Impacts include severe flooding, as the Caribbean island nation Dominica experienced in 2011. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS.The Green Climate Fund is expected to channel some 100 billion dollars a year to help developing countries counter and adapt to climate change.

WASHINGTON, Mar 12 2013 (IPS) - As the new board of the United Nations Green Climate Fund meets in Berlin this week, activist and watchdog groups here and around the world are expressing frustration over proposed rules they say are already significantly limiting civil society participation in the new initiative.

Doha, December 6, 2012

COP to be sidelined by High-Level Forum in 2014?

As COP18 slowly draws to a close, much doubt remains as to whether agreement on immediate and meaningful measures to tackle climate change will be reached. This impression has been hardened by unconfirmed reports that UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said on Wednesday that he may convene a High-Level Forum on Climate Change in 2014. Such a forum could engage urgent issues at the highest political level, likely to be heads of state. While welcomed by major developed countries, this would take the momentum away from the COP process with ministers reluctant to make commitments in advance of 2014, and instead shift it to an arena in which developing countries are weaker as a negotiating bloc.

Doha, December 3, 2012

Studies confirm that loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change can no longer be avoided throughmitigation or adaptation. Multiple approaches should be undertaken, with some approaches having synergies with adaptation efforts, but with others requiring taking action through new arrangements and stand-alone approaches, which could be referred to as ‘beyond adaptation’ measures.

Following a proposal by the Alliance of SmallIsland States (AOSIS) in 2008, loss and damage was included on the agenda of the UNFCCC negotiations. The COP 16 in Cancun decided to establish a Work Program to address issues related to loss and damage in developing countries in a more comprehensive and actionable manner, with a mandate for the Subsidiary Body of Implementation (SBI) to do this. The draft decision adopted by COP 17 takesinto account the following thematic areas to enhance understanding of and expertise on loss and damage: (1) assessing the risk of loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change and current knowledge; (2) a range of approaches to address this, including impacts related to extreme weather events and slow onset events; and (c) the role of the Convention inenhancing the implementation of approaches to address loss and damage.

Doha, December 1, 2012

As the first week of the 18th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP18) draws to a close, fault lines between developed and developing countries are becoming clearer. Developing countries are continuing to adhere to demands that developed countries demonstrate commitment to tackling climate change through increased levels of ambition in emission reduction targets, equity in both reduction targets and through providing finance, and binding commitments onboth issues. Developed countries are largely opposing these demands – there remain huge gaps in commitments to emissions reductions in line with scientific evidence, and a clear lack of will to make firm commitments to climate finance and technology transfer.

Doha, Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the principal multilateral financial mechanism todeal with climate change, is foreseen to be the subject of yet more intensedebates at the 18th Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

A Report of the Green Climate Fund and guidance to the GCF has been prepared by the co-chairs have been culled from different submissions from the UmbrellaGroup (Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the US), European Union, Philippines, United States and the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC is a platform for like minded developing countries to exchange views and coordinate positions on the climate negotiations with the view to contributing to achieving the combined goals of environmental sustainability, social and economic development, and equity).

Doha, Friday, November 30, 2012

US Chides NGOs, Outlines Its Positions Not Based on Need

The US chief negotiator at COP 18 issued a strong rebuke to NGOs in an off-the-record meeting, which has now been published in Indian media.

Jonathan Pershing told NGOs they should recognize that the US makes it possible for them to be present at COP 18. And while many parties and NGOs at COP18 are calling for agreements based on science, Pershing said that US positions are not based on the reality of “what is needed”. He went on to rubbish the concept of sharing atmospheric space, underlining that US positions are based on what can be sold to the US Congress.

"We are one of the funders to make it possible for you to be at the table,” Pershing told NGOs present in the meeting. “I hope you recognize that many of you who come to the meetings you do, the US fights for you at every chance to give you a chance to be in this room."

In what could be considered an arrogant aside, Pershing noted that not all Parties agree with the US: "What we also think is the participation of a lot of countries out there includes the ones that disagree with us."

Doha, Friday, November 30, 2012

The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) chair circulated a draft text on the SBI agenda item on “loss and damage”(from climate change) for further discussion and negotiation by country Parties. In the contact group negotiation country Parties agreed to continue their work on the text while they expressed their concern on few specific paragraphs.

The G77/China group expressed its reservations on paragraph 7, which requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), under the Nairobi work program on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, consider activities aimed at enhancing a relevant knowledge base and information base on the technicalities of loss and damage. It believes that if loss and damage are put under SBSTA then its sprit of implementation under the mandate of SBI will be weakened.

Doha, Thursday, November 29, 2012

Four main items were discussed at today’s meeting of the Contact Group on Finance, i.e. general statements on the report on the workprogramme on Long Term Finance, the report of the Standing Committee, report on the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and initial guidelines; and on the arrangements between the Conference of Parties and the GCF.

Several Parties made brief remarks on procedural matters, particularly reiterating the need for the meetings to be transparent and open to observers, and clarifying that equal attention to the four agenda items does not necessarily mean equal allocation in time devoted to discussing these. The Chair reminded Parties that it has been decided that the first and last contact group meetings would be open as they need to produce agreed elements under finance by December 6th.

As regards the co-chairs’ report on the work programme on Long Term Finance, it was important to press ahead with concrete actions atpolitical (covering scale and mobilization of climate finance) and technical levels (financing the GCF and the enhancement of enabling environments).

Climate, Number 1

Doha, Thursday, November 29, 2012

The 18th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened this week in Qatar. More pressure than ever before rests on this COP process ending with a meaningful outcome characterized by developed country ambition in achieving emissions reductions, equity between developed and developing countries in emission reductions and climate financing, and legally-bindingcommitments on all of these.

The weeks leading up to the conference have underscored the stark situation faced by the world - in particular the poor and marginalized of the Global South - without immediate and concerted efforts to tackle climate change. The World Bank has warned of a 4C temperature rise by 2100, and projected a 3C rise if current pledges are adhered to; the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warned that without swift action we are on track to exceed by some 32 percent the level of carbon emissions needed to ensure reductions in emissions can take place at a “manageable cost” in 2020; the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that two-thirds of known fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground to avoid a 2C temperature rise by 2100.

(Bangkok, Sept. 4) – More ambiguity than clarity, and yet the picture is becoming clearer than ever. After several sessions of the contact group on finance under the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA), it is becoming clearer that developed countries are exerting such tremendous effort in making surethat no substantive discussion and decision regarding the future of climatechange financing would be reached in Bangkok, and perhaps not even at the COP 18 in Doha this end-November.  And this certainly does not bode well for communities especially in the developing countries who are already experiencing the impacts of climate change – of people who desperately are in need of resources to enable them to survive the impacts of floods, droughts and other effects of climate change.

