UN Climate Change News, Nadi, Fiji, Oct 18 – A ministerial meeting in Fiji closed today with greater clarity on the deliverables for COP23 for the next UN climate change conference in November in Bonn.
“This gathering in Fiji has put the world in the best position to go to Bonn next month”, said COP23 President and Prime Minister of Fiji Frank Bainimarama.
At COP23, tens of thousands of people from governments, cities, states, companies and civil society organizations will gather to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect their societies against climate change and ensure a sustainable future.
Countries discussed the implementation guidelines for the Paris Climate Change Agreement that need to be finalised in 2018, and showed determination to capture progress at COP23 as a major outcome.
Part of this work is to complete a robust framework for reporting of climate action and finance.
In terms of climate finance, countries stressed the need to highlight progress at COP23 to reach the USD 100 billion that developed countries have agreed to provide to developing countries on an annual basis by 2020.
They further stressed that Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans should underpin investment plans that attract sufficient finance, including from the private sector.
Attracting private sector finance is often particularly difficult for small island states and Least Developed Countries. As a result, countries stressed that it will be all the more important to develop a credible pathway by the UN Climate Change Conference COP24 in Poland on how the Kyoto Protocol’s Adaptation Fund can help reach the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The fund has a proven track-record and has committed USD 438 million in 67 countries since 2010 to climate adaptation and resilience activities.
Enabling direct access, the Adaptation Fund is an important tool for vulnerable populations. It funds programmes and projects in developing countries that help vulnerable populations adapt to climate change.
Additionally, countries stressed the importance of a strong gender dimension in building resilience – so ensuring the empowerment of women in decision making when it comes to climate-related projects and legislation. A special gender action plan will be negotiated at COP23.
In light of recent extreme weather events, all participants stressed the urgency to act. Frank Bainimarama said: “Having been to Fiji, many of you will now have a better understanding of what is happening, of the vulnerability we face.”
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions will lead to fewer losses and damages later on. In this context, countries stressed the need for the full support at COP23 of a mechanism that is being developed to deal with loss and damage.
Further to the implementation guidelines, another major deliverable for COP23 will be to provide the design for a global dialogue on where the world stands, where it wants to be and how it will jointly get there to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goals.
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