Countries accept "rules" at COP24 [1]
Monday, December 17, 2018 - 22:22
The rules require countries to track their emissions in liaision with other countries.
However, Gebru Jember, Chair of the Least Developed Countries Group expressed his disappointment saying some parts of the guidelines could have been stronger, but added that it provides a strong basis to start implementing the Agreement.
“The next step, of course, is for countries to take urgent, ambitious action to fulfil their Paris Agreement commitments.”
“Parties need to revise and enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions before 2020 in line with their fair share,” said Jember.
But added that it is well known that current pledges will not be nearly enough to limit warming to 1.5oC.
“To achieve the visions and the goals of the Paris Agreement, countries must commit to greater levels of climate action and support, and follow through on those commitments.”
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report
Another disappointment from COP24 is that all countries were not able to welcome the IPCC report on 1.5oC even though the world’s 47 Least Developed Countries welcomed it.
“We cannot ignore its findings, and we absolutely must not ignore its recommendations. We must – and, importantly, we can – limit warming to 1.5oC, and that means making transformative changes across all aspects of society,” said Jember.
While no country is immune to the impacts of climate change, the least developed countries are often hit the hardest, suffer the most, and have the least capacity to cope.
Climate Finance
Jember called on all countries “particularly those most responsible for causing this crisis who have the greatest capacity to respond” to prevent the devastating loss and damage of 1.5 oC by urgently cutting emissions and provide the climate finance to poor countries that are still developing who really need it.
“This is a matter of justice and a matter of survival.”
“The level of climate finance must meet the actual costs for our countries to adapt and address the impacts of climate change, to protect our people and our communities.”
“Our countries also have ambitious plans to tackle climate change and develop sustainable, but we currently lack the resources to make those plans a reality.”
Jember stressed that in 2019, it will be critical for Parties to carry forward the momentum from the Talanoa Dialogue, while welcoming the UN Secreary-General’s climate summit in 2019 which he says “will be an important platform for countries to commit to bolder, stronger, fairer and faster action and support”.
The Paris Agreement’s main aim is to strengthen global response by ensuring a global temperature rise this century is well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to increase the ability of countries to be able to deal with the threat of climate change. It will come into effect in 2020.