At this morning’s discussion of the AWG-LCA contact group on finance, the Chair Mr. Aysar Tayeb, tried to focus the discussions on the issue of the arrangement between the Conference of Parties (COP) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). It may be remembered that the GCF was established at the COP 16 in Cancun and is envisioned to be the principal form of the climate financial mechanism, and not simplyjust one among the many climate funds in operation. But it has yet to take off the ground, having been saddled by issues around sources of funds,legal mandate, and many other issues.

(Bangkok, September 2) – With only 3 more days left at the Bangkok informal additional sessions, there are a number of outstanding issues where developed and developing country negotiators appear to be reading the same book, but one that has different versions and editions. And if these differences weren’t enough, they are not all on the same page, to say the least.

Take for instance the Open-ended informal consultation by H.E. Mr. Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, the President Designate of COP 18/CMP 8 on the expectations of Parties and observers for the Doha Climate Conference set to be held in end-November in Qatar.

Mr. Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah started the consultation by saying that we are close to concluding an important milestone on the road to Doha. He said that the Doha outcome would want to see balanced progress on all tracks (referring to the Ad hoc Working Groups on Long term Cooperative Action (LCA), Kyoto Protocol (KP), and the Durban Platform (ADP). He recognizes that this will not be easy, and that there are important political choices to bemade. Overall, he said that there is ‘optimism and an understanding for the need for compromise to preserve the multilateral system for the future generations.’

(Bangkok, Sept. 1, 2012) – There is probably nothing more compelling and interlinked and yet increasingly pitted against each other in the ongoing climate negotiations than the twin imperatives of equity and ambition.

Equity is at the core of the UN Climate Convention, and Parties have an obligation to uphold this tenet. This means acknowledging that developed countries that have contributed the most to the climate crisis have a historical responsibility to take the lead in cutting emissions, as well as to provide finance and technology to developing countries (and their peoples) who are suffering from the impacts of climate change. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities’ (CBDR) agreed upon in 1992.

(Bangkok, August 31,2012) – ‘To kill, or not to kill’, while millions more are dying with the impacts of climate change. This seems to be the undercurrent yesterday at the Bangkok Intersessionals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

At the Contact Group meeting for finance, developed countries, particularly the Umbrella Group composed of the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and supported by the European Union, Switzerland and Mexico, raised a number of procedural questions for continuing to tackle climate finance at the Ad HocWorking Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA). Arguing that everyfinance issue has an appropriate forum where each of the different finance issues can be addressed, they put forward the view that the LCA’s work on finance should end this year, as mandated by the Durban outcomes. Having a number of meetings on finance at the LCA, to these countries, is a ‘misallocation’ of time.

IBON Climate Updates No.1

(Bangkok , August 30, 2012)– Hopes for meaningful outcomes that would lead to collective efforts by the international community to address climate change were echoed by developing countries at the opening of the international climate negotiations at the UNESCAP in Bangkok, Thailand.

Over the next week, the Bangkok Intersessionals will see intense discussions  contentious issues around the ‘Durban Platform’ which calls for a second period of commitments under the Kyoto Protocol (starting January 1,2013 and ending in December 31 2017 or 2020) for developed countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

URGENT APPEAL AGAINST OIL EXPLORATION AND DRILLING IN MANIPUR BY JUBILIANT OIL AND GAS PRIVATE LIMITED

The Government of India through its Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had granted license to Jubiliant Oil and Gas Private Limited (JOGPL), based in Netherlands for exploration and drilling works in two oil blocks in Manipur located in the Jiribam (Imphal East), Tamenglong and Churachandpur districts of Manipur, without informing and taking the consent of all indigenous peoples of Manipur. The contracts were awarded under the eighth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) of the Government of India. Earlier, without informing the people of Manipur again, the Government had undertaken series of promotions globally in 2003 and 2009 to promote the oil blocks in Manipur along with others through road-shows in major cities worldwide, London, Houston, Calgary and Perth etc, inviting bids to Oil companies.

Jiribam says no to oil exploration in Manipur
Source: The Sangai Express, 31 July 2012

Jiribam, July 30 2012:People of Jiribam today expressed stiff opposition to the proposed oil exploration in Manipur in a public hearing held here at Jiribam Town Hall. The pulic hearing, organised by Manipur Pollution Control Board (MPCB), was held in relation with Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report on Exploratory Drilling Activity At AA-ONN 2009/2 Block I and II, Manipur. AA-ONN 2009/2 is the code name of Production Sharing Contract signed between the GoI and the Netherland based Jubilant Oil and Gas Pvt Ltd (JOGPL) on July 19, 2010 in New Delhi. Addittional District Magistrate, Jiribam Y Iboyaima, who was also Chairman of the panel members was greeted by half empty chairs of the hall as the public hearing proceeded.

RESOLUTION OF THE PUBLIC DISCUSSION ORGANIZED BY COMMITTEE ON THE PROTECTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN MANIPUR AT JIRIBAM ON 29TH JULY 2012 CONCERNING THE MANIPUR POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD’S PUBLIC HEARINGS FOR OIL EXPLORATION IN MANIPUR AT JIRIBAM, PARBUNG AND NUNGBA ON 30 JULY, 8 AND 17 AUGUST 2012

The participants of the public consultation organized at Jiribam on 29th July 2012 to discuss the issues and challenges of Public Hearings on Petroleum Exploration in Manipur scheduled at Jiribam, Parbung and Nungba respectively on 30 July 2012, 7th and 17th August 2012 resolves to:

Resolution adopted at the State Level Convention on Petroleum Exploration in Manipur organized by the JAC on Protection of Hydrocarbon &Resources, All Zeliangrong Students Union, Zeliangrong Baudi, Manipur, Naga Women’s Union , North East Dialogue Forum, Lifewatch, Zomi Human Rights Foundation, Sinlung Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Organization, Action Committee Against Tipaimukh Project, Citizens Concern for Dams and Development, Tamenglong Village Authority, Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights, Human Rights Initiative at Manipur Press Club, 16 July 2012

The participants of the State Level convention on Petroleum Exploration in Manipur organized at Manipur Press Club on 16 July 2012 hereby:

The Durban Package: escape hatches, empty shells, and a death notice to equity<
IBON assessment of the Durban climate change summit

The next ten years could decide whether the world’s fight against climate change is lost or won. The Durban Package – the set of decisions agreed to in the summit – amounts to more heavy lifting for the South, less obligations for the North, and little help for the poor. Worse still, it means that the present decade will be a decade of zero progress in curbing global emissions, and one where equity as the basis of the global climate effort will have been abandoned.

13 December 2011
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Major clash of paradigms in launch of new climate talks

Geneva, 13 December (Meena Raman) – The main outcome of the two-week Durban climate change conference was the launching of a new round of negotiations known as the Durban Platform aimed at a new regime (whether a protocol or other legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and involving all countries.

