PHL delegation walks out of ‘loss and damage’ consultation at climate change talks

The two-week Warsaw talks, due to end on Friday (November 22), are trying to lay the foundations for a new global climate accord meant to be agreed in 2015 and enter into force from 2020.

 

On calls by emerging nations for a mechanism to cover loss and damage, United States climate envoy Todd Stern said he thought a resolution could be found. The rich fear it would be costly and make them legally liable for droughts, heatwaves and storms.

 

One of the most contentious issues at U.N. talks has long been climate finance, or money put aside to help developing countries cut emissions and adapt to a changing climate.

 

Industrialised nations have promised to raise the allocation to 100 billion U.S. dollars a year by 2020 for developing countries, from 10 billion dollars a year in 2010-2012.

 

Stern said the pledge of 100 billion dollars remained.

 

"In terms of money, look, we have a hundred billion dollar joint donor commitment, a hundred billion dollars a year by 2020 from all sources in context, I think the words are in the context of meaningful mitigation and transparency from all countries, including developing countries. That's what our financial commitment is and that's not changing," he said.

 

German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said his country also remained committed to its promises.

 

"I can not yet make any promises and commitments as to how much we will increase the amounts but we will continue at least at current levels and we do everything we can to increase the level of ambition," he said, alluding to current coalition negotiations in Germany.

 

For many poorer countries, the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan has raised the urgency of compensation.

 

Global economic losses caused by extreme weather have risen to nearly 200 billion dollars a year over the last decade and look set to increase further as climate change worsens, the World Bank said this week.

 

But many richer countries are reluctant to foot the bill and are focused on spurring growth in their stagnant economies.

 

"We cannot have a system where there will be automatic compensation whenever severe weather events are happening at one place or other around the planet," the European Union's climate commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, said.

 

The charity Oxfam has estimated that climate aid has totalled between 7.6 billion and 16.3 billion dollars so far this year.

 

Brazil's chief negotiator Jose Marcondes de Carvalho asked where the money was.

 

"We've heard about the fast start commitments in terms of finance. Where is it? We heard about finance of one hundred billion a year from the period 2020 onwards. Where are those commitments being materialised in terms of how we're going to proceed and see that money flow into the developing countries," he told a news conference.

 

His words were echoed by India's environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan.

 

"None of the pledges are anywhere near fulfilment so I believe that this is a question that needs to be raised. This is the place where it needs to be raised," she said.

 

At the talks, Japan promised $16 billion over three years and on Wednesday Norway, Britain and the United States also pledged $280 million to sustain the world's forests.

 

Also on Wednesday, Polish Environment Minister Marcin Korolec, presiding at the talks, lost his job in a cabinet reshuffle but will remain host of the U.N. meeting.

 

"I would like to reassure you that the Polish presidency of the COP19 climate summit remains unchanged. We look forward to the success of the summit in Warsaw and the entire Polish presidency which will last until December 2014," he said.

 

A study released on Wednesday, said the world was getting further off track in limiting global warming with policy setbacks in Japan and Australia outweighing positive signals from the United States and China.

 

A Climate Action Tracker compiled by scientists said the world was headed for a temperature rise of 3.7 degrees Celsius (6.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times by 2100, against 3.1C (5.8F) if governments stuck to promised cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

 

"The international community has agreed to keep global temperature increase to two degrees but what we find if we look at the currently implemented policies of countries, the temperature increase will be at 3.7 degrees. So there is a huge gap between what countries agreed to be doing and what is really happening on the ground," said Niklas Hohne, director of ECOFYS.

 

Wednesday's study, by Climate Analytics, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Ecofys, said Japan's decision last week to ease its 2020 greenhouse gas emissions goals made it harder to reach the global two degrees Celsius goal.

 

Japan said its original emissions goal of a 25 percent cut below 1990 levels was out of reach after its nuclear power industry was shuttered by the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The new goal is for a maximum three per cent rise.

 

Australia's new policies, shifting from an emissions trading scheme, would also marginally raise emissions, adding to a problem that many nations were failing to stick to curbs on emissions agreed in 2009.

 

"There are some countries which go backwards and that they change their policy in a negative direction. One example is Australia which has just changed its national legislation, or has plans to change the national legislation, that will basically increase the estimate of their future emissions. Another negative example is Japan. They have also changed their international commitments. Their argument is the replacement of nuclear power plants, but that can only explain to a certain extent the change in their target so they have done more than that," Hohne said.

 

On the positive side he noted that U.S. President Barack Obama had outlined tougher action and that China was, for instance, banning coal-fired power plants in some areas.

 

In September, the U.N. panel of climate scientists said that world temperature rises were headed to exceed 2.0C under most of its scenarios. It said that limiting warming would require "substantial and sustained" cuts in emissions.

 

The panel also raised the probability that human activities are the main cause of warming since 1950 to 95 per cent, up from 90 per cent in its previous assessment in 2007.  — with Reuters/Rouchelle R. Dinglasan/ELR/BM, GMA News