Tianjin (China), 4 October
2010 - The Executive Secretary of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) Christiana Figueres has
called on governments
meeting in Tianjin, China, to accelerate
their search for common ground to achieve
strong action on climate change.
With less than two months
to go before the UN Climate Change Conference
in Cancun, Mexico, Ms. Figueres said that
a concrete outcome in December was urgently
needed to restore faith in the ability of
Parties to take the negotiations forward.
"Governments have
restored their own trust in the process,
but they must ensure that the rest of the
world believes in a future of ever increasing
government commitment to combat climate
change," she said.
"Governments need
to agree on what is doable in Cancun, and
how it will be achievable in a politically
balanced manner," she added.
Ms. Figueres said there
is a growing convergence in the negotiations
that Cancun could deliver a balanced package
of decisions that define the pillars of
action to address climate change.
This could include a
new global framework to help countries adapt
to the already inevitable changes to the
climate system, the launch of a new mechanism
to drive faster deployment of technology
to developing nations, a decision to establish
a new fund to oversee the long-term money
raised for the specific climate needs of
developing nations and a decision on early
and large-scale action to protect forests
and the livelihoods of those who live in
them.
"The agreements
that can be reached in Cancun may not be
exhaustive in their details, but as a balanced
package they must be comprehensive in their
scope and they can deliver strong results
in the short term as well as set the stage
for long term commitments to address climate
change in an effective and fair manner,"
Ms. Figueres said.
Ms. Figueres acknowledged
there were areas of political disagreements,
mainly over how and when to agree on a fair
share of responsibilities of present and
future action on climate change, but said
they were not insurmountable.
"Governments seem
ready to discuss difficult issues. Now they
must bridge differences in order to reach
a tangible outcome in Cancun," she
said.
For example, governments
can formalise the many pledges and promises
they have made to cut and limit emissions,
along with providing clarity on the continuation
of the Kyoto Protocol.
During the next six
days of the Tianjin climate meeting, government
delegates will discuss negotiating text
under the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term
Cooperative Action under the Convention
(AWG-LCA). This negotiating group, comprising
all 194 Parties to the UNFCCC, is tasked
to deliver a long-term global approach to
the climate challenge.
The Ad Hoc Working Group
on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties
under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) is meeting
in parallel to discuss the emissions reduction
commitments for the 37 industrialised countries
that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol for
the period beyond 2012.
Ms. Figueres said that
this year's floods in Pakistan, fires in
Russia and mudslides in China had been a
wake up call to the dangers of extreme climate.
"The bottom line
is that it is in no one's interest to delay
action. Quite on the contrary, it is in
everyone's ultimate interest to accelerate
action in order to minimize negative impacts
on all," she said.
The UN Climate Change
Conference in Tianjin is being attended
by around three thousand participants from
more than 176 countries, including government
delegates, representatives from business
and industry, environmental organisations
and research institutions. The UN Climate
Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, will
take place from 29 November to 10 December.
About the UNFCCC
With 194 Parties, the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change(UNFCCC) has near universal membership
and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto
Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified
by 191 of the UNFCCC Parties. Under the
Protocol, 37 States, consisting of highly
industrialized countries and countries undergoing
the process of transition to a market economy,
have legally binding emission limitation
and reduction commitments. The ultimate
objective of both treaties is to stabilize
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere
at a level that will prevent dangerous human
interference with the climate system.
