The Ogun State Forest Landscape Restoration Project was presented on 7th December 2015 to the international community at the UN Climate Change Climate Conference (COP21) that held recently in Paris, following the memorandum of understanding signed in September 2015 by the Ogun State Government (Ogun State), the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and Lafarge Africa Plc.
Gov Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State
The PPP project will transform 108,000 hectares of degraded land in Ogun State into an arable green area through a Forest Landscape Restoration project aimed at launching public and private agroforestry projects with strong environmental, social and economic impact. It is a pioneering initiative demonstrating how proactive public entities can join forces with a private group to launch sustainable projects that will position Nigeria as a leader in Africa on sustainable Climate Change PPP projects.
With the theme “Regional public/private partnership initiative against climate”, a two-day side event held at the green climate generations’ areas of the COP 21 venue to showcase the public/private partnership concept as a tool for development, and to present the planned project to potential investors, development agencies, as well as Green and Climate Change funds.
The Ogun State Forest Landscape Restoration project partners led by the Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, was also hosted at an event, which is dedicated to local and regional government, raising ambition, awareness and visibility of real and potential local climate action. Membership of the Senator Schwarzenegger “Regions of Climate Action” (R20) Organisation was conferred on Ogun State at the occasion.
Other dignitaries from the partnering institutions at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference include Mr. Peter Hoddinott, Area Manager South & West Africa LafargeHolcim; Mrs. Adepeju Adebajo, CEO Cement, Lafarge Africa Plc; Richard Eckrich, Head, Infrastructure Fund, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority; and Dr. Henry Neufeldt, Head, Climatic Change Unit of the World Agroforestry Centre.
Commenting on the Ogun State’s participation at the Climate Conference, Governor Amosun said: “The Forest Landscape Restoration project is a well thought initiative, in partnership with two responsible institutions, NSIA and Lafarge Africa.”
He noted that almost 70% of Ogun State is arable land. There is therefore a significant potential for improving lives and livelihoods. Governor Amosun described the agroforestry project as a win-win opportunity for companies and citizens, offering a range of benefits: it will reduce CO2 emissions by increasing vegetation and eliminating the current negative slash-and-burn practices; it will create employment for young graduates and will help to diversify Nigeria’s economy. Governor Amosun insisted on the absolute importance to address simultaneously, the short-term job creation necessity while preparing the climate change mitigation long-term challenge.
Commenting on its commitment to the realisation of the project, Mr. Peter Hoddinott, who is also the Group Managing Director/CEO Lafarge Africa Plc, said: “As a responsible organisation, we are working to minimise the impact of our activity on the climate. Lafarge Africa plans to replace 30% of its fuel use from fossil to biomass by 2020. We need to put in place a solid structure to move into renewable energy, which is clearly what this partnership offers.”
Speaking at the event on behalf of Mr. Uche Orji, MD/CEO of NSIA, Richard Eckrich, said: “The NSIA recognises the importance of agriculture to the economy; a sector which employs around 70% of Nigeria’s population. We are therefore committed to supporting this initiative by helping to raise funds and leveraging our expertise in public-private-partnerships, in particular in terms of establishing a “best in class” project governance to enhance the scheme”.
Eckrich further stated that NSIA’s intervention is consistent with its strategy and echoed Hoddinott’s hope that the project could be replicated if successful.
After much anticipation for a new global climate agreement, COP21 is being widely hailed as a success, with 195 countries from diverse positions signing the Paris Agreement. But the day after the dust settles, numerous civil society organisations are evaluating the stark contrasts between what is possible in the political process and what is scientifically necessary to avoid climate chaos.
Martin Vilela, Bolivian Platform on Climate Change. Photo credit: coalitionclimat21.org
Many walked away pleased that the Paris Agreement called for limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within the purpose of the agreement. However, the reference is aspirational, and the agreement lacks mechanisms to achieve it. Based on the current pledges for change and the state of pollution rates, by the time countries formally take stock in 2023, we will have already polluted to such a degree that we will have locked in the climate chaos we came here to prevent.
“The biggest misconception around 1.5 is that mentioning it means that they will actually meet that goal. This agreement did not actually design a pathway for how to achieve 1.5. We came to Paris needing a way to achieve tangible results, instead we came out with more empty promises and false solutions,” said Martin Vilela from the Bolivian Platform on Climate Change.
