African Anger at European Calls for 'New Mandate'

By VIOLET MENGO

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA - Today - Civil society leaders from across Africa, with support from global movements, launched a letter to climate negotiators that warns that focusing on launching a new mandate at the Durban talks risks backtracking on promises to the poor and the planet.

The letter calls on developed countries to urgently scale up the ambition of their emission reduction targets and reminds negotiators that current emission reduction pledges will lead us to a world that is 5°C warmer. For Africa, this means 7 or 8°C of warming and unimaginable human suffering.

Michele Maynard from the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) said:

"Following what some delegates say you would think that the purpose of these negotiations was a 'new roadmap' - that's just not true. Of central and agreed importance is the need to negotiate deep emission cuts as a part of a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Coming up with new 'mandates' and 'roadmaps' is a distraction from that very necessary action. It's also a breach of faith, in 2007 all countries agreed to do this."

"A climate agreement that does what is necessary to protect Africa is like cooking a good recipe. It needs just enough emission cuts and a dollop of finance and technology for responding to climate impacts. We've got the recipe from the Bali Action Plan, we've got all the ingredients, even started cutting up some of the vegetables, but now some people want to cook something else. That's a recipe for doing-nothing and delay."

"This letter is a clarion call to negotiators - you either see the science and recognize its urgency; or you don't. You either hear what the world's poorest people are saying and care; or you don't. Any outcome which locks in the current proposed emission cuts or puts off talking about how to bring those cuts into line with the science is utterly unacceptable."

The letter, signed by movements representing hundreds of organisations across Africa and the world, includes the follow quotations:

"Agreeing to a new mandate that replaces the Kyoto Protocol would mean action is effectively delayed for five to ten years. A new treaty will take several years to negotiate with several more years needed for ratification. Further, there is no assurance that countries that have repudiated the existing legal architecture, like the United States, will agree to or ratify a new agreement, nor that such agreement will not be a weak and ineffective "pledge and review" system."

"While many developed countries seek to end the Kyoto Protocol, they simultaneously attempt to retain and expand their favored elements of the Kyoto Protocol, like the CDM, in a new agreement and shift their responsibilities onto developing countries. Without legally binding emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol, developed countries must not be allowed to have access to the carbon markets."

African Group sets out key demands as talks enter final stages

By VIOLET MENGO

COP17, Durban, South Africa - The African Group of negotiators have set out their five key demands as UN climate talks in Durban move into the high level stage of negotiations today.

The Group, which represents 54 African countries and is chaired by Mr. Tosi Mpanu Mpanu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are demanding:

• A multilateral agreement that respects the principles and provisions of the Convention, and matches the ambition and substance set out in the Bali Action Plan
• A second and subsequent commitment periods under the Kyoto Protocol with ambitious, science-based mitigation targets for developed country Kyoto Parties and provisional application to avoid a gap in the legally binding regime; and comparable efforts by developed country non-Kyoto Parties (United States) under the Convention, including ambitious, legally binding, economy-wide emission reduction commitments;
• Agreement on long-term sources and scale of finance commencing in 2013, including a process for determining the levels of finance necessary for implementation of the Convention in a predictable and identifiable manner;
• Full operationalization of the outcomes and institutions agreed in Cancun including the Green Climate Fund
• Agreement on a work programme on adaptation to establish an international mechanism on loss and damage from climate change for developing countries.

Mr Tosi Mpanu Mpanu said:

"As a world leader on climate change, a major player in the UN climate change negotiations, and hosts of an "African COP" Africa must continue to play an important and growing role in the climate negotiations.  

"The Durban Package must respond to Africa's needs and potential. We are talking to the developed countries about how they meet their historical responsibilities to deliver a fair and just climate deal for the world."

 ENDS

G77 and China: Saving Tomorrow Today

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA - Yesterday -  The opening of the Joint High Level Segment of the COP17/CMP7 in Durban was inaugurated by the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as well as the President of the Conference and Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and the Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, Ms. Christiana Figueres.

President Zuma highlighted that Durban is proving to be "a decisive moment" in the UNFCCC process, and called all parties to show flexibility in defense of the system. "We need to show the world that parties are ready to solve the problems in a practical manner and are willing to forgo national interest for the interest of humanity, no matter how difficult this may be".

The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina presented a statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, emphasizing the urgent need to address climate change, which for countries within the G77 and China is a matter of survival.

He added: "Developing countries are now more than ever experiencing the very real impacts of climate change, which are undermining our development prospects and aggravating preexisting vulnerabilities. This has been confirmed a few days ago by the Special Report (SREX) that was adopted by IPCC member governments, highlighting that fatality rates and economic losses expressed as a proportion of GDP are higher in developing countries."

