upon which future efforts of the ADP can be built. 5 of 5