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COP 23 creates ‘launch-pad’ for countries to up emissions ambitions

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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 23rd Conference of the Parties, or COP 23, held in Bonn, Germany but presided over by Fiji, was unlikely to result in any breakthrough news announcements.

Its main role was to lay the groundwork for the next key milestone following the 2015 Paris Agreement – due in 2020 when countries are to update their climate pledges.

But the lack of any major upsets will no doubt be seen as a good thing after the US government stated its intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement earlier this year. US negotiators reportedly engaged with the talks in a relatively normal fashion.

The main story from this year’s COP was the emergence of the ‘Talanoa Dialogue’ (or Facilitative Dialogue) – with delegates from over 190 countries agreeing to engage over the next 12 months to take stock of collective Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs – each country’s individual climate pledge), and then discuss ways to consider increasing their ambition.

This is the start of a ratcheting process in which countries will be encouraged to increase their emissions reduction plans over time to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – to keep the global average temperature rise below 2°C and ‘as close as possible’ to 1.5°C.

Current NDCs amount to around 3°C of warming. ‘The conference has, with the adoption of the Talanoa Dialogue, delivered a launch-pad that can take us to that next stage of higher ambition,’ said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change secretariat. ‘It has also advanced the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement so that by 2018 it can truly support sustained international cooperation and national efforts to realise a more secure, prosperous and better world for all.’ 

The conference also saw the launch of a plethora of initiatives, reports and more local climate pledges. The number of these led to COP stakeholders stressing the growing need to coordinate efforts across policy, planning and investment – to ensure that investment and mitigation efforts have the maximum effect of boosting NDC action.

One of the most widely reported initiatives was the Powering Past Coal Alliance, launched by the UK and Canada, with a membership of more than 20 nations and states, including France and Italy, committed to ending the use of unabated coal power. The founding partners aim to grow the alliance to 50 members by COP 24.

Reports were launched on renewables, with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) stating at COP 23 that many countries now have higher renewable energy targets than are stated in their NDCs. Another report from Future Earth and the Earth League says renewable energy expansion around the globe is doubling around every five and a half years, which is consistent with the decarbonisation of the energy sector by mid-century.

From a US perspective, the America’s Pledge initiative was launched by California Governor Jerry Brown and Michael Bloomberg to track progress by states, cities and businesses towards the US’ NDC.

And French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would replace the $2mn annual donation to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that was withdrawn by the US.

Elsewhere, some progress was made towards the target of providing $100bn a year in climate finance to support developing countries, and the adaptation fund for 2017 exceeded its target by $13mn. The Ocean Pathway Partnership was launched to link climate change action and healthy oceans. And the UN Development Programme, Germany, Spain and the EU launched a €42mn NDC Support Programme to assist countries deliver on the Paris Agreement.

A full list of announcements can be found at cop23.unfccc.int

Photo: BMUB/Michael Gottschalk


News Item details


Journal title: Energy World

Subjects: Energy consumption, Energy policy, Environmental policy, Climate change

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