MEDIA BRIEFING
Friends of the Earth International
Advance: 6-17 November 2006
CLIMATE TALKS – NAIROBI
United Nations (UN) Climate Change
conference) Nairobi, Kenya Monday 6 – Friday
17 November 2006 Governments from 190
countries will meet in Nairobi, Kenya on the
6th November for the UN climate negotiations
to shape the future of an international
climate agreement.
The talks are crucial in taking forward
the international agenda on tackling climate
change – with scientists agreed that urgent
action is needed if we are to avoid
catastrophic climate change.
Many experts warn that we have just 10
years to stabilise the climate, and an
international agreement on the way forward is
essential if this is to be achieved.
A 700 page report by Sir Nicholas Stern on
the economics of climate change, released on
30 October, shows that governments can afford
to act– and must do so urgently – to avoid
disastrous economic costs. The report says
that measures to tackle climate change will
have economic benefits and that an investment
of just one per cent in the global economy
will avoid costs of 10 per cent.
A Summary
COP 12 (the 12th Conference of the Parties
to the UN Climate Change Convention) brings
together representatives from all countries
signed up to the Kyoto Protocol, the
international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. These countries need to build on
the successful UN discussions in Montreal
last year, and begin shaping an agreement on
greenhouse gas emissions cuts for the second
phase of the Kyoto Protocol starting in
2013.
Friends of the Earth International is
calling on governments to define a clear work
programme for the post 2012 negotiations
while in Nairobi. This must address all
aspects of the Montreal Action Plan agreed
last year. Countries are committed, under the
terms of the Kyoto Protocol, to carry out a
rigorous review of the Kyoto Protocol – and
this process should begin in Nairobi.
On-going negotiations must also take place on
the future action of industrialised
countries, as set out in article 3.9 of the
Kyoto Protocol. These negotiations should be
given a clear end date of 2008.
Additional agreements are also urgently
required to resolve arrangements for the
Adaptation Fund which finances projects on
the ground in developing countries to help
manage the impacts of climate change. In
addition, governments of rich countries must
increase funding for adaptation in less
developed countries.
Friends of the Earth International Climate
Campaigner Catherine Pearce said:
"Faced with such an overwhelming threat,
the urgent call for action cannot be ignored.
The talks in Nairobi must lead the
international community to the tough emission
cuts needed – and these must be firmly agreed
by 2008. The momentum we saw in Montreal last
year demonstrates the desire for action, but
Ministers arriving in Nairobi must speed up
this process urgently.
“We have a strong international framework
already in place. We must build on Kyoto and
strengthen it, with developed countries
committing to deeper cuts after 2012, and
some of the bigger developing countries also
joining the process. There must also be a
greater commitment to the needs of the most
vulnerable countries which are already
bearing the brunt of climate change.”
This briefing looks at the background to
the talks, the context of climate change in
Africa, items on the agenda and at Friends of
the Earth International’s involvement at the
talks.
Background
Ministers will meet in Nairobi against a
backdrop of growing calls for action on
climate change. The 10 hottest years on
record have all occurred since 1991 and 2005
was the warmest year in the northern
hemisphere.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently
wrote to EU leaders warning that “we have a
window of only 10-15 years to take the steps
we need to avoid crossing catastrophic
tipping points.” One of America’s top
scientists, Professor John Holdren and
President of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science recently claimed that
the world had already entered a state of
dangerous climate change.
New research published by the British Met
Office Hadley Centre in October this year
suggested that an additional quarter of the
Earth’s land surface could be affected by
drought by the end of this century.
The current commitments under the Kyoto
Protocol are based on modest targets for
industrialised countries. But scientists and
models demonstrate that these modest targets
will not prevent dangerous climate change.
Strengthening climate science confirms that a
2 degree celsius threshold for climate change
should be the guide for policy makers in
order to reduce the risk of irreversible and
catastrophic damage, especially in the
poorest countries. The 2 degree celsius limit
in average global temperatures has been EU
policy since 1996. Evidence suggests if we
are to keep levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere at a safe level (a level most
scientists put at well below 450ppmv)
countries will need to adopt stronger
agreements to cut their greenhouse gas
emissions, with action in developed countries
in the order of 35 per cent by 2020 and 80-90
per cent by 2050.
