BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - African civil society groups at the ongoing Bonn climate talks have called on parties (countries) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to kick out the delegation from United States and their allies from the climate negotiations.
The non-state actors under the umbrella of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) made this known at a press conference on the second day of negotiations at the conference.
The civil society groups from Africa constitute one of the largest block of observers at the UN conference
The activists questioned the rationale and the morality behind the continuous participation of the US delegation in negotiating the ‘operating system’ of a climate accord in which the country defiantly walked away from.
They urged the COP leadership under the presidency of Fiji to lead the US delegation to the door and show them the way out. The act should be extended to all silent allies of the US at the negotiations. " Inaction or silence by any party is equal to being alliance with Trump," the groups say.
“The actions of President Donald Trump do not reflect good faith and the spirit of cooperation in international climate change dialogue processes,” Mithika Mwenda, PACJA’s Secretary General said.
“We thus call for the US delegation to vacate its seat at the negotiations as their continued presence may catalyse climate inaction amongst nations,” Mwenda added.
In December 2015, 196 countries including the United States agreed to keep global temperatures well below the 2c level above pre-industrial times and endeavour to limit them even more to 1.5c.
Contained in what later became known as the Paris Agreement, countries further agreed to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity, and enable rich countries to help the poorer nations by providing climate finance to adapt to climate chance and switch to renewable energy.
In June 2017, Trump announced that the United States would begin a three-year process of withdrawal. He said then that he could revisit the decision if the United States could renegotiate terms he sees as unfair.
According to the rules governing the Agreement, the US cannot exit until 2020.
Being the first major meeting after the decision to pull out, delegates at the COP 23 are expectedly divided over what to do with the 48-man US delegation.
While Nazhat Shameem Khan, Fiji’s chief negotiator likened US delegation’s participation to the possibility of “dialoguing [even] with somebody who is an axe murderer,” others are scared of White House plans to promote fossil fuels and nuclear power as solutions to climate change at the conference.
White house officials have been billed to participate in an event that will highlight the role of coal and other fuels in curbing the impacts of rising temperatures.
PACJA’s Nisreen Elsaim who spoke on behalf of African youths believes that the US delegation actually came to play the obstructionist role in the negotiations.
Rev. Tolbert Jallah of the Faith and Justice Network warned that the US action may gradually evolve into a coalition of obstructionists “who will ultimately undermine global partnership against climate change.”
BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - Fiji’s Prime Minister and incoming COP President, Frank Bainimarama has called for an all inclusive approach in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
In his opening address that outlined Fiji’s vision for COP23 November 6, 2017 Fiji President called for an all inclusive blue print that focuses on maintaining the momentum for the implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, emphasizing on the need to accelerates climate action for all vulnerable societies like Fiji’ a Small Island Developing State in the Pacific and Africa that are suffering most from the effects of climate change.
“To build greater resilience for all vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events and rising sea level, we need an all inclusive approach," said the Prime Minister, also President for COP23.
He acknowledged the important leadership roles of past COP Presidencies in laying the foundation for a robust COP23, noting that it was time for the different stakeholders to work in synergy for the success of Fiji’s new vision for COP23 and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
“Addressing the urgent and immediate needs of the most vulnerable countries must continues to be the priority for all stakeholders,” he appealed.
There is urgent need to build international efforts towards strengthening the resilience of developing countries to climate change, channeling support mainly through avenues like the Least Developed Countries and the Special Climate Fund, Frank Bainimarama noted.
His position was corroborated by the chair of the African group of negotiators Seyni Nafo who emphasized on the need for least developed countries to get the much needed support to stand the climate challenge. He called on African leaders to make informed choices that reflects the needs of the people and grassroots communities that suffers most the impact of climate change.
“African leaders have the obligation to make informed choices and to take decisions that by and large reflects the need of their people, especially the grassroots communities,” Seyni noted.
Outlining the COP23 Presidency vision, he said it will advance the work of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and preserve the multilateral consensus for decisive action to address the underlying causes of climate change, respecting climate science.