This lack of specificity in dealing with pollution has been described as “between dangerous and deadly” by leading climate scientists. Similarly, South Africa also noted that the Paris Agreement came at the expense of immediate action, and called for energies to now be channelled into pre-2020 efforts.
While many heralded France’s achievements of facilitating a fair process to reach the Agreement, this was marred in the last moments as France buckled to US pressure and changed the language of the nearly finalised text to say that developed countries should rather than shall take on reducing pollution across all sectors of the economy, indicating a lower level of legal obligation.
Many developing countries’ support for the Agreement was contingent on “shall” rather than “should”, but a process was not provided to respond to this major change made in the last moments of adopting the agreement and characterised a “technical correction”. In many ways, the agreement’s new rules are substantially weaker for wealthy countries than the current ones.
Another major concern came, again under US insistence, in the language on “loss and damage,” where an “exclusion clause” was inserted in order to prevent the poor and particularly vulnerable countries (the same ones calling for the 1.5C goal) from claiming any future liability or compensation claims being made under the agreement against the big historic polluters.
The great paradox is the Paris outcome paid lip service 1.5C without the means to achieve it, while, at the same time, excluding the rights of the poorest countries to compensation for warming above these levels.
A critical component of the Agreement was always that finance for developing countries would be ramped up. In concluding the talks, President Hollande spoke proudly about the $100 billion “floor” in finance, but observers have pointed out that the reality doesn’t match the rhetoric.
“The 100 billion per year by 2020 is now extended to 2025 and a new goal is to be set after that. So developed countries have obtained another five years to deliver what they agreed to do. It is regrettable that this has happened as it delays action in developing countries who are in need,” said Meena Raman, Legal Advisor, Third World Network.
Although tired after a long road to Paris, and with many concerns over the outcome, civil society groups nevertheless determined to press on and use the Agreement and the pledges made to it as tools to push for stronger national actions. They are already looking to a “facilitative dialogue”, agreed for 2019, to increase ambition and look to initiatives like the African Renewable Energy Initiative to deliver real results on the ground.
“As both a Kenyan and a climate policy expert, I have never been more proud. The significance of of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative is not to be understated: it is an exceptional moment in Africa’s history and a game-changer for the continent. And our leadership has inspired other countries to show their support,” Mohamed Adow, Senior Climate Change Advisor, Christian Aid explained.
“While disappointed by the outcome of the climate talks, we see that there were many success’. The climate justice movements mobilized despite the state of emergency and we showed the world that we are an unstoppable force that will continue to do the real work of developing tangible solutions to our world’s problems, and not wait for politicians to do what is necessary,” said Lidy Nacpil, Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development.
The 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should be an eye opener and trigger inner reflections and new actions by the Nigeria political class. Irrespective of what the agreements contain, and whether or not they are implemented, one simple thing stands out clear. The simple thing is that the serious countries of the world have resolved to end the era of energy dependence on especially petroleum, a resource which empowers countries which in the perspective of the G8 and the OECD are in parts of the world with heavy geopolitical risks. To this extent, the serious push for ending or in the least minimising use of fossils is beyond the need to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change.
Professor Chinedum Uzoma Nwajiuba. Photo credit: diamondeducationmagazine.com
What gives my country, Nigeria, visibility at the global stage is neither her size nor huge and rapidly growing population, but that we are a major petroleum exporting country. Our huge and growing population of course presents an attractive market for those intending to export all manner of products, including China (that is also setting up new Coal plants). The attraction is enhanced by the purchasing power of the country which sources over 80% of its foreign exchange earnings from petroleum exports. Regardless of the commercial attraction, Nigeria remains one of the countries regarded as being of huge geopolitical risk. Perhaps even more of a risk than Nigeria as source of hydrocarbon supply is the Middle East.
How seriously the United States, for instance, views the risk emanating from the principal export commodity of countries like Nigeria is seen in President Obama’s open declaration early in his presidency that by the end of his tenure, the United States would scarcely be in a position to be held hostage ever again by the international Oil market. Today, that vision of Obama for the United States has considerably been realised. We are likely to see Europe following suit in minimising their own dependence, just as Japan announced within the period of the COP21 that she is commencing the building of new coal plants with better efficiency and less carbon emissions. This trajectory has grave implications for Nigeria and it is critical that the political class in Nigeria follow, listen and plan with these developments in mind.