How the climate is changing in Africa The
meeting takes place in Kenya, and is the
first of its kind to take place in
sub-Saharan Africa. The event will take place
with a backdrop of evidence on how human
induced climate change is overwhelming
Africa. This is the continent most vulnerable
of all to the negative affects of climate
change, and the one that faces the greatest
challenges to adapt.
The Kenyan ‘Green Belt Movement’ recently
stated that Africa’s two highest and most
symbolic mountains, Mount Kilimanjaro and
Mount Kenya will lose their ice cover within
25 to 50 years if emissions are not cut.
Studies suggest that temperature rises of
just 2-3 degrees will see crop yields in
Africa fall by as much as 30 to 40 per cent.
Small scale farming provides most of the food
produced in Africa, as well as employment for
70 per cent of working people.
A coalition of the UK’s leading
development and environment groups will be
launching an updated Africa – Up in Smoke 2
report, based on the latest available
scientific research and evidence from those
living on the front line of climate
change.
It shows that climate change is already
having serious impacts on peoples’ lives
across Africa – and is set to get much worse
unless urgent action is taken. While local
conditions vary, across sub-Saharan Africa as
a whole, 33 per cent of people are
under-nourished, compared with 17 per cent of
people in all developing countries. This
rises to 55 per cent in Central Africa. The
average number of food emergencies in Africa
per year almost tripled since the mid 1980s.
Climate change poses a new and unprecedented
threat to food security. The report was
launched on 29 October. The first report on
Africa was launched in July 2005 in the run
up to the G8 Summit in Glenealges.
Friends of the Earth International in
Nairobi
Friends of the Earth International will be
in Nairobi actively following the
negotiations and lobbying for urgent action
and tough targets from governments. Working
as part of the Climate Action Network, which
includes groups from the South, we will be
working to show how climate change is an
urgent issue that is already considerably
afflicting people in many parts of the
world.
The Friends of the Earth Europe Climate
Deal
Friends of the Earth will also be
distributing copies of Friends of the Earth
Europe’s Climate Deal at the Nairobi talks.
The Deal represents an agreement made between
citizens and political leaders in Europe.
This followed an awareness raising campaign
in Europe during the summer of 2006, when
Friends of the Earth Europe campaigners
collected thousands of“Citizens Deals against
Climate Change”. People from all over Europe
promised to adopt more climate friendly
behaviour; in counterpart they expect their
government to do the same on the policy
level.
The Climate Deal booklets were presented
to each of the 25 European Environment
Ministers at a recent European Union Council
meeting in Luxembourg.
Demonstration against climate change, 11
November, Nairobi
A demonstration against climate change
will take place in Nairobi, following
international demonstrations in major cities
all around the world on the previous Saturday
4 November. Some 5,000 people are expected to
participate. More information on both
demonstration days are available from
http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org/
Learning lessons of community resilience:
successes and barriers to reducing
vulnerability
Friends of the Earth International
Official side event Climate change requires
building resilience in local communities to
reduce vulnerability to impacts, capturing
the attention from the multi-lateral level to
the grass roots. This side event will explore
a range of actions taken at community level
and the role of financial institutions. With
Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai from
the Kenyan ‘Green Belt Movement’.
Wednesday 15 November, 11:15 to 12:45
African Blackwood Tree, Gigiri
BACKGROUND TO THE UN NEGOTIATIONS
The Kyoto Protocol, established in 1997,
came into force in February 2005. The
Protocol was born from and firmly embedded in
the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change, drafted and adopted in 1992. The
Convention sets an overall framework for
intergovernmental efforts to tackle the
challenge posed by climate change. It
recognises that the climate is a shared
global resource. Its stability can be
affected by industrial and other emissions of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gases.
Thirty six countries are currently bound
by the Protocol, committing to mandatory
targets for the period 2008-12, when the
first commitment period ends. There is wide
agreement that this first round of
commitments will not save the climate from
catastrophic change but is a base to build on
for the future.