It will also uphold and advance the Paris Agreement, ensure progress on the implementation guidelines and undertake consultations together with the Moroccan COP22 Presidency to design the process for the Facilitative Dialogue in 2018.
The building of greater resilience for all vulnerable nations, enable access to climate adaptation finance, renewable energy, clean water and affordable climate risk and disaster insurance; and to promote sustainable agriculture as well as forge a grand coalition to accelerate climate action before 2020 and beyond between civil society, the scientific community, the private sector and all levels of government, including cities and regions.
“We are all vulnerable and we all need to act,” he emphasised.
All have to act together to harness innovation, enterprise and investment to fast track the development and deployment of climate solutions that will build future economies with net zero greenhouse gas emissions, in an effort to limit the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, he said.
The Prime Minister said that his role as COP president was to be impartial and act in the collective interests of all nations, reason why an all inclusive perspective to the negotiations and implementation of the Paris Agreement was imperative.
“We who are most vulnerable must be heard, whether we come from the Pacific or other Small Island Developing States, Africa, other low lying nations and states or threatened cities in the developed world like Miami, New York, Venice or Rotterdam. Together we must speak out for the whole world - every global citizen - because no-one, no matter who they are or where they live, will ultimately escape the impact of climate change,” the COP23 President said.
. According to UNFCCC, the COP23 meeting aims to launch nations towards the next level of ambition needed to tackle global warming and put the world on a safer and more prosperous development path.
The Bonn Conference, says UNFCCC, will also further fuel momentum among cities, states, regions, territories, business and civil society in support of national climate action plans, the internationally-agreed temperature goal and the wider objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In a year where extreme weather events have devastated the lives of millions of people around the world, Fiji holding the COP23 Presidency is a reminder of the risks facing some of the countries most vulnerable to climate change: least developed countries (LDCs) and small Island Developing states,UNFCCC stated.
UNFCCC hailed the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Fund.
Expecting to deliver benefits to 25 million people through past and current projects, the two funds support some of the most impactful adaptation projects in the developing world. A new brochure prepared for the Bonn COP23 meeting highlights how these funds are helping to lower disaster risk by enhancing the climate resilience of critical infrastructure and piloting innovative risk transfer mechanisms. In 2017 alone, the GEF Council approved $140 million in grant resources from the LDCF for projects in 19 of the poorest countries in the world, the brochure stated.
At the opening of COP23, the German Government announced a €100 million support fund to developing countries for climate adaptation. The Federal Environment Ministry pledged €50 million euros to the Adaptation Fund, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is contributing €50 million euros to the LDCF.
BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - African civil society groups attending the 23rd session of the conference of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have called for a swift classification of the global community along the lines of those for the people and planet and those who are for Trump and profit.
The call was made against the backdrop of of destructive hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts, melting ice and food security-threatening impacts that preceded today’s opening of the UN climate talks.
According to the civil society groups under the aegis of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) which represents small holder farmers, trusts, pastoralists, women and youth from across Africa, the global community has increasingly become more vulnerable to the devastating impacts of climate change due to President Trump’s ill-advised attempts at reversing his predecessor’s climate legacies and the cold, conspiratorial silence of those who choose profit over the planet.
“Coming from the region that suffers the most due to climate change, we have watched with utter dismay President Trump’s continued efforts at dismantling the former President Barrack Obama’s climate legacy, and wish to reiterate that this is the time to classify the global community into two: those for the people and planet, and those for Trump and Profit” says Mithika Mwenda, the alliance’s Secretary General.
Augustine Njamshi, executive director of the Bio-Resource and Development Centre in Cameroon takes it further. Njamshi wants a declaration that equates climate inaction by any party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to being in alliance with Donald Trump.
“Unless we see accelerated action on the implementation of the Paris Agreement pursuant to Marrakech Action Plan by industrialised countries, we will declare them silent allies of Trump and enemies of the people and planet, irrespective of the empty rhetoric they bring to the climate talks” Njamshi added.
