African Civil Society Responds to Real Cost of Delay in Climate Talks

 

As two weeks of acrimonious UN climate talks draw to a close, observers were heavily critical of lack of movement on key issues.

The talks have been disrupted by Russia blocking on procedural issues in one track of negotiations ( the "SBI"), a technical body that was to discuss proposals for 'loss and damage' and the 'review' of whether the 2C temperature target should be lowered to 1.5C in light of the latest science.

At a press conference held during the talks, hosted by the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), an African-wide climate movement with over 300 organisations in 45 countries as members, Mithika Mwenda, PACJA's coordinator said, "Governments need to look up from their legal and procedural tricks and focus on the planetary emergency that is hitting Africa first and hardest."

"Russia's shenanigans have set back critical work on loss and damage mechanisms and so now Poland, as host of the next summit, must find a way to ensure this issue is dealt with fully." Mithika Mwenda, coordinator of PACJA said.

"Local communities are already actively engaged in responding to climate change. We have no choice: weather patterns are already changing, we are facing both extreme and slow onset events, and our livelihoods are threatened. We are calling for the international community to actively engage."  Said Azeb Girmai of LDC-Watch, a global alliance of civil society groups based in the least developed countries.

"It's frightening that while loss and damage was put on the back-burner, the European Union continued to push its failed experiment of market mechanisms." Kate Dooley, a consultant on market mechanisms to the Third World Network said.

"We've seen many governments in Bonn call for a review of the current failed carbon markets to see what went wrong, why they haven't actually reduced emissions and why they haven't raised finance on a significant scale. If we don't learn these lessons we'll be doomed to repeat these environmentally and financially risky schemes, at the cost of real action to reduce emissions." Kate Dooley, a consultant on market mechanisms to the Third World Network said.

"We only need a loss and damage mechanism because countries like the United States have refused to take on their fair-share of emission cuts or finance for adaptation. Yet we have seen them continue with their preposterous position that a de-regulated, do-what you like international system of climate controls will work. It won't, it will only make it worse." Robert Chimambo Southern African coordinator of PACJA said.