Become a climate hero. A Comic Book Explains the Green Climate Fund
"We have transcended the era of mitigation and adaptation – this is now the new era of loss and damage. To rectify and redress the situation, developed countries have an urgent legal and moral obligation to undertake urgent and dramatic mitigation action." from Tackling the Limits to Adaptation
Some 40 international NGOs and environmental organizations this morning signed on to "Open Letter to Ministers attending COP 18 on a new framework to address climate change Loss and Damage,"calling for "urgent action to tackle loss and damage, starting with
dramatically up-scaled commitments on mitigation and adaptation at COP 18
in Doha."
The letter is in response to the 'hot potato' tossed into the COP process by recommendations outlined in the recently released joint CARE, ActionAid and WWF report Tackling the Limits to Adaptation, which is urging immediate action by the UNFCCC to address "rehabilitation' of those nations most severely impacted by climate change.
The buzz from Doha is that both the US and the EU are none too happy with the latest 'wrinkle' in the negotiations, as the report's influence gains momentum in its call for those nations historically responsible for the contributing the most significant levels of GHGs be held accountable through a new international mechanism to calculate and assign retributions for loss and damages.
In an AP interview early this morning, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon added fresh kindling to the fire in a comment claiming it is "only fair and reasonable that the developed world should bear most of the responsibility" in addressing global climate change.
"The climate change phenomenon has been caused by the industrialization of the developed world," Ban told reporters. "It's only fair and reasonable that the developed world should bear most of the responsibility."
The US and the EU contend that guidelines of the twenty-year-old UNFCCC framework no longer reflect the realities of today's world, as emerging economies of several developing countries currently contribute significantly more GHGs than older developed economies, with China now emitting more carbon than the US.
Discussions on the need for a new international mechanism to deal with loss and damages continued into the early morning hours Tuesday, with Bangladesh announcing plans to release a potential "broad framework" Wednesday morning on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). One of the possibilities under consideration is establishing global insurance to manage climate change risk.
The emergence of 'rehabilitation' as a key point for negotation is referenced in a Guardian article, Climate change compensation emerges as major issue at Doha talks which points to a paragraph from the 2010 COP16 in Cancún in which all signatories agreed "to reduce loss and damage associated with climate change."
... In legal terms, that potentially opens the door to compensation – or, as the negotiators in Doha say, "rehabilitation".
... "loss and damage" has become a "red line" for more than 100 developing countries, led by the Alliance of Small Island States, the Least Developed Countries block and the African Group of Nations.
A Bangladeshi negotiator for the LDCs noted that work was continuing on a draft text on loss and damage on Tuesday which would be ready to present to ministers on Wednesday. There could be agreement on a "broad framework" for an international mechanism to deal with loss and damage, which would at least allow work to begin on crafting something, he said.
"Negotiators from certain countries...want the issue removed from the Doha decision text. So there is still a lot of fight to be had just to keep it in," Saleemul Huq, director of the Bangladesh-based International Centre for Climate Change and Development, told reporters at the Doha talks, which are due to wind up on Friday. (source)
Climate Change to become a reality in the US???
Meanwhile, back in the USofA, The Hill reported yesterday that Senate Dems, led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-R.I.) next week plan to introduce an amendment to the defense authorization bill requiring the national security issues mandate the necessity to “assess, plan for, and mitigate the security and strategic implications of climate change.”
And Inside Climate News discusses transforming the energy network in A Smart Grid Primer: Complex and Costly, but Vital to a Warming World
More from Doha
Agriculture and Climate Change
Impending food crisis not incentive enough for climate negotiators
With the world's population increasing by 230,000 daily, the 2012 failure of food production to meet demands coupled with increasing food prices, attendees at a CGIAR forum on agriculture expressed dismay that the UNFCCC is not adequately addressing the vital role sustainable agriculture plays in international negotiations on climate change.
From the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007, Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Executive Summary:
Projected changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climate events have significant consequences for food and forestry production, and food insecurity, in addition to impacts of projected mean climate (high confidence).
Recent studies indicate that climate change scenarios that include increased frequency of heat stress, droughts and flooding events reduce crop yields and livestock productivity beyond the impacts due to changes in mean variables alone, creating the possibility for surprises [5.4.1, 5.4.2]. Climate variability and change also modify the risks of fires, and pest and pathogen outbreaks, with negative consequences for food, fibre and forestry (FFF) (high confidence) [5.4.1 to 5.4.5].
Africa: Declaration on Gender, Climate Change Adopted
Pretoria — The Network of Women Ministers and Leaders in Environment (NWMLE) has adopted a Declaration on Gender and Climate Change that will be presented during COP18 in Doha, Qatar.
The NWMLE is co-chaired by South Africa's Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, and Sweden's Minister of Environment, Lena Ek.
The NWMLE, which was formed in Helsinki, Finland, in 2002 has a mandate to ensure that women are empowered in order for them to actively participate in environmental management, opportunities for economic growth, eradication of poverty and job creation.
Notes from Doha: Thom Athanasiou (EcoEquity) ponders 2 possible outcomes:
Scenario One:
· This will not be the deal we want for ambition on both mitigation and finance, but it will lead to a 2CP, closure on LCA with some form of process on ambition and finance. This will keep ‘momentum’ of the process on track, but certainly not address the ambition gap.
Scenario Two:
· Collapse. No closure of the LCA or ‘shit fight’ on the KP about eligibility/AAU’s (you name it!). This would totally stall the process and the package in Doha.
Daily Kos members Heather Libby and Josh Wiese (GCCA's tcktcktck team) report on status of COP18 from Doha, Qatar.
5:55 AM PT: there will be updates throughout the day .. follow hashtag #COP18 on twitter. the next few hours should be the most active.