For Immediate Release
10 December, 2011

Durban, S. Africa –Decisions resulting from the UN COP17 climate summit in Durban constitute a crime against humanity, according to Climate Justice Now! a broad coalition of social movements and civil society. Here in South Africa, where the world was inspired by the liberation struggle of the country’s black majority, the richest nations have cynically created a new regime of climate apartheid

Negotiations intensify on Durban final outcomes

Durban, 9 Dec (Meena Raman) – On the final day of the climate negotiations in Durban, negotiations intensify over critical issues, which include the future shape of the climate regime as well as the outcome on the Green Climate Fund.

New climate talks launched at Durban

12 December 2011
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Durban, 12 Dec (Martin Khor) – The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban ended on Sunday morning with the launch of negotiations for a new global climate deal to be completed in 2015.

Leaders outline expectations for Durban

Durban, Dec 7 (Meena Raman) – Leaders at the opening session of the joint-high level segment of the 17th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC and the 7th session of the Conference of Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (KP) outlined their expectations for the Durban outcome which took place on Tuesday, 6 December.

Deep divide over Russian proposal to amend UNFCCC Article 4.2(f)

Durban, 7 Dec (Chee Yoke Ling) – There is deep divide over the proposal from the Russian Federation to amend Article 4.2(f) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, with the majority of Parties supporting continued discussions at the 18th meeting of the COP 18 next year and the Russian Federation requesting for a vote by the Conference of Parties.

6 December 2011
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Divergent Views on Market Approaches

Durban, 5 Dec (Payal Parekh) – The Informal group on various approaches, including opportunities for using markets, to enhance the cost-effectiveness of, and to promote, mitigation actions, bearing in mind different circumstances of developed and developing countries under the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long Term Action (AWG-LCA) met on 5 December to discuss the amalgamation text of 3 December.

6 December 2011
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Reactions to "amalgamation draft texts"

Durban, 6 Dec (Meena Raman) – As Ministers from many countries land in Durban, Parties under the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWGLCA) under the UNFCCC are busy with intense negotiations to arrive at the draft decisions needed.

Second commitment period remains elusive

5 December 2011
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Durban, 5 Dec (Chee Yoke Ling and Xu Chengcheng) – At the end of the first week of the Durban climate negotiations, Parties to the Kyoto Protocol were presented with four options by the Chair of the AWG-KP with regard to the second commitment period of greenhouse gas emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol. The first commitment period will end in 2012.

2 December 2011
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Below are the statements made by China on behalf of Brazil, South Africa, India and China at the opening plenary session of the 17th meeting of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties and the 7th meeting of the COP acting as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol on 28 November 2011

DURBAN, South Africa (December 4, 2011)—UN Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights Dr. Cephas Lumina yesterday called on the world’s leaders negotiating the future of the Green Climate Fund to ensure that climate financing is indeed “new and additional” money that would help those most impacted by the changing climate to realize their fundamental human rights. Sovereignty (PCFS), Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PAN AP),  VOICE, Asia Pacific Indigenous Youth Network (APIYN), Coastal Development Partnership (CDP)

Ambassadors from the Small Island States joined the Occupy COP17 movement

“We are all one and the same”, said Ronald Jumeau, Ambassador to the UN for the Seychelles when he joined the Occupy COP17 movement on Friday.

The 17th Congress of the Parties (COP17) has been a bit of a damp squib this week on the protest front but things hotted up on Friday when a joint protest between the Rural Women's Assembly and the Democratic Left Front faced a stand off against the police.

The Global Day of Action (GDA) is a traditional and important event at UNFCCC COPs. The primary action is a mass march of international and national community, labour, women, youth, academic, religious and environmental organisations and activists. It demonstrates civil society's common determination to address climate change.

Deep disagreements as Kyoto Protocol talks begin

Durban, 30 Nov (Lim Li Lin) – The Ad hoc Working Group on further commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) opened its session in Durban on 29 November with strong calls by developing countries to adopt a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and not allow Durban to be the Kyoto Protocol’s burial ground, but instead the birthplace of the second commitment period.

SBI resumes work with full agenda

Durban, 30 Nov (Chee Yoke Ling) – Developing countries set out their expectations for the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol with least developed countries expressing frustration again at the lack of support for their needs at the opening session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) on 29 November.

G77 and China calls for fair and equal treatment of issues

Durban, 30 Nov (Meena Raman) – The Group of 77 and China called for a fair and equal treatment of issues on the agenda of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWGLCA) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

CBDR must guide work on international transport emissions, say several developing countries

29 November, Durban, (Chee Yoke Ling) – Several developing countries stressed that work undertaken at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) must be guided by the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, and cautioned against unilateral measures and revenues from market-measures as a possible source of climate finance.

Durban should not be burial ground of Kyoto Protocol- say G77/China

Durban, 29 Nov (Meena Raman) – Durban must not be the burial ground of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) but must be the birth-place for agreement on the second commitment period for emissions reductions by developed countries who are Parties to the KP, said the Chair of G77 and China, Ambassador Silvia Merega of Argentina at the opening plenary of the 7th session of the Conference of Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 7) which commenced on 28 November.

Lessons learned from the financial crisis - A cautionary tale for the Green Climate Fund

As policymakers and civil society organizations debate the design, purpose and modalities of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), they should closely consider some key lessons of the financial crisis. This issue brief provides a short recap of the beginnings of the crisis, and then applies key lessons to the GCF.

Ecological agriculture is climate resilient

Introduction

Agriculture is the most important sector in many developing countries and is central to the survival of millions of people. Most agriculture production in these countries involves small land holdings, mainly producing for self-consumption. Women are the key agricultural producers and providers. Hence agriculture is critical for food and livelihood security, and for the approximately 500 million smallholder households, totaling 1.5 billion people, living on smallholdings of two hectares of land or less (De Schutter, 2008). Smallholdings account for 85 percent of the world’s farms.

Durban to decide fate of Green Climate Fund

Critical issues facing Durban Climate Conference

Durban, 28 November, (Meena Raman) – Critical issues face the Durban climate talks under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol (KP) which begins on 28 November and is scheduled to end on 9 December 2011.

IBON International will be holding two side-events on climate finance in the coming Durban climate summit. “Improving development effectiveness in climate finance: challenges and opportunities” is an official COP-17 side-event. “Financing climate justice: voices from the South” is a side-event in the summit’s alternative space called the “People’s Space.” People from government and civil society are invited to speak. The two side-events are co-organized with several other civil society organizations. For more information, please contact Tetet Lauron at tlauron[AT]iboninternational.org.

Spanish translations of 6 previously-published Corner House diagnoses of the carbon trade will soon be published in a new book, "Mercados de Carbono: neoliberalism del clima" by Abya Yala press.

This issue of the Indian magazine, Mausam, devoted to climate justice has articles on adaptation, the Climate Development Mechanism (CDM) and REDD projects.