The Vice Minister of Argentina made a strong appeal to all parties, "we believe this process has to deliver". He reiterated that the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol is the cornerstone of credible efforts in addressing climate change, i.e. a second commitment period that is fully legally binding and ratified. He added that further political commitment was needed to raise the level of ambition of developed countries pledges, in line with what is required by science, equity and historical responsibilities.

He reminded participants in the very crowded Baobab Plenary room that developing countries are already undertaking bold action in mitigation and adaptation activities, including with our own resources, in a scenario where the provisions of the Convention regarding the support of finance, technology transfer and capacity building by developed countries parties are far from being met. We are willing to do more, but the available international cooperation for national mitigation and adaptation actions clearly needs to be scaled up.

"We believe that resolve and progress in this front could be the key to a leap forward in mitigation actions by developing countries", added Vice Minister D'Alotto. Also, "setting in motion the Green Climate Fund created in Cancun must include its initial capitalization, from public financial resources as soon as possible, to appease the fears of an "empty shell" structure."

The Group of 77 and China expressed the hope and determination to make all needed efforts to achieve an outcome that is comprehensive and balanced, enabling the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through  long-term cooperative action now, up to and beyond 2012, pursuant to the  results  of  the  thirteenth  and  sixteenth  sessions  of  the Conference  of  the  Parties,  addressing both  implementation tasks and issues that are still to be concluded as per the agreed agenda.  Such an outcome, on the basis of equity and taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, demands a decision on establishing the commitments of the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol here in Durban.

"I don't think you want to disappoint the citizens of the globe", said President Zuma. We all agree that the Earth is in danger. The Group of 77 and China calls on all Parties to engage meaningfully and to stop attempts to water down the existing process under the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol and to resolutely move forward for their full implementation and strengthening.

As stated by Argentina on behalf of the Group of 77 and China at the session: "We are fully committed with you in "SAVING TOMORROW, TODAY."

African Agriculture Already Struggling From Climate Change

By VIOLET MENGO
 (Durban, South Africa) New research reveals Africa will face significantly lower crop yields in the next 10 years as a result of increasing temperatures, threatening the food security of millions.

The new report on climate change and African agriculture, published by the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC), the technical arm of the Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev Africa) programme, based at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), examined the extent of climate change impacts in Africa and their effects on food security, and found that even small temperature increases were likely to affect yields.

The report is published against the backdrop of the UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa, where future action to limit temperature increases is being discussed.

"This report provides an important context for the talks in Durban," Dr Seleshi Bekele, Senior Water and Climate Specialist at the ACPC said. "Agriculture is the lifeline and mainstay of livelihoods for three out of four Africans, and therefore adaptation to climate change in this critical sector is not an option but a necessity".

The report's author, Prof Doreen Stabinsky said "Global temperature rise must be limited urgently to avoid serious impacts on African agricultural production. International offset programmes, which provide a substitute for action in developed countries, are actually further threatening food security in Africa." She reiterated further that "African farmers and pastoralists are already seeing changes in the timing of rains, in the severity of rains, in temperatures, and in the progressive drying of their soils."

Recent research summarized in the report concluded that from 1980-2008, due to rising global temperatures, global maize and wheat yields have already decreased by 3.8% and 5.5% respectively.

"All of these impacts are being felt before we even see a temperature rise of 1°C," Stabinsky warned.

"African countries are highly vulnerable to climate change, and the agriculture sector is a good indicator of vulnerability given its importance to livelihoods and the economy. The impact that current and historic GHG emission is having on agriculture in Africa needs to be better understood in order for African negotiators to negotiate effectively, armed with the kind of information outlined in this report" said Seyni Nafo. Spokesperson of the African Group.

At the current rate of temperature increase, global average temperatures will have increased 1.5°C by 2050. Studies quoted in the report estimate average production losses by 2050 for African maize at 22%, sorghum 17%, millet 17%, groundnut 18%, and cassava 8%. "Warming as low as 1.5˚C threatens food production in Africa significantly." added Stabinsky.

The research also shows that warming over 1.5°C will mean severe crop loss, displacement of pastoralists and agricultural production, and dangerous impacts on food security for millions of people.

African governments should demand a work programme on agriculture under the Adaptation Framework, as recommended by the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, both to ensure food security and address slow onset temperature rise and the yield declines that will follow, Stabinsky added.

The report covers many of the current and projected climate impacts in Africa, including:

• Impacts of extreme temperatures and slow onset temperature rise on crop yields;
• Global warming contributions to the Sahel and Horn of Africa droughts;
• Impacts on tea and cocoa production in Africa from changing climates; and
• Risk of continued emissions from Annex I countries for African agriculture.

