People at the World Conference Center in Bonn during a climate change conference. , Photo Credit: AFP
TeaThe Bonn climate change conference was the last major milestone in climate negotiations before the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement at COP28 (Conference of the Parties 28) in Dubai in December. The Global StockTake is mandated under Article 14(1) of the Paris Agreement to assess collective progress towards the long-term global goals. This includes making progress on greenhouse gas reductions, building resilience to climate impacts, and securing finance to address the climate crisis. The results of Global StockTech will inform countries to update and enhance their actions.
In 2015, under the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to “step up efforts” to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 °C. The Bonn conference was held in the context of a strong emphasis on limiting global average temperature rise to well below 1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial levels, this was reflected in the negotiations. Two agenda items – mitigation pathways in line with temperature targets, and climate finance flows from developed countries to developing countries to enable them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (in line with Article 4.5 of the Paris Agreement) – are points of contention among developing countries Remained as it is. The Countries and Environmental Integrity Group is represented by the European Union and others. The signal from the Bonn conference was that developing countries also need to be more ambitious in reducing their emissions if the world is to limit rising global average temperatures in the context of substantial finance being provided by the developed North.
just switch routes
On 14 June, climate change negotiators reached agreement on one aspect, which relates to an action program on a ‘only transition path’. The Subsidiary Body adopted the draft text with the aim of working on an ‘equitable transition path’, and the output will be placed at COP28.
The parties to the Paris Agreement presented ‘equitable transition paths’ at COP27. India’s climate policy is derived from the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. In its long-term low emission development strategy at COP27, India underlined the need to ‘finance’ an ‘equitable transition’ in sectors such as energy and transport to reach net zero emissions by 2070. Thus, ‘equitable transition’ means that transformational pathways need to be pursued in a manner that is as fair and inclusive as possible for all concerned. India is concerned about the difficulties in delinking its economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions. India also said that the path to ‘equitable change’ needs to be linked with the means of implementation.
The adoption of an ‘equitable transition path’ in the draft text of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Subsidiary Body Implementation is also in line with the Paris Agreement, which is self-differentiating based on the idea of nationally determined contributions. This bottom-up approach was incorporated into the Paris Agreement with the idea of allowing developing countries, which face special needs and circumstances, to align their low-carbon development pathways with state-set development priorities. integrate the socio-economic factors accordingly. In the Bonn talks, developing countries were able to strengthen the ‘reasonable transition path’, while developed countries placed more emphasis on mitigation. ‘Just Transition’ also helps parties to respect other soft obligations arising from the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the ILO’s Guidelines on Just Transition.
raising finance
Climate finance flows are not consistent with the priorities identified by countries in their Nationally Determined Contributions. In the area of international monetary transfers, accounting remains highly controversial. Many observers say only a fraction of the $100 billion has actually been received (at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, 2020 was the deadline for developed countries to jointly mobilize $100 billion per year in climate finance was fixed). Additionally, adaptation finance has lagged behind mitigation finance, possibly due to the absence of universally agreed metrics. At the conference, environmental integrity groups insisted on a mitigation action program providing finance – a step back somewhat from the transfer of the bulk of international public finance from developed countries to developing countries. The Mitigation Action Programme, in accordance with the COP26 mandate, aims to enhance mitigation ambitions and implementation in this decade in a way that complements the Global Stocktake. The program will work in several directions which could range from conducting workshops to identifying policies and technologies that are actionable solutions.
In efforts to align climate finance with the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement, it is important to integrate the World Bank into climate change negotiations and hold it accountable as it continues to invest heavily in fossil fuels. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to the principles of equality, justice and fairness in the pursuit of Global StockTech as per the Paris Agreement.