Issues on the Agenda
The international climate negotiations
take place from 6- 17 November. Joint
meetings of the Conference of the Parties and
Meeting of the Parties will be convened and
the high level segment from 15-17 November,
will be attended by Ministers from around the
world.
Critical items include discussions on the
shape of the international climate regime
after 2012, and the detail of the Montreal
Action Plan.
Articles 3.9 and 9 of the Protocol require
that countries begin in 2005 and 2006 to both
review and amend the Protocol in preparation
for the second commitment period in 2013.
Article 3.9 which refers to future
commitments by the industrialised countries
was raised in Montreal last year and an Ad
Hoc Working Group (AWG) established. This
group has met once already in Bonn in Germany
in May during official UN meetings and a list
of issues to be discussed were identified. An
‘In Session’ Workshop will be held during the
second meeting of the AWG in Nairobi with
presentations from Parties and external
bodies, including the EU and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on
the 4th Assessment Report due out next
year.
Under Article 9 a wider review of the
Protocol is requested at the second Meeting
of the Parties. This is an important
opportunity for a rigorous review of the
Protocol, in order to ensure its future
effectiveness, equitable basis and expansion
beyond 2012.
The third process, the “Dialogue on Long
Term Cooperative Action”, a non-binding
two-year dialogue under the Convention “to
analyse strategic approaches for long-term
cooperative action to address climate change”
will continue. This will take place 15-16
November and will discuss advancing
development goals in a sustainable way and
realising the full potential of market-based
opportunities.
Discussions on reducing emissions from
deforestation in developing countries, an
issue initially raised by Papua New Guinea
and Costa Rica in Montreal, will be
continued. A number of additional proposals
have recently been presented. Agreement on
implementation of such an arrangement is
needed by COP13 in 2007.
Friends of the Earth International is
calling on governments arriving in Nairobi to
set out a clear work programme for the post
2012 negotiations.
These negotiations must be completed by
the end of 2008 in order for the first
commitment period to be immediately followed
by the second. Both negotiating tracks under
Article 3.9 and 9 under the Protocol are
complementary and intimately interconnected.
Achievement of a post 2012 regime relies on
success being achieved in both fora.
Additional agreements are also urgently
required to resolve operational arrangements
for the Adaptation Fund which finances
concrete adaptation projects in developing
countries. The funds are raised via a levy on
credits that are generated from projects
under the Clean Development Mechanism.
Parties have yet to agree under which
institution the Fund should sit.
Future Action
Recognising the issue of equity, and the
principle of “differentiated but common
responsibilities”, it is essential that Annex
I countries act first in making the deepest
cuts and demonstrate further leadership on
the issue of climate change, by setting new
binding targets that sharply reduce their
emissions beyond 2012.
Friends of the Earth urges governments to
make real progress on deepening
industrialised country commitments in the
post 2012 regime which will help to secure
the protection of this planet against the
dangers of climate change.
A more dynamic framework will be required
to reflect the range of commitments and
actions beyond the current Annex I and non
Annex I. We believe the Kyoto Protocol can be
expanded and strengthened post 2012 to take
on this capacity.
The negotiations for the future framework
should aim towards flexibility, innovation
and integration of the range of capacities to
ensure all needs (including sustainable
development) are recognised and should also
include greater quantified contributions from
larger developing countries. This would be a
further expansion of the ‘common but
differentiated responsibilities’, principle
on which the current regime is based.
The international Climate Action Network
has set forth a clear proposal for the post
2012 regime including more ambitious absolute
and binding reduction targets for the
industrialised ‘Annex I’ countries;
contributions from rapidly developing, non
Annex I countries to advance their
development goals in a sustainable manner,
largely funded by the industrialised world;
and increased adaptation measures for the
most vulnerable countries and
communities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Friends of the Earth International Climate
Campaigner Catherine Pearce
Tel: + 44 (0) 7811 283 641 or Email:
catp@foe.co.uk or media@foei.org
|
