Outcomes of the Twenty-first Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Paris Mr. David Kaluba Interim Inter-Ministerial Secretariat for Climate Change February 4, 2016
PROCEEDINGS OF THE PARIS COP 21 The Paris Climate Change Conference was held from 30th November to 12th December 2016 in Le Boughert, outside Paris, France The Conference brought together over 45,000 participants, including 150 Presidents and Prime Ministers at the Leaders a Event on 30th November, the largest ever, single day gathering of Heads of State While negotiations were hard fought and progress characteristically slow, there were no major procedural show downs largely due to the deft diplomacy of the French Cop Presidency The Conference went 24 hours past the official deadline, but Parties were generally unanimous in wrangles and Parties heralded the Agreement as historical once it was adopted on Saturday 12th December
OUTCOMES FROM PARIS COP 21 There were two major outcomes from the Climate Conference in Paris; the Paris Agreement and the COP Decisions The Agreement is a Land Mark outcome, a culmination of four years of negotiations and consist of 29 articles The Paris Agreement reflects a hybrid approach, blending bottom up flexibility to achieve broad participation with top down rules to promote accountability The Agreement is a treaty under international law, but only certain parts of it are legally binding while many others are voluntary Among other things, the new treaty ends the strict differentiation between developed and developing countries, which characterized earlier efforts
OUTCOMES FROM PARIS COP 21 Many provisions of the Paris Agreement establish common commitments, while allowing flexibility to accommodate different national capacities and circumstances, either through self- differentiation or operational rules, yet to be developed It puts in place a common framework which commits all countries to put forward their best efforts and to strengthen them in the years ahead It also requires all Parties to report regularly on their emissions and implementation efforts, and undergo international review
KEY PROVISIONS OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT AND ACCOMPANYING COP DECISION Reaffirms limiting global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius while urging efforts to limit the same increase to 1.5 degrees Establishes binding commitments for all parties to develop Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and to pursue domestic measures aimed at achieving them Commits all countries to report regularly on their emissions and on "progress made in implementing and achieving their NDCs," and to undergo international review Commits all countries to submit new NDCs every five years, with the expectation that they will represent a "progression above the previous ones" Reaffirms the binding commitments for developed countries under the UNFCCC to support the efforts of developed countries For the first time, the agreement also encourages developing countries to make voluntary contributions
KEY PROVISIONS OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT AND ACCOMPANYING COP DECISION Extended the current goal of mobilizing 100 billion USD per year in support by 2020 through 2025, with a new, higher goal to be set for the period beyond 2025 Extend the mechanism to address "loss and damage" arising from climate change, which will explicitly not provide a basis for any liability or include compensation Requires Parties, engaging in international emissions trading to avoid double counting Calls for a new mechanism, similar to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, enabling emission reductions in one country to counted towards the NDC of another country
MITIGATION On mitigation, the Paris Agreement set two long term emission goals: 1. peaking of emissions as soon as possible in the second half of this century, and achieving 2. carbon neutrality or decarbonization; expressed as a balance between anthropogenic emissions by source and removals by sinks For individual country mitigation efforts, the Agreement prescribes a set of binding procedural commitments to "prepare, communicate and maintain" NDCs, to provide information necessary for transparency and communicate NDCs every five years The Agreement commits countries to pursue domestic measures with a view to achieving their NDCs However, it does not make the implementation or achievement of the NDC a binding obligation The core mitigation commitments are common to all parties, but there is some differentiation in the expectations set; "Developed countries should undertake absolute economy wide reduction targets while developing countries are encouraged to move towards economy wise targets over time" Developing countries are to receive support to implement their commitments
ADAPTATION A major priority for many developing countries was strengthening adaptation under the UNFCCC The Paris Agreement achieved this by by making the following provisions: Establishing a global goal of enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change Requiring all Parties, as appropriate to plan and implement adaptation actions Encouraging all parties to report on their adaptation efforts and/or needs Committing enhanced adaptation support for developing countries; and Including a review of adaptation progress and of adequacy of adaptation support, in the global stock take to be undertaken every five years
FINANCE As at other COPs, finance was a contentious issue in Paris with developing countries seeking assurances that financial support will be scaled up and developed countries pushing for wealthier developing countries to contribute as well Both succeeded to some degree as the Paris Agreement commits developed countries to provide financial support for adaptation and mitigation to developing countries (in continuation of their existing obligations under the Convention) Other Parties are encouraged to provide such support voluntarily, "those willing to do so, as opposed to those in a position to do so" The COP decision extends the $100 billion a year goal through 2025, and states that beyond 2025, the COP will set a new collective quantified goal from the floor of the $100 billion a year Developed countries are committed to submit, every two years, an indicative quantitative and qualitative formation on future support, including, as available, projects levels of public Finance Other countries are encouraged to do so on a voluntary basis and finance will also be included in the global stock take
NEXT COP STEPS i. The Paris Agreement will be opened for signature on 22nd April 2016 at the United Nations in New York ii. In order to become a Party to the Agreement, a country will need to express its formal consent through ratification, acceptance, approval or accession iii. The Agreement establishes a double trigger for entry into force by requiring approval by at least 55 countries accounting for 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions iv. If Parties ratify quickly, these conditions could be met allowing the COP to meet for the first time as Meeting of Parties to the Paris Agreement in 2020 v. In the interim, pending entry into force for the Agreement, a new Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) has been established to oversee putting in place rules and procedures, it will start meeting during the May (16 to 26) in Bonn vi. COP 22 will take place from November 7-22 in Marrakesh, Morocco
COP21: WHAT IS ICCS DOING? Preparation of Investment Plan beyond Zambia s NDC Scale Up: Sustainable forestry, Adaptation Actions Renewable energy Enhance Engagement with the Green Climate Fund (GCF), World Bank, AfDB and other Partners
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