Implications of Canada’s potential withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol before the end of the

All reasonable efforts have been made in providing the following information. However due to the

circumstances and the timeframes involved, these materials have been prepared for informational

purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and

receipt does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Those consulting this Paper may wish to obtain

their own legal advice. To the extent permitted by law any liability (including without limitation for

negligence or for any damages of any kind) for the legal analysis is excluded.

This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development

(DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. However, the views expressed and information contained in

it are not necessarily those of or endorsed by DFID, which can accept no responsibility for such views or

information or for any reliance placed on them.

Introduction:

1. This briefing paper analyses the process and legality of Canada’s alleged pending withdrawal from

the Kyoto Protocol (“

December 2012. After summarising the process which Canada would have to follow to withdraw

from the KP, this briefing paper examines the limited recourse available to international bodies

and the parties to the KP to preserve Canada’s status as a party, the legal implications of Canada’s

withdrawal, as well as the possibility of assessing Canada’s compliance with its emission reduction

targets on a

responsibility in relation to their withdrawal from the KP.

KP” or the “Protocol”) prior to the end of the first commitment period on 31pro-rata basis. This paper has not addressed the issue of Canada’s international

Right of Withdrawal under the Kyoto Protocol:

2. Canada is a party to both the KP and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (“

Article 54 of the VCLT provides that a party to a treaty may withdraw from a treaty in conformity

with the provisions of that treaty. Pursuant to Article 27 of the KP, a party may withdraw from the

Protocol by giving written notification to the UN Depositary. Any such withdrawal will take effect

one year from the date of receipt by the Depositary of the withdrawal notification or such later

date as specified in the notification (the “

Canada may withdraw from the Protocol at any time, such withdrawal taking effect no less than

one year after the date of receipt by the Depositary of the notification of withdrawal.

3. Should Canada effect its rights under Article 27 and withdraw from the KP, it is unlikely that either

of the Conference of the Parties (“

Change (“

(“

recourse against Canada. There also does not appear to be any legal basis on which the COP, CMP,

UN Depositary or any individual party to the KP may delay or prohibit Canada’s withdrawal from

the KP if Canada were to decide to withdraw from the KP pursuant to Article 27.

VCLT”).Cooling Period”). Consequently, as a party to the KP,COP”) to the United Nations Framework Convention on ClimateUNFCCC”) or the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the PartiesCMP”), as multilateral bodies, nor any of the individual parties to the KP, would have any legal

Legal Implications of Canada’s Withdrawal:

4. The first legal implication of Canada’s potential withdrawal from the KP prior to the end of the

first commitment period is that it would render any enforcement or penalty provisions under the

KP inapplicable to Canada. During the one year Cooling Period Canada would still be bound to

strive towards its emissions reduction target for the first commitment period. However, notifying

Page 2 of 2

the UN Depositary prior to 31 December 2011 of its intention to withdraw from the KP would

mean that the enforcement branch of the KP’s compliance committee would have no power

under decision 27/CMP.1 to assess Canada's compliance with its annual assigned amount of

greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. This stems from the fact that the enforcement branch can

only assess the compliance of a party to the KP at the end of the first commitment period. If

Canada is not a party to the KP at the end of the first commitment period, the enforcement

branch would have no jurisdiction to assess Canada’s compliance, save perhaps a declaration of

non-compliance .

5. Secondly, having withdrawn from the KP, Canada would not be subject to any emission reduction

targets in the second commitment period, assuming one is agreed in Durban.

6. Finally, a practical consequence of Canada’s withdrawal from the KP prior to the end of the first

commitment period is that Canada would avoid having to submit its final national inventory

report, due by 15 April 2014, for annual GHG emissions data for the period ending on 31

December 2012. Since by that point Canada would no longer be a party to the KP, it would not

need to purchase carbon credits during the “true-up period” in order to comply with its first

commitment period target (whether pro-rated or not).

Possibility of assessing Canada’s compliance with its emission reduction targets on a

pro-rata basis

7. Should Canada choose to withdraw from the KP, there does not appear to be any basis under the

Protocol or any related rules that would allow its emission reduction targets for the first

commitment period to be assessed on a

1 and 7, states that the reduction targets are calculated on the commitment period as a whole. By

virtue of withdrawing from the KP

exempt itself from having to meet its emission reduction commitments under the KP.

