Typhoon Haiyan Roars Through Warsaw Climate Crisis Summit
By Countercurrents.org
Typhoon Haiyan’s trail of devastation in the Philippines
prompts three groups of developing countries to call for climate compensation
scheme to be rolled out. The call came at the 12-day UN Climate Change
Convention’s 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP) that began on November 11,
2013 in Poland's capital Warsaw.
The typhoon devastated Philippines dominated the first day
of the Warsaw climate crisis meeting as the country started to count the human
cost of one of the most destructive typhoons on record.
Though no major decisions are expected at the conference,
the level of progress could be an indicator of the world's chances of reaching
a deal in 2015, which is the new landmark year in the UN-led process after a
2009 summit in Copenhagen ended in discord.
In an emotional speech the lead climate change envoy of the
Philippines Yeb Sano said he would fast until he saw a sign of real ambition at
the negotiations.
He said the violence of the tropical storm demonstrated the
need for a climate compensation mechanism, which could help countries affected
by extreme weather events.
“Developed country
emissions reductions targets are dangerously low and must be raised
immediately, but even if they were in line with the demand of reducing 40-50%
below 1990 levels, we would still have locked-in climate change and would still
need to address the issue of loss and damage,” he said.
Yeb Sano said: “We
can stop this madness. Right here in Warsaw.
“It is not natural
when people continue to struggle to eradicate poverty and pursue development
and gets battered by the onslaught of a monster storm now considered as the
strongest storm ever to hit land. It is not natural when science already tells
us that global warming will induce more intense
“Disasters are
never natural. They are the intersection of factors other than physical. They
are the accumulation of the constant breach of economic, social, and
environmental thresholds. Most of the time disasters is a result of inequity
and the poorest people of the world are at greatest risk because of their
vulnerability and decades of maldevelopment, which I must assert is connected
to the kind of pursuit of economic growth that dominates the world; the same
kind of pursuit of so-called economic growth and unsustainable consumption that
has altered the climate system.
“This process
under the UNFCCC has been called many names. It has been called a farce. It has
been called an annual carbon-intensive gathering of useless frequent flyers. It
has been called many names. But it has also been called the Project to save the
planet. It has been called “saving tomorrow today”. We can fix this. We can
stop this madness. Right now. Right here, in the middle of this football field.
“Can humanity rise
to the occasion? I still believe we can.”
Sano’s words were echoed throughout the opening ceremony.
Following Sano’s intervention, three groups representing
just over half of the countries involved in the CoP issued a call for immediate
talks on the development of a loss and damage mechanism.
The G77 + China, Least Developed Countries and Alliance of
Small Island States said this was now a priority for their members in the wake
of the Philippines disaster.
“It’s unacceptable
that some continue to sideline this issue, or fob it off as a ‘research agenda’
item,” said G77 lead negotiator Juan Hoffmaister.
Negotiators will face a host of recurring stumbling blocks,
including money to help poor countries convert to cleaner energy sources and
adapt to a shifting climate that may lead to disruptions of agriculture and
drinking water, and the spread of diseases.
Developed nations, who fear being landed with bills running
into hundreds of billions, indicated they were willing to discuss a
‘mechanism’, but would not be drawn on what its powers could be.
The USA’s deputy climate negotiator Trigg Talley told a
press conference there were “technical and political” challenges to accepting
any form of compensation scheme, suggesting they would consider a process that
“takes advantage of current institutional infrastructure and allows countries
to understand how to minimize risks linked to loss and damage.”
There are fears among some parties that a heavy focus on
climate compensation in Warsaw could come at the expense of other aims, notably
agreeing financial targets and a roadmap for a 2015 climate deal.
UN climate chief Christiana Figueres urged countries to
clarify the levels of finance available to drive low carbon development.
Japan and Sweden are set to reveal new climate finance
pledges this week, but there remains a substantial gap between what developing
countries say they need to adapt to climate change and what has been delivered.
Addressing loss and damage, and progressing with a mechanism
to make such payments operational, has potential to be one of the “lasting
legacies” of the Warsaw conference, said the delegate from Nepal, representing
the Least Developed Countries group, who face some of the worst impacts of
climate change. He adds that there is still the opportunity to halt global
warming at 1.5C, although this opportunity is fading fast.
The Alliance of Small Island States representative also
pushed for an ambitious approach to the negotiations.
Panama, speaking on behalf of the System for Central America
Integration group, said that although their region is one of the most
vulnerable, they are already using their “scanty resources” to make a
difference.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, speaking on behalf of the
Arab Group, steered its presentation away from talk of legally binding targets,
focusing on the need for voluntary commitments from developing countries, which
should be supported by developed countries.
Despite being the second largest oil producer in the world,
Saudi Arabia is still counted as a developing country by the UN’s climate body.
It has a history of trying to block ambitious action on climate change,
intervening in discussions taking place last May to say that tough mitigation
targets would be “highly political” and leave a “bad taste.
Climate deal must be “tailored” to fit USA and China
Mat Hope writes in Carbon Brief:
Sixteen years ago in 1997, 192 countries signed an agreement
to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, but the Kyoto Protocol was hamstrung
from the start, because it failed to get the backing of the world’s current top
emitters: the US and China.
The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2020, and the latest round of
negotiations to replace it kicks off in Warsaw today.
It’s clear that this time round the negotiations will need
to be tailored towards the demands of the US and China if a deal is to be
struck.
Former lead climate negotiator for the Netherlands Maas
Groote told news website Responding to Climate Change: “… without [the US and
China] you will not have an effective instrument on your hands … So you have to
tailor an instrument that will fit their political context … At the end of the
day you want an agreement, some kind of an outcome, that China and the US can
Mat Hope adds: The United States’ failure to commit to the
Kyoto Protocol has been a source of tension in the international negotiations
for over a decade.
While President Obama has indicated that he wants the US to
re-engage with the process – a stance he backed up by attending the 2009
negotiations in person – eight years of obstruction by the George W. Bush
administration made participants wary of US motives.
China has been the most notable critic, arguing that it
can’t be expected to commit to emissions reductions until the US shows it is
willing to lead.
One of the main sticking points between the two countries is
how much responsibility more and less economically developed countries take for
cutting emissions.
Hæge Fjellheim, Senior Analyst at consultancy Thomson
Reuters Point Carbon, says finding a way to bridge “the crucial divide” between
the more and less wealthy nations will need to be at the centre of the Warsaw
agenda, if there is to be any progress towards a new deal.
China has indicated it will accept some emissions curbs, but
thinks the traditional economic powerhouses that have historically been
responsible for more emissions – including the US – should take the lead.
The US isn’t happy with this, arguing that China is now
economically developed enough to take responsibility for its emissions.
That could mean changes to the way any new deal is
structured. Currently, the Kyoto protocol requires the most economically
developed countries – known as Annex I countries – to make the most severe
emissions reductions and provide most of the money to help less economically
developed countries reduce theirs.
China is currently not considered an Annex I country,
however – a source of chagrin for the US negotiators, who see China as shirking
their international obligations.
The US’ special envoy to the negotiations, Todd Stern, told
a meeting at Chatham House last week that the US would only accept a new deal
if it was “applicable to all”, including China.
China maintains that the Annex I countries are yet to meet
their own commitments, however. Some countries, including Japan and Australia,
look set to miss their Kyoto Protocol emissions reduction targets, and some,
like Canada, have abandoned the treaty altogether.
China is also unimpressed that a fund setup in 2009 to
transfer resources from developed to developing economies remains empty.
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