A critical review

This critical review of carbon trading in Africa includes analyses of the context and trends in the carbon market in Africa; offset projects in Uganda, Ethiopia and South Africa; and carbon finance and regulation. It shows how carbon trading provides new and different ways of profiting at the expense of a deteriorating climate.

This essay reviews five recent books, four of them on climate change and one addressing what’s needed to spark the transition away from our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels.

Failing at the Third Attempt

Carbon emissions in the European Union are rising, despite the Emissions Trading System, the EU's flagship measure for tackling climate change. The third phase of the scheme, beginning in 2013, is supposed to rectify the “teething problems” that have rewarded major polluters with windfall profits and undermined efforts to reduce pollution and achieve a more equitable and sustainable economy. In practice, it will continue to subsidise polluters and help them avoid taking meaningful action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Contradictions of Neoliberal Climate Policy

The carbon markets that constitute the default international approach to the climate crisis aim both at opening up new frontiers for profit-making and at securing the background conditions for accumulation that are currently threatened by calls for greenhouse gas emission cuts. But they are afflicted by valuation paradoxes that are far more intractable than those affecting markets in other commodities such as food, energy, consumer durables, or even complex financial derivatives.

Volume One

Proposals to mitigate climate change by financing projects to conserve forests (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation – REDD) are flawed beyond fixing, argue the authors of this book. The volume contends that REDD's contradictions cannot be mended by attempts to detach it from the carbon markets, to ensure that the money “goes to the right place”, or to include provisions for “free, prior and informed consent”.

Subsidizing and Legitimizing Corporate Pollution

In India the United Nations' market in carbon offsets is not only failing to address climate change, but also polluting local environments, displacing people and destroying commons. So argue the authors of this book from India's National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers, Society for Direct Initiative for Social and Health Action and North Eastern Society for the Preservation of Nature and Wildlife.

New markets in environmental services are springing up all over the world – biodiversity markets, wetlands markets and species markets, in addition to the climate markets that got their start more than 15 years ago. Britain is no exception. Its Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is enthusing over the economic potential of a “market in conservation projects” populated by a “network of biodiversity offset providers”.

The carbon markets that constitute the main approach to the climate crisis being followed by the world's governments have had many engineers – economists, governments, businesses, traders, consultants, environmentalists. Not surprisingly, the result has been markets with many conflicting functions – reducing the costs of obeying envirionmental laws, guaranteeing the conditions for accumulation now being threatened by demands to phase out fossil fuels, opening a new frontier for financial profit-taking, and many more.

Poor people especially in the developing world are already bearing the negative impacts of climate change. Because drastic mitigation through substantive reduction in GHG emissions especially from the industrialized North has yet to take off, climate change is likely to get worse and extend further into the future.

“We felt that the international debate on climate change was becoming bogged down in the science of risk and projections, line graphs edging ominously into the future.

The Asia-Pacific Working Group organized in September 2011 a public forum on the issue of land grabbing in the Philippines with Maria Theresa Nera-Lauron as guest speaker.

During the morning session, participants had the opportunity to learn about the way climate justice debates are framed in the Asia-Pacific and how Asian civil society is mobilizing around these issues, and to look at how Canadian CSOs are supporting this mobilization.

The Canadian Coalition on Climate Change and Development in collaboration with the Canadian Council for International Co-operation’s Africa Canada Forum and Asia Pacific Working Group, and the Canadian Food Security Policy Group organized a public forum at the University of Ottawa on September 26, 2011 on the topic of Farming, Forests and Fuel – Southern Perspectives on Climate Change.

11 October 2011>
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Developed countries table proposals on finance after initially blocking progress

Geneva, 11 October (Marjorie Williams)- The last meeting of the informal group on finance under the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) held on October 7, 2011, saw proposals by developed countries to the draft negotiating text on long-term finance after initially blocking such a text in the previous days.

11 October 2011
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Strong call for decision on funding for forest-related activities

Panama City, 10 October (Majorie Williams) – A vast majority of Parties at the informal group on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD-plus), supported a decision on in Durban to finance its full implementation.

10 October 2011
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Developing countries forge new alliance to save climate regime

Geneva, 10 October (Meena Raman) –The African Group, the Least Developed Countries and the ALBA group of countries launched an alliance in Panama City on the side-lines of the climate talks to “save the climate regime and ensure success in Durban” at the forthcoming meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

10 October 2011
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Progress in Panama but big challenges ahead in Durban

Geneva, 10 October (Meena Raman) – The last day of the climate talks in Panama on 7 October under the Ad-Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) saw some progress in producing some texts by Parties to advance further negotiations in Durban, South Africa where the talks will resume in late November.

7 October 2011
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Disagreement over linkage between mitigation ambition of developed countries to developing countries actions

Panama City, 7 October (Lim Li Lin) – Disagreements arose between developed and developing country Parties over the insistence by developed countries to link discussions on their mitigation ambition to developing country mitigation actions at the meeting of informal group on mitigation actions of developed countries under the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) held on Thursday, 6 October.

7 October 2011
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Statement by the Third World Network at the AWG-LCA informal group on legal options, 6 October 2011, Panama City

We do not support any outcome that undermines or terminates the Kyoto Protocol, or that enshrines a weaker system than the Kyoto Protocol in international law. A bottom-up domestic pledge and review system represents just such a weak, deregulated system. And the negotiations certainly seem to be headed in that direction.

6 October 2011
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Developed countries blocking progress on key issues

Panama City, 6 October (Meena Raman)- Mid-way in the climate change negotiations in Panama City, developing countries expressed deep concerns that some developed countries were blocking progress on key issues relating to long-term finance, adaptation and impacts of response measures under the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA).

5 October 2011
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Legal form should not re-write Climate Convention – say developing countries

Panama City, 5 October (Meena Raman) – Several developing countries including China, India, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Egypt and the Philippines expressed strong views that the legal form of the outcome of the negotiations of the working group under the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCCC) should not re-write the Convention. They also stressed that the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol were existing legally-binding treaties for the global climate change regime and there should be no new mandate for a new agreement to replace them.

4 October 2011
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3 October 2011
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Continuity of Kyoto Protocol key for developed
country mitigation

Panama City, 3 October (Meena Raman) – Developing countries stressed the importance of ensuring the continuity of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and emphasized the importance of ensuring the comparability of efforts among developed countries as regards their mitigation commitments in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

2 October 2011
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Kyoto Protocol under threat but developed countries insist on continuity of market mechanisms

Panama City, 2 October (Lim Li Lin) --The Kyoto Protocol negotiations opened in Panama City on 1 October with developing countries continuing to insist that the second commitment period of emission reductions for Annex I (developed country) Parties is the cornerstone of the Durban outcome at the end of the year, and that this must be part of the two track outcome. Developed countries instead pressed for a single comprehensive framework which includes all major economies.

