26 October 2015, Carbon Brief, Old battlelines resurface as countries meet for last time ahead of Paris climate summit. Countries have completed the last round of negotiations before a landmark meeting in Paris in December, where they have agreed to sign a new UN agreement on climate change. Despite the urgency, the week produced little consensus, with issues such as finance proving fractious till the end. Nonetheless, parties produced a new draft text, which will form the basis of the final negotiations in Paris. The document does little to narrow down the options for the final deal, but crystallizes the key debates that negotiators and ministers will attempt to resolve in just over a month’s time. Christiana Figueres, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC, told the Chatham House climate conference in London today that the new text was “now party owned” and, as a result, was “not biased, but balanced”. Read More here
Monthly Archives: October 2015
26 October 2015, Renew Economy, Paris climate talks: Now it’s up to Turnbull to save the planet. The last official round of negotiations before the Paris climate change talks have broken up in Bonn, with some progress made but a global climate deal still needing fresh impetus from political leaders to put the world on a course to rapidly decarbonise the global economy. In Bonn, after a week of talks, a 20-page text was expanded to 63 pages, and will need to be cut back. But at least there appears to be agreement on what needs to be resolved. The principal blockages remain around the scale of ambition, and on issues such as finance and the concept of “loss and damage”. The UN has what it says is a “manageable” text and a good “starting point” for negotiations. The text, say observers, has been expanded as each country or bloc inserts their own “bargaining” chip. They say it is now time for the leaders to step in. Which is why the success or failure of the Paris talks will depend on the likes of Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, the newly elected Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, and of course the major players in the world economy – US president Barack Obama, China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Rajendrah Modi, and the European Union. Over the next few weeks a series of meetings will be held to try to resolve some of those issues. A pre-Paris ministerial meeting will take place in the French capital from November 8-10, which will be attended by environment minister Greg Hunt. Read More here
26 October 2015, Climate Institute, Over the weekend the last round of negotiations on the Paris climate change agreements concluded. The current draft agreement and supporting decisions is available here. Beyond the drama and theatrics of the Bonn meeting, countries left with draft agreements that can form the basis of a credible outcome in Paris. Embedded in the draft are the core elements of an outcome in Paris that reinforce the signal to business that the era of unabated fossil fuel use is at an end. However, progress on the substance of the agreements was mixed and clear political direction from ministers to officials is needed to pick up the pace in the final sprint to Paris. Brinkmanship and negotiation tactics will not deliver in Paris, but political leadership can. This highlights the importance of upcoming political meetings between leaders at the G20, APEC and CHOGM, and the pre-COP ministerial meeting in early November. On the specifics of the current draft, against The Climate Institute’s benchmarks for success in Paris: Read More here
26 October 2015, Yale Connection. The New Climate Economy. A global study finds that climate action and economic growth can go hand in hand. ll the costs of limiting climate change harm or help the economy? One group analyzed research from around the world to assess if we can have prosperity and a healthy planet. MOUNTFORD: “The main finding is very clear. It’s come out that across all of this analysis – different countries – we can get growth and climate action together.” That’s Helen Mountford, Program Director for “The New Climate Economy” – a project of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate – a collaboration between researchers, nonprofits, and political and business leaders. As part of the project, the commission developed ten recommendations for how to stimulate the economy while reducing emissions enough within the next 15 years to prevent catastrophic climate change. The plan calls for investing at least a trillion dollars a year in renewable energy, putting a price on carbon, and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. MOUNTFORD: “The action plan emphasizes the importance of halting deforestation by 2030, and starting to restore some of the degraded lands worldwide.” Other recommendations include investing in energy-efficient buildings, waste management systems, and public transportation to make cities more resilient. They’re all strategies to achieve economic prosperity while protecting the climate. Read More here