8. While the option of attempting to amend the KP to allow for pro-rated emission reduction

calculations would be open to the parties, such a process could not ultimately prevent Canada’s

withdrawal from the KP, should it choose to do so as described above. An amendment to the KP

may only be adopted at a CMP session, with notice of the proposed amendment provided to all

parties to the KP at least six months prior to such session. While this notice period is shorter than

the Cooling Period required by parties who have given notice of their intention to withdraw from

the KP, by the time the relevant amendment entered into force, the withdrawing party would no

longer be a party to the KP.

9. More fundamentally, however, pursuant to Article 20(4), amendments to the KP are only binding

on those who accept them and it is inconceivable that Canada would choose to adopt and ratify

an amendment which would allow for their first commitment period obligations to be pro-rated in

such a way that it could make Canada internationally responsible for breach of the KP.pro-rata basis. Article 3 of the KP, specifically paragraphsduring the first commitment period, Canada would essentially

GEF CEO Monique Barbut Hosts Panel Discussion on Africa Land, Water and Forests

By VIOLET MENGO

DURBAN, South Africa, December 8, 2011 – Monique Barbut, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), hosted a discussion of African leaders and international development organizations on the combined efforts to protect and enhance the key natural resources of sub-Saharan Africa.

The participants included representatives of South Africa, Ethiopia, Chad, Congo, Gabon and Senegal, as well as World Bank Vice President Rachel Kyte, African Union Commission Chairman H.E. Jean Ping, and Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank. All strongly support three initiatives aimed at restoring Central Africa’s key water resource, preventing the desertification of sub-Saharan Africa, and protecting the vast Congo Basin rain forest. The means to that end is climate-resilient development, so that economies can grow and livelihoods improve while the natural resources on which lives depend are protected and enhanced.

The GEF, world’s largest public funder of international environmental projects, is responsible for funding the projects and coordinating the cofinancing of the total $2.36 billion(including $14.8 million from the LDCF and $4.6 million from the SCCF) for the three initiatives together, said these initiatives reflect the importance of merging economic and environmental priorities.

“The nations involved, and their allies in the international community, seek ways to pursue sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa through careful management and protection of natural resources, including land, water and forests,” GEF CEO Barbut said. “These nations, spanning a vast region from the Sahel to the Congo basin, fully understand what is at stake for their own people and their national economies. The lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of Africans depend on sustaining the health of these fragile ecosystems.”

The Great Green Wall project focuses on sustainability and resistance to climate change in the Sahel. Drought, land degradation and water scarcity, perennial problems in this region, are now exacerbated by climate variability. Careful management of scarce natural resources is critical not only to the livelihoods of millions in this region covering 5 percent of the continent, but also to survival. The Great Green Wall Initiative of the Sahel and Sahara integrates management of dryland forests, agroforestry parklands, agricultural landscapes, and pastoral systems.

The Congo Basin, home to the world’s second largest tropical rain forest, covers an area the size of India. These forests contain the largest repository of biodiversity on the continent, extending across five countries – Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Central African Republic. The Congo Basin Partnership involves local, national and international entities in implementing a collective vision to safeguard these forests as assets for climate-resilient development. At the same time, preservation of this forest system would represent a major contribution by Africa to protecting the global climate.

Lake Chad is the second largest wetland in Africa and a lifeline for nearly 20 million people in central Africa. The freshwater and rich biodiversity in the lake and surrounding wetlands is shared by Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. But the surface area of the lake has shrunk dramatically, declining from 25,000 square miles 45 years ago to 2,500 square miles today.

Today’s event comes one year after COP 16 in Cancun, where Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of Africa, presented these three initiatives as priorities of the African Union. The situation is urgent: Climate change projections indicate that nearly one-third of the land base in Africa is under threat of desertification, and the continent as a whole is on a path to be hit hard by deforestation and drought, along with the reduction of available fresh water and consequent food insecurity. The wellbeing and livelihood of 70 percent of the continent’s population is at stake.

COP17 final day

By VIOLET MENGO

 

120 countries, including Brazil, Japan, Canada and many African nations, have lined up behind the EU's proposal for a roadmap towards a new global agreement. The plan would involve the major emitters from both the developing and developed world to sign a deal in 2015 which would come into effect in 2020.

There was some confusion on Thursday when the US lead negotiator Todd Stern appeared to endorse the EU's position (he used the term "roadmap" approvingly twice in a press conference). He later rowed back from that though and seems to favour a more flexible time-table.

Meanwhile, India has been strongly opposed to any plan that would mean it and other large developing economies should take on legally-binding cuts to carbon emissions. China's position is ambiguous. It has made some warm noises about the EU plan but appears also to be some way from accepting legally binding cuts.

If there is to be a deal, the talks may well spill over into Saturday – and there are even rumours that delegates are preparing for the talking to continue into Sunday.