2 October 2011
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UNFCCC working group to focus on developing
draft texts for decision

Panama City, 2 October (Meena Raman) – The last meeting of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) kicked off in Panama City, Panama, on October 1 with Parties agreeing to focus work on developing draft decision texts for consideration at the 17th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) to be held in Durban, South Africa in late November this year.

Third meeting of Climate Fund’s design committee
ends with roadmap to Durban

The third meeting of the Transitional Committee to design the Green Climate Fund met in Geneva from the 11th -13th September and ended with the adoption of a roadmap for the adoption of a draft report for the 17th meeting of the COP in Durban.

Developing countries submit document for Green
Fund establishment at second meeting of Transitional Committee.

Panama City, 1 October 2011,(Meena Raman) – A group of 13 developing countries formally tabled a document on the operational elements for the establishment of the Green Climate Fund on the final day of the meeting on 14 July 2011 of the 2nd meeting of the Transitional Committee (TC) in Tokyo, to design the Green Climate Fund (GCF) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

1 October 2011
Published by Third World Network
www.twnside.org.sg

First meeting of the Technology Executive
Committee ends with compromise and progress on modalities and procedures

The first meeting of the Technology Executive Committee took place in Bonn from 1st-3rd September and wrestled with the issue of who would be chair and vice-chair of the Committee. It also saw an intense exchange on the issue of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and the relationship of the TEC to the Climate Technology Centre (CTCN). The meeting also made progress on elaborating the modalities and procedures of the Committee.

First published in The Star (Malaysia), 27 June 2011

Despite the slow progress in the global climate negotiations, some developing countries are already taking their own climate actions to reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.

Of course, their actions will fall far short of what is required, unless the funds and technology expected as a result from the global talks materialize. And unless the developed countries also cut their emissions greatly and leave more “carbon space” to the developing countries.

22 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
www.twnside.org.sg

ETC Group

News Release

15 June 2011

www.etcgroup.org

Civil Society Organizations to IPCC:

Take Geoengineering off the Table!

Today, 125 international and national organizations, representing at least 40 countries from all continents, sent an open letter to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), demanding a clear statement of its commitment to precaution and to the existing international moratorium on geoengineering. The IPCC will hold an expert meeting on geoengineering 20-22 June in Lima, Peru. (The letter is available and open for signatures here.)

Subsidiary body for implementation adopts conclusions

22 June 2011
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Geneva, 22 June (Meena Raman) – The 34th session Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted several conclusions at its closing session held on 16 and 17 June in Bonn.

India proposal on neglected issues for Durban discussions raises controversy

22 June 2011
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Geneva, 22 June (Meena Raman) – The Indian Government has submitted a proposal to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to include three contentious but very important issues on ‘unilateral trade measures’, ‘intellectual property rights’ and ‘equitable access to sustainable development’ for inclusion in the provisional agenda of the 17th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 17) to be held in Durban, South Africa in late November this year.

Kyoto Protocol’s future hangs in the balance

21 June 2011
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Bonn, 21 June (Lim Li Lin) – The future of the Kyoto Protocol hangs in the balance after the latest round of talks, and political guidance is suggested to be sought from ministers prior to and at the meeting of the Protocol Parties in Durban in December.

Scientific body adopts conclusions at closing plenary

21 June 2011
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Bonn, 19 June (Hilary Chiew) – The closing plenary of the 34th Session of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn adopted several decisions late night on Thursday, 16 June. Among the highlights were work related to the implementation of the Cancun decision on forest-related activities and a forum on the impact of the implementation of response measures to address climate change.

Working Groups to have additional session before Durban, Parties outline expectations

20 June 2011
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Geneva, 20 June (Meena Raman) – At the closing plenary of the meeting of the Ad-hoc Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn on Friday, 17 June, Parties were informed that an additional session for the meetings of the working groups (that includes the working group under the Kyoto Protocol), will be held at a venue to be confirmed during the last week of September and first week of October before the 17th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) in Durban, South Africa.

Parties in the AWG-LCA insist on meeting in the fall

16 June 2011
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Bonn, 16 June (Hilary Chiew and Meena Raman)– Many Parties reiterated their call for a further session in the autumn to advance work carried out in informal groups of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) prior to the final session to be held in Durban at the end of the year.

Deep differences over establishing a forum on impact of response measures

15 June 2011
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Bonn, 15 June (Hilary Chiew) - Parties argued over the necessity to have a dedicated forum on the impact of the implementation of response measures at the first session of a discussion forum jointly convened by the Chairs of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) and Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) at the ongoing climate talks.

Special Event on response measures warns against trade protectionsim and “unjust transition”

14 June 2011
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Bonn, 14 June (Hilary Chiew) – Developing country Parties highlighted the distortion of international trade caused by some mitigation efforts of developed countries, cautioning that the impact of the use by some Annex I Parties of unilateral trade measures that are incompatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules are already being felt and these could potentially diminish the prospects for development of developing countries.

Developed countries insist on post-Kyoto Protocol market mechanisms

14 June 2011
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Bonn, 14 June (Lim Li Lin) – The contact group of the Ad hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) contact group reconvened on Monday, 13 June after agreement at the close of last week that the contact group would continue to discuss political issues, while spin-off groups on technical issues would be convened in parallel.

Divergent views on financing forests activities

8 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, 14 June (Meena Raman)- Parties under the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) under the UNFCCC expressed divergent views over financing options related to forest-related activities. While many countries supported non-market and market based approaches for funding forest-related activities, some countries expressed caution in relying on the carbon market.

Lively exchange over need for additional fall meeting

8 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, 14 June (Hilary Chiew): The ‘touch-base’ session of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Actions (AWG-LCA) under the UNFCCC on June 13 saw a lively debate on the necessity for an additional meeting session between Bonn and Durban in the autumn.

Lively exchange over need for additional fall meeting

8 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
www.twnside.org.sg

Bonn, 14 June (Hilary Chiew): The ‘touch-base’ session of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Actions (AWG-LCA) under the UNFCCC on June 13 saw a lively debate on the necessity for an additional meeting session between Bonn and Durban in the autumn.

Wish list for Durban Climate Conference

13 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, 13 June (Meena Raman) – Developing and developed countries presented their wish list on their expectations for the meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol to be held in Durban, South Africa in late November this year.

Developing countries explain mitigation actions

13 June 2011
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Bonn, June 12 ( Dale Wen and Hilary Chiew)- The Ad-Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) under the UNFCCC conducted a workshop on Friday, June 10 on nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) of developing country Parties.

EU disappointed over countries not committing to Kyoto Protocol

8 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, 13 June (Hilary Chiew) – The European Union at an in-session workshop at the climate talks in Bonn expressed disappointment over the announcement by Japan, Canada and the Russian Federation that they will not make commitments to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The EU described this as a step backward with political implications for the process.

