© UNICEF/NYHQ2002-0340/Pirozzi: Two boys and a man walk through a cornfield that has been decimated by the drought, near the town of Mvuri in Mazowe District, 120 km north of Harare, the capital. A drought emergency has been declared in the district, where many people are starving and animals are dying.
The outcome of the recently concluded UN climate talks in Cancun has helped restore hope in the negotiations delivering an international climate treaty that will help guarantee a safe future for today’s children and future generations. Whilst there is still much progress to be made to ensure an international climate treaty can be reached in South Africa in December 2011, the Cancun Agreements which emerged from the summit have helped create momentum in the negotiations for the first time in over a year.
The Cancun Agreements build on last year’s Copenhagen Accords by helping address some of the outstanding issues from Copenhagen and developing some of the already agreed points.
Notably, key progress was made on the issue of climate finance. Building on the commitment by developed countries to transfer $100 billion a year by 2020 to developing countries for adaptation and mitigation, the Cancun Agreements established the Green Climate Fund. This climate fund will be key for channeling such funds to developing countries. Climate finance is an essential investment for the world’s children, to ensure that there are resources available for them to adapt to the impacts of climate change and grow up in stable, healthy low carbon societies. The Green Climate Fund is key to ensure this will be a reality.
In addition, the other main areas of the Cancun Agreements are :
· A reiteration of the need to peak emissions and limit temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees
· Emissions pledges: The Cancun Agreements ensured that the details about what developed and developing countries are doing to tackle climate change, as promised in Copenhagen, are now brought into the UN system so they can be assessed.
· Monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV): The agreements agreed a system to measure how countries are living up to their promises to take action on emissions
· Deforestation: agreed to slow, halt and reverse destruction of trees and agree the rules for delivering it and for monitoring progress.
· Technology/Adaptation: The Cancun Agreements set up mechanisms to help developing countries access low carbon technology, and adapt to climate change.
The measures outlined in the Cancun Agreements will are key in paving the way to climate deal next year at COP 17 in South Africa, which will help guarantee a safe, equitable future for current and future generations.
The UK government has continued to be a key driving force in the international negotiations and should be applauded for the leadership they have taken in the process. Their involvement in the emissions pledges issue, and the work that Chris Huhne (the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) has been doing on trying to resolve disagreements about the extension of the Kyoto Protocol have contributed greatly to progress in the negotiations.
However, whilst the outcomes of Cancun were undoubtedly positive and helped restore faith and energy into the UN climate talks, governments of the world must not be complacent. There is still much that needs to be agreed and resolved in the intersessional negotiations in 2011 to ensure that a global climate deal can be agreed at COP 17 in South Africa in December 2011.
The UK should continue to push the EU to move to a 30% emissions reduction target to take leadership on the issue and show that we are serious about playing our role in reducing climate risk and creating a low carbon future.
Similarly, whilst the establishment of the Green Fund is extremely positive to help develop the architecture and momentum for climate finance flows from developed to developing countries, the UK should also step up its role in mobilizing their portion of these funds. This could provide further momentum towards a deal in South Africa, and help rebuild trust between the developed and developing nations further. The UK should make clear its commitment to long term climate financing in 2011- the quantity committed should be ambitious and from innovative sources such as a Robin Hood Tax. By taking leadership within the EU and globally, the UK can encourage other countries to follow suite, enabling climate finance to flow to developing countries. This will provide the resources for adaptation and mitigation, ensuring children around the world are able to survive and thrive in a changing climate.
The positive outcome from Cancun showed that there is room for progress in the negotiations in 2011 and that a global climate treaty is possible. The UK and others must build on this momentum to address outstanding issues and make further progress in 2011 in order to secure a climate deal that will help guarantee a safe, clean, equitable future for current and future generations.