They mean it when they say it
In case there are Nigerians who may think it is a joke, I will cite a few examples of challenges faced by the G8 and OECD at least since the 1970s and how they were decisively addressed. These include:
What will Europe do with ageing vehicles? I believe this was a front page cover of Time or Newsweek Magazine sometime in the 1970s. With economic prosperity that followed the end of the Second World War, and the rapid expansion in personal vehicles, ageing cars became a problem. Then recycling was not much in the social and economic consciousness. One solution that emerged was that following the Structural Adjustment Era of the mid-1980s, many young men from Africa found themselves in Europe, doing mostly jobs the Europeans would rather not do. Most of their earnings were used to buy ageing vehicles (Tokunbo) which were exported to Africa. In the same period cases of infertility, asthma, cancers, etc. increased rapidly in our part of the world. Medical records in hospitals, import records in Ports and borders across Nigeria tend to support this scenario. Europe dealt with her ageing vehicles, and today has developed substantial capacities for recycling.
We have seen the huge ICT transformation, especially the internet since President Clinton announced what he called the information super highway. This in addition to the GSM has created a new world unknown a few years ago.
After the financial crisis in 2008, one obvious shift was to fuel efficient vehicles. Germany for instance commenced a programme of trade-in of less efficient vehicles for more efficient vehicles. Today that programme has significantly succeeded. In the same period it has become very fashionable for Nigerians and also other Africans to acquire energy-guzzling SUVs of all types. From our politicians, businessmen/women, clergy, to even lecturers, people are having more than one second-hand SUV imported, sometimes preferably from the United States (American Spec!). How can a people advance without a thinking elite?
In the last half a decade, Germany, the economic power house of Europe has advanced rapidly on renewables. Today, Germany has re-engineered household energy consumption, reaching close to 50% on renewables, especially solar, while Norway has achieved similar levels on wind energy. In some cases some houses generate solar energy that is sold to other consumers. We can expect Southern European countries with more solar radiation in a few years to become very important in this. Note also the significant investments in solar capacities in Morocco (on the African continent but with European temperament).
The long-term consequence of these for Nigeria is decline in relevance. Changing relevance of different parts of the world and organisations is something we need to reflect on.
Three Key meetings happened simultaneously – Relevance?
As the COP 21 was going on in Paris two other important meetings were holding. One was the OPEC ministers meeting, December 4 in Vienna, and the other was the Chinese meeting with African Presidents in Johannesburg. Of these three, by all estimates the least important was the OPEC ministers meeting.
There are persons who ordinarily should know, but did not know that OPEC Ministers were meeting. Rewind to 20 years before now, or even 10 years ago. An OPEC Ministers meeting was an important world event. This time it meant little. Just as the meeting ended Brent crude price fell to less than $40 per barrel, the lowest in seven years (the year Obama came to office). With that attitude to the OPEC meeting, is there little doubt that the Organisation does not hold the relevance and clout of the past? In fact, some persons are saying that the G8/OECD may be wanting oil prices to go down to $20 per Barrel. If that happens, what is the implication for Nigeria? Nigeria’s political class should be aware that the drum beats have changed, and so must the dance steps change. The ‘culture‘ of monthly Federation Account meeting in Abuja to share whatever SHELL and the others bring, in order to pay Civil servants, teachers, pensioners, and do other things is gradually becoming a matter for the history books. Governors asking for bailout should know that it is not sustainable. Nigeria requires more decisive decisions and actions that acknowledge that the party is over. We shall come to required decisive actions.