Subsidiary Body on Implementation commences work

10 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, June 10 (Meena Raman) –The Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) finally managed to commence its work yesterday, 9 June, in Bonn after the adoption of a provisional agenda which was revised and issued the same day.

Developed countries condition future of the Kyoto Protocol

8 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, 9 June (Lim Li Lin) - The contact group meetings of the Ad hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) commenced on Wednesday, 8 June with serious disagreements between Annex I (developed country) and non-Annex I (developing country) Parties on the future of the Kyoto Protocol and the way forward towards Durban (where the next UN climate change conference will be held in November).

SBSTA agenda adopted

10 June 2011
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Bonn, June 9 (Meena Raman)- The 34th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) finally adopted a revised provisional agenda issued on 9 June, following a resumption of its meeting around noon the same day.

Proposals forwarded at workshop on enhancing engagement of observers

10 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, June 9 (Dale Wen) - Interesting proposals emerged from an in-session workshop from Parties and observer organisations on how to enhance the engagement of observer organisations in the UNFCCC process.

CDM Misadventures In Waste Management

9 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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The Clean Development Mechanism’s flagship waste management project in India is turning into a multi-faceted disaster, revealing flaws in both the carbon credit mechanism as well as the corporate-driven, technology-focused approached to climate change mitigation.

SBSTA session remains suspended

8 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, June 8 (Hilary Chiew) - The 34th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), remained suspended for a further two days on June 7 and 8th as Parties continue to be deadlocked over an agenda item on response measures which is pending resolution under the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI).

G77 and China cautions against transfer of issues to subsidiary bodies

8 June 2011
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Bonn, June 8 ( Hilary Chiew and Meena Raman) – The G77 and China, at the opening of the 14th session of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action (AWGLCA) in Bonn under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on June 7, stressed that new processes needing further political development and which have not been resolved must not be transferred to other bodies.

SBI and SBSTA agendas still not adopted

8 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
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Bonn, 8 June (Meena Raman) – The second day of the Bonn climate meetings under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol) saw continued wrangling over the provisional agendas resulting in the failure to adopt them in the 34th sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). The agendas for both these bodies were expected to have been adopted on Monday, 6 June.

Developing countries form solid front to advance Kyoto Protocol

8 June 2011
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Bonn, 8 June (Lim Li Lin) – The developing countries formed a solid front to advance the Kyoto Protocol when the opening session of the KP working group took place on 7 June morning. It was clear that a second KP period has become a rallying point for these countries as an essential component for a successful Durban climate conference in December.

Wrangling over agenda delays opening of SBI by over a day

8 June 2011
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Bonn, June 7 (Meena Raman) -- The opening of the 34th session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) could not take place on June 6 as scheduled in Bonn because of a wrangle over the agenda of the SBI’s work. By 7 June noon, the opening had still not taken place.

Transition Committee workshop discusses Climate Fund design

Bonn, 7 June (Meena Raman) –In discussing the operational modalities of the Green Climate Fund, several developing countries cautioned against over-estimating the role of the private sector and the carbon markets in generating climate finance while developed countries stressed their importance.

Climate Fund workshop discusses issues on Fund governance

Bonn, 6 June (Meena Raman) - The first technical workshop of the Transitional Committee (TC) for the design of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Bonn, Germany from May 30- 1 June witnessed a broad and wide-ranging discussion on several critical aspects relating to the GCF.

Concerns on process to design Climate Fund raised by developing countries

Bonn, 6 June (Meena Raman) – Representatives of several developing countries on the Transitional Committee (TC) for the design of the Green Climate Fund (GFC) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) raised serious concerns over the process to design the GCF at the first technical workshop of the TC held in Bonn, Germany from May 30- 1 June.

Technology Mechanism: Need for country-driven approach

At a two-day expert workshop in Bangkok held from 4-5 April, participants stressed that the Technology Mechanism must be a country-driven process with developing countries setting out their own needs. Also discussed among other matters, was the relationship between the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network, the governance structure of the Centre and its relation to the Network as well as the issue of IPRs and technology assessment.

Climate Fund’s design Committee wrestles with process problems at first meeting

The first meeting of the Transitional Committee to design the Green Climate Fund held in Mexico City from 28-29 April 2011 wrestled mainly with process issues surrounding the election of officers, the agenda and work plan, rules of procedure, selection of staff to the Technical Support Unit and avoiding a conflict of interest.

Climate change negotiators returned from a round of talks in Bangkok this weekend with a list of items that nations will address this year leading up to a December summit in Durban, South Africa.

Dhaka, Feb 8 (bdnews24.com) — Governments in Asia and the Pacific need to prepare for a large increase in climate-induced migration in the coming years, says a forthcoming report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Despite the optimism placed on them, the Cancun Agreements of the 2010 UN Climate Summit do not represent a success for multilateralism; neither do they put the world on a safe climate pathway that science demands, and far less to a just and equitable transition towards a sustainable model of development. They represent a victory for big polluters and Northern elites that wish to continue with business-as-usual.

Some Global Exchange staff and volunteers are joining fellow climate justice campaigners, environmentalists and social justice advocates from around the world for COP16 in Cancun. Today Shannon Biggs reports:

Months before civil society boarded planes or hopped on buses and bikes destined for Cancun (yes, we met up with a small contingent of cyclists arriving from West Virginia) — it was clear that we weren’t really very welcome.

Far too few of us were even approved as credentialed NGO observers.  The Moon Palace conference site was miles and miles away from the city center, and those without credentials were left out in the Cancun sun.  When La Via Campesina attempted to set up their gathering site nearby, the permits were denied.

Strange outcome of Cancun climate conference

Cancun, 14 December (Martin Khor*) --The United Nations' Cancun climate conference, which adopted a text early on 11 December had a strange outcome.

It was acclaimed by many for reviving the spirit of multilateralism in the climate change system, because another collapse after the disastrous failure of the Copenhagen talks a year ago would have knocked another hole into the reputation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Convention (UNFCCC).

Cancun texts adopted, overriding Bolivia's objections

Cancun, Dec 13 (Meena Raman) – Two decisions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, which the Mexican host government dubbed as “the Cancun Agreements”, were adopted in the early hours of the morning of Saturday, December 11, despite a lack of consensus following objections by Bolivia to their adoption.

Copenhagen Accord fails to deliver, say some SIDS and LDC leaders

Cancun, 10 December (Hilary Chiew) – Political leaders from some least developed countries and small island states that have associated themselves with the Copenhagen Accord expressed their disappointment with the promised fast start finance that remains elusive and they are also concerned that the pledges are insufficient to keep temperature rise below a safe limit for them.

Wide ranging views at High level segment  and “Mexico Dialogue”

Cancun, 9 December (Hilary Chiew) – Tuvalu’s deputy prime minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga reiterated his country’s rejection of the Copenhagen Accord as “it is a hollow document designed to serve short term political needs”.