Identifying with call by non-state actors from Africa, newly elected COP23 President, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama whose country suffered damages of well over $1bn after Cyclone Winston struck in 2016 said “all over the world, vast numbers of people are suffering – bewildered by the forces ranged against them. Our job as leaders is to respond to the suffering with all means available to us,” said. “This means to meet our commitments in full, not back away from them.”
Mr Bainimarama during his acceptance speech at the opening ceremony said that Fiji is working to build a “Grand Coalition” throughout the year between governments at every level, civil society, the private sector and faith-based organizations.
With only war-torn Syria keeping the United States company in the cold coven of countries outside the Paris deal, the US appears set on its path to isolation in climate talks. A small company of diplomats representing the United States will find themselves in an extremely awkward spot: negotiating a deal their president has already walked away from.
“The mood on the ground is it is going to be OK: the US is not going to be a pain in the arse. They still don’t know what they actually want” says a COP veteran. when asked about dealing with the US, Nazhat Shameem Khan, Fiji’s chief negotiator said “You can have a dialogue even with somebody who is an axe murderer.”
BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - President Trump’s decision to pull the United States from the Paris climate agreement has been met with strong criticism from African civil society sounding a knell against countries or parties that follow in his footsteps.
African civil society under the leadership of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, PACJA have called on countries “to make the ultimate choice either in support of people and planet or Donald Trump and profit”.
In a report, “CSO Demands to COP23” ,the civil society organizations stated unequivocally that the time of action in support of people and planet is now and not later. It cautioned that silence or inaction by any party(country) will be synonymous to backing Donald Trump’s pull out decision.
“Inaction by any party is equivalent to alliance with Donald Trump” the report stated.
They describe the pullout decision by Trump as an affront and travesty to climate justice, health of the planet and a threat to humanity in general and Africa in particular.
The report noted that Africa is feeling the pinch of climate change most with alarm bells ringing already on a number of issues, which are the cause of great concern among the African civil society and African people in general;
The failure to close the finance gap, the inadequate current pledges to stay below 2°C; the delay in addressing ‘orphan issues’ under the Paris Agreement namely, common timeframes for NDCs, adjustment of existing NDCs, the response measures forum, recognition of developing countries’ adaptation efforts, guidance related to finance, setting a new collective goal on finance, developed countries’ biennial finance communications, and education, training and awareness; the slow pace and ambiguity in sequencing of work on the Paris Agreement Rule Book thus creating roadblocks in advancing the its formulation, among others,were short falls raised in the report.
The report hailed Fiji’s Presidency of COP23 which they said should be seen as symbolic, coming at a time island states have suffered enormously due to climate-related hurricanes and tornadoes.
The report also called on delegates to fulfill demands: pursuant to Article 2 of the Paris Agreement with pledges to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, all parties to practically commit beyond their current level of emission target in their NDCs to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century and resubmit.
It should be noted that President Trump’s withdrawal has galvanized criticism even from US citizens and companies as well as the International community.
Like African civil society, several of the largest U.S. companies — such as Apple, Exxon Mobile and Ford Motor Company have also pledged to either stick to the climate accord or continue cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades in clear departure from Trump’s position.
However African civil society organizations are still calling on those sitting on the fence to come out publicly and declare their position. “We believe that Trump has silent allies who may not be candid enough to come out and publicly denounce globally agreed pact which offers hope for the people,” the report said.
According to PACJA's Secretary General, Mithika Mwenda, the report is in line with the action plan of African civil society to drive national governments to action. “Civil society has an important role to play in ongoing climate talks, working in tandem to push national governments to action,” he said.
“Leaders have the liberty to make their own decisions but civil society represents the voice of the grass root communities and this is very important,” Mithika said.
The African position paper by the African civil society also wants development of mitigation mechanism to consider lessons and experience from the Joint Implementation mechanism and Clean Development mechanism.
“This should be backed by a centralized governance system of the mechanism for easy coordination, accountability and transparency” the report says.
It also demands that adaptation be crucial to protecting and promoting development gains, particularly in Africa and for support to be expedited to the least developed countries and other developing country Parties for the formulation of national adaptation plans.
