As another round of interim climate change negotiations starts on Monday, April 30, 2018 in Bonn, Germany, ACT Alliance has reiterated its call for urgent action to address climate change and its impacts.
“The international community must now take bold action to address climate change and to adequately respond to its impacts. We cannot afford any delays or to waste any time,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT Alliance’s General Secretary.
At the top of the agenda for the Bonn Session is the Talanoa Dialogue that will encourage sharing between parties and stakeholders on progress made towards their climate commitments, the Paris Rulebook that will outline the modalities, procedures and guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and the Suva Expert Dialogue on support for climate induced loss and damage.
“There is now every indication that we have just a few years before surpassing the 1.5 degree global warming target, which means that our policies and actions towards a more volatile climate must be ambitious and unequivocal. The Talanoa Dialogue must quickly translate into building resilience, supporting the most vulnerable and ensuring a higher mitigation ambition,” said Bueno de Faria.
The Suva Expert Dialogue on loss and damage support is expected to advance the discussions on climate finance and other means necessary to respond to the adverse impacts of climate change that go beyond the ability of communities to adapt. Recently, ACT Alliance made a Submission to the UNFCCC in which it called for clarity and a greater allocation of financial, capacity, and technological support towards the protection of vulnerable people, communities, and countries from loss and damage.
“Because there are already serious and exponential climate induced losses and damages, particularly affecting vulnerable people in developing countries, we would like to see a constructive Suva Expert Dialogue. It must lead to concrete outcomes including the reaffirmation of solidarity. Loss and damage must not be sidelined,” said Bueno de Faria.
On the modalities of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, ACT Alliance expressed concern about the slow progress of the Paris Rulebook. “By the end of this year, we need a robust Paris Rulebook with a strong inclusion of transparency and accountability at all levels,” said Martin Vogel, Chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Group, and head of ACT’s delegation to the Bonn Session.
“Transparency and accountability in climate action and support are keys for building trust and confidence among countries and must be seen as the hallmark of the guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” said Vogel.
It is imperative that climate action is transparent in all aspects related to the provision and use of financial support and in emissions reductions. Every country must make an effort. The Paris Rulebook must be a win-win for all, and the Bonn Session will play a significant role in setting the foundation for this.