At the joint high-level segment of the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 6th COP acting as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol yesterday (8 December), Sopoaga said in Copenhagen (last year), the small island state rejected the Copenhagen Accord and it continues to do so.

Bolivia strongly calls for return to Party-driven negotiations



Cancun, 9 Dec (Chee Yoke Ling) – Amidst confusion, the cancellation of two scheduled negotiating groups’ meetings and the convening of small-room consultations involving ministers, Bolivia made an urgent and emphatic call for a return to Party-driven negotiations in the final days of the climate talks in Cancun, Mexico.

Cancun Conference moves into small group “consultations”



Cancun, 9 December (Meena Raman) – A small group of about 50 delegations was convened in the afternoon of Wednesday 8 December by the Presidency of the UNFCCC talks being held here in Cancun in a process termed “informal consultations under the Presidency.”

Political leaders disappointed in climate finance and slow progress

Cancun, 8 December (Hilary Chiew) – President Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia lamented that the promise of Copenhagen has been lost and called for the US$30 billion fast start finance to be made available immediately.

The Peoples Movement on Climate Change was present at the different civil society spaces in Cancun. PMCC coordinator Tetet Nera-Lauron was a resource person at the Plenary Session on Agriculture and Climate Change at the Dialogo Climatico on Dec. 5, at a seminar on Climate Migrants organized by
Equity Bd, at the workshop on Just Transition Now! Towards a Peoples Protocol on Climate Change at the Klima Forum 10.

Transparency and inclusiveness take centre stage in stocktaking

Cancun, 6 Dec (Chee Yoke Ling and Lim Li Lin) – The informal stocktaking of the first week of the ongoing climate talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol focused on issues of transparency and inclusiveness as well as the integrity of a Party-driven process.

Cancun, 7 Dec (Chee Yoke Ling) – In announcing that newly arrived ministers will help to move the climate negotiations forward, Mexican Minister Patricia Espinosa, President of the Conference of Parties, also reassured Parties that the process will be transparent and inclusive.

As the world's leaders gather at the Moon Palace Hotel in Cancun, Mexico for the 16th COP of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, thousands of peasants, indigenous peoples, youth, women, workers, advocates and many other sectors and communities from all over the world marched the streets of downtown Cancun this morning to call for 'system change, not
climate change.'

SBI session closes on a positive note, with more to be done

Cancun, 6 Dec (Hilary Chiew) -  The 33rd session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) closed on the night of 4 December with the adoption of 14 conclusions and decisions respectively.

Divergent views in contact group on new protocols under the UNFCCC

Impasse over more finance for capacity building may affect other negotiations, warn developing countries

Mexican Presidency “small group” meets on mitigation;
Co-facilitators issue non-papers on MRV

Wrangling over agenda delays opening of SBI by over a day

15 June 2011
Published by Third World Network
www.twnside.org.sg

Bonn, June 7 (Meena Raman) -- The opening of the 34th session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) could not take place on June 6 as scheduled in Bonn because of a wrangle over the agenda of the SBI’s work. By 7 June noon, the opening had still not taken place.

SBI starts work, debates finance, technology, national communications etc.

Cancun, Dec 1 (Hilary Chiew) -The 33rd session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) of the United Nations Framework Convention opened on November 30 with developing countries calling for more financial and technical support from developed countries to assist them in improving their abilities to mitigate and adapt to effects of climate change

Developing countries expressed much discontent over the ineffectiveness of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) in disbursing funds and said that the GEF requirement for co­financing was punishing the poorest developing countries.

We’ll never accept 2nd Kyoto period, says Japan, sparking doubts on KP’s survival

Cancún, November 30 (Lim Li Lin) – At the opening of the Kyoto Protocol Working Group, Japan shocked participants of the Cancun climate talks by stressing that it would never accept a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and that it would never agree to place its greenhouse gas emission reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol.
Some delegates and observers felt this was a significant moment equivalent to the sounding of a death knell of the Protocol named after a city in Japan in which the Protocol’s negotiations had been concluded.

Canada named in Group of 3 countries working to kill Kyoto Protocol

Council of Canadians is alarmed by reports that there is a small group of three countries blocking the second round of emission reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. At a press conference just held by several Latin American countries strong concerns were voiced about a move away from the Kyoto Protocol and binding commitments in favour of the weak Copenhagen Accord. Canada has been named by the Executive Secretary Figueres of the Conference of Parties (COP 16) as being one of the three along with Russia and Japan.

AWGLCA Opening:  Parties voice expectations for Cancún

Cancún, 30 November 2010 (Meena Raman) -- At the opening session of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWGLCA) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on 29 November, developing and developed countries expressed varying views on the outcome from Cancun, Mexico.

Cancun meetings begin with call for “balanced outcome.”

A new Chair's text as Cancun meetings begin

Cancún, 29 November (Meena Raman) – The annual set of UNFCCC meetings begins in Cancun today, with hopes that this year there will be a better negotiating atmosphere, especially at the end, than last year's Copenhagen conference.

Problems relating to process and procedures were mainly responsible for the bad ending in Copenhagen, so the participants in Cancun hope there will not be similar problems here. Process and substance are not separate issues, of course.  A different process can give advantage to or even determine a particular choice of substance.

What To Expect in Cancun: Some Key Issues

Cancun, 28 November (*Martin Khor) --A year after the chaotic Copenhagen summit, the 2010 UNFCCC climate conference begins in Cancun.  Expectations are low this time around, especially compared to the eve of Copenhagen.

That's probably both good and bad.  The conference last year had been so hyped up before hand, with so much hope linked to it, that the lack of a binding agreement at the end of it and the last-day battle over process and text made it a near-disaster.

IBON CSO PRIMER 2010

Primer on the Development Effectiveness of Civil Society Organizations.

Download Primer

The Peoples' Protocol on Climate Change is the result of a 2-year global process of awareness-raising and movement-building among affected communities and peoples in the South and in the North.

Various civil society networks and organizations are gearing several actions on climate change issues in parallel with the UNFCCC-COP intersessional meeting in Bangkok from September 28 to October 9.

In April 2009 EquityBD, along with its campaign members, launched a campaign to realize the rights of climate change induced forced migrants, who are incorrectly termed as ‘climate refugees’ or ‘environmentally displaced persons'. EquityBD launched this campaign calling global leaders to develop a new legal instrument under a Protocol to the UNFCCC to ensure social, cultural and economic rehabilitation of the ‘climate change induced forced migrants’ through recognizing them as ‘Universal Natural Persons’.

Click for the position paper "Climate Change Induced Forced Migrants".
To Sign on the call please click here.

Global Europe and Sustainable Development: Implications for Climate Change and Agriculture

The report examines the EU trade policy ‘Global Europe’ and the trade negotiations being conducted with a range of developing countries in Latin merica, Africa and Asia, where a large proportion of the world’s poorest people live. The partner organisations of the Swedish Society for ature Conservation on various continents contributed to this report.

The report analyses how trade policy and the various trade agreements can affect the possibilities for developing countries to pursue a sustainable evelopment policy and thereby adapt themselves to global warming and strengthen their agriculture. The report also examines Sweden’s attitude nd contribution to EU trade policy.

You can find the report on
http://www.naturskyddsforeningen.se/In-english/Climate/global-europe-and-sustainable-development/

TWN Info Service on Climate Change (Nov08/04)
21 November 2008
Third World Network

On 18 November 2008, US President-elect Barack Obama sent a video message to conference on global warming organized by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.

Below is a transcript of Obama's video speech, as prepared by the Obama transition office. 

 “Judging from the Summit’s communiqué  on the environment and climate change released yesterday, the G8 countries are not ready to commit to fulfilling their responsibilities in mitigating climate change. While they reconfirm the significance of the IPCC report and recognize the need for a 50% reduction in global emissions by 2050, no definite timeline, plans and actions are being agreed on,” says Maria Theresa Lauron of the Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN), composed of 50 research organizations from 19 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

 Worse, Lauron adds that the Summit has been manipulated by the US, UK, Japan and World Bank in pushing for market-based mechanisms and solutions long criticized by CSOs, academics and even by a number of Southern governments to be unsustainable.

 In particular is the G8’S support for the World Bank’s Climate Investment Funds including the Clean Technology Fund and the Strategic Climate Fund which basically seek to scale up public and private finance to deploy cleaner energy technologies to developing nations, in addition to supporting adaptation.

 Syamsul Ardiansyah of the Institute for National and Democratic Studies in Indonesia, member organization of APRN, questions the irony, “Why will you allow an institution with a horrible record of supporting fuel extraction to manage climate fund?” Ardiansyah, citing figures from EndOilAid.org, adds that WB’s support for fossil fuel extraction has increased 93% in 2006 compared to 2005, its lending for fossil fuels increased at a rate exceeding that of lending for renewable technologies.

 US President George Bush is pushing for clean technology and domestic oil production as solutions to climate change, which critics argue, is a way of justifying his administration’s plan to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling and oil exploration. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a site that is home to a number of protected species.  In addition, the Bush wanted China and India to make the same commitments to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

 Aside from clean technologies, the G8 countries are promoting market mechanisms such as tax incentives, performance-based regulation, emissions-trading and taxes and consumer labeling. Alarming is also the fact that these wealthy nations are aggressively advancing the use of biofuels. Lauron states, “It is ironic that the global food security is one of the issues discussed and yet, even the WB reports that biofuels production has actually forced global food prices to increase by a staggering 75%, in addition to displacing farmers and indigenous peoples from their lands and compromising their health and livelihoods”.

 Lauron acknowledges the importance of technological fixes and funding support as short-term solutions. In the long run, the real solution to the climate crisis is a sustainable economic framework, which is the basic demand of grassroots in the South, as reflected in the People’s Protocol on Climate Change, which is a Southern initiative to bring forth to the climate change negotiating table the concerns and demands of peoples who are worst-affected and yet are the least empowered to adapt to climate change.

 Lauron concludes, “The G8 climate vision is a distorted view of the whole climate change issue. The masquerade is over. The large and numerous protest actions against the G8 summit from all over the world could only mean that the people will not be fooled into all the greenwashing by the G8 nations. People’s movements are now building their strength towards a climate friendly future based on the principles of people’s sovereignty, social justice, respect for the environment and common but differentiated responsibilities”.

For more information on the People’s Protocol on Climate Change Campaign, please visit www.peoplesclimateprotocol.aprnet.org

Contact: Maria Theresa Lauron at secretariat@aprnet.org

Telefax: +6324251387

BAGUIO CITY — Indigenous peoples (IPs) zoom in the problem of climate change as   one major issue   endangering their very existence.

This was emphasized in the press conference of the recently concluded Asia Workshop for the Promotion of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) here Tuesday. 

Bangkok, 3 April -- World Bank initiative to establish climate funds of $5-11 billion has come under heavy fire from the Group of 77 and China and individual developing countries during a meeting of the UN Convention on Climate Change.

 “There are monies and funds outside the UNFCCC that undermine the efforts at the Convention on financial resources,” said Bernarditas Muller of the Philippines and coordinator of the G77 and China in the ad hoc working group on long-term cooperative action, which is tasked with following up on the Bali Action Plan adopted at the climate conference in Bali last December.

By Walter Brandimarte

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales on Monday criticized "some South American presidents" for supporting the use of biofuels, which he said are responsible for high food prices and global hunger.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080420/sc_afp/foodbiofuelsclimatewarming

In the hopes of agreeing on a roadmap towards a Kyoto II agreement, representatives from 180 countries, together with CSOs and intergovernmental organizations, gathered in the “land of the gods” –Bali, Indonesia- from December 3-14, 2007.

As the COP13 and CMP 13 meetings droned on inside the Bali International Convention Centre, CSOs gathered outside to express their demands and frustrations over mechanisms that floated during the negotiations- the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) and the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)- which were criticized to lack teeth in curbing greenhouse gas emissions necessary to prevent climate change.

Numerous parallel activities were held such as the activities at the CSO Forum and the People’s Protocol on Climate Change campaign. A discussion with tribal leaders was held in the mountain area of Sumber Klampok in East Java and came up with the Sumber Klampok Declaration. The declaration states the indigenous groups’ commitment to help solve the climate change problem by protecting the environment through local wisdom. The declaration also listed their statement of principles which rests on sustainable development and demanded the government to protect their rights and ensure their welfare in coming up with mitigation and adaptation measures. The document was incorporated into the draft People’s Protocol.  And on December 8, around 80 participants took part in a People’s Workshop in Denpasar, the capital of Bali, which became the venue to discuss and debate on the Bali negotiations and to critique the draft Protocol. The workshop was sponsored and organized by IBON and hosted by a number of Indonesian organizations.

December 9 was the International Day of Action and on December 10 –international human rights day- a nationwide rally was held in 14 key cities in Indonesia and participated by five thousand people calling for people’s sovereignty on natural resources and supporting the call for a People’s Protocol on Climate Change.

From the speech Evo Morales made at the recent United Nations Permanent Forum of Indigenous Peoples on climate change

Consume only what is necessary, avoid extravagance, waste, luxury and the desire to get rich.

President Evo Morales told the United Nations that in order to save the planet, we must eradicate the capitalist model, and the North must pay its ecological debt.  This was the first of Ten Commandments presented by the leader during the inauguration of the VII Indigenous Forum of the United Nations during a long speech that received high acclaim by those who attended the annual encounter.