The other meeting of African presidents in Johannesburg had nearly all African Presidents physically present. That perhaps was a better attendance record than an African Union (AU) meeting. What was at stake? Simply, Chinese money. China is the new big man in town. China has the cash. China is the number two in size, but a major creditor to the number one (the United States). Note that just before the COP21, the World Bank/IMF announced that the Chinese Yuan has become one of the currencies for international exchange. The financial buoyancy of the Chinese is a key unsaid factor in the G8/OECD insisting in renegotiating the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities at the COP21. Their argument is that China and some of the BRICS may claim to be undeveloped, but they are also currently major polluters and most importantly have the cash to bring to the table. At the Johannesburg meeting, the Chinese did it the way a Nigerian big man will do it. They announced the huge figures to support African counties and an elated President Mugabe could not hide his excitement when he said, that is what we have been expecting our former colonisers to do for Africa. Now, what did China do to move up the ladder? That is what we should learn from and not just expect Chinese cash. We should produce/manufacture, consume what we produce/manufacture, and export.
My People, the party is over
My greatest wish is that the political class in Nigeria be equipped to interpret and understand the new/emerging (emerged) world and ensure that Nigeria is positively relevant. But we first need to understand that the party is over. The Owambe is over.
With about 170 million persons to feed, most of whom have no skills relevant to the contemporary world we are a major geopolitical risk. I like the way Our President Buhari put it to the US and Europe – bring the $14 billion to reflate Lake Chad so we can revive livelihood in that area and stop them matching to Europe. I believe it is the kind of thing Europe will understand. Note also that if Europe stops the migrants from the Middle East and the migrants chose to march southwards into the savanna of West Africa, no person, government or organisation has the capacity to stop them. We have been unable to stop an illegitimate Boko Haram. Please may God not let this thought get into the heads of the migrants heading to Europe.
Truth be told, Nigeria already has enough challenges for one country. The way things are, with significant amounts shared monthly, the extant insecurity and projected insecurity for Nigeria is serious. Yet there are more worries to come. A few of them include:
The high rate of population growth. It is projected that at current growth rates, by 2050 (35 years from now) we shall be more populated than the United States (over 400 million persons). Should we not start even using moral suasion and re-orientation/attitude change to discourage people having too many children?
Huge youth population where every young man wants to be a millionaire and every young girl wants to dress/look like a model/beauty queen. Where else on earth do we have this kind of national aspiration and goal? This is neither a worthy nor attainable goal. We have to embark on creative reorientation and attitudinal change.
A Nigerian asked me at the COP21 that if Morocco is hosting COP22 next year after haven hosted the COP in the past, and Durban hosted COP17, why not Nigeria. Another Nigerian asked if we saw security men at the airports saying to us on arrival “anything for the boys?” or “Oga your boys are here sir”. And, come to think of it, if the event had held in Nigeria, I can imagine how aggressively female undergraduates of our tertiary institutions would have invaded the meeting venue and adjoining facilities. For COP18 in Doha, we saw lots of young East Africans who were in Doha to do part-time job during the COP. Some of them were engaged as ushers, guides etc. Would they have tried asking for Nigerian students? Please don’t lynch me in the name of patriotism, but we have to acknowledge the way things are. Where is even the venue to host the COP in Nigeria, and where are the airports, transport facilities, security and others. After years of oil boom, our infrastructure is too far behind. It is time for the Nigeria elites and political class to take our country serious and we also need to embark on massive cultural re-orientation of our people.
The skills gap is widening between us and even countries in Africa. We need new paradigms of how to return quality education and skills development in Nigeria. A huge population with the current and projected difficult public finance scenario (projections show that global oil demand will remain low at current parameters through 2016) may require what other countries who passed through similar situations did – export manpower. Except for a small proportion of young persons who find their way out of the country for postgraduate studies, most other young persons are being prepared for life in the 2020s with life tools of the 1970s, minus acceptable values. This spells trouble for the future. We have many persons with degrees whose skills capabilities limit them to Okada riders and phone recharge card sellers. They have no clue what else to do and of course have little opportunities. Many of them even as private school teachers at primary school level are a wonder to behold. We need to declare a national emergency in education in Nigeria, and perhaps fundamentally re-orientate and redesign the entire sector. We need to agree we do not have enough teachers as most of what we have now as teachers are not it. No school system can rise above the capacity of the teaching stock.
We need to consume what we produce. Even when due to membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) we cannot ban Imports, we need to mobilise the NGOs/CSOs to help reorient Nigerians through massive campaigns, and leadership by example etc., to consume Nigerian products. This is one real way to address our financial challenges, and generate employment, reduce poverty, and insecurity. This is of urgent national importance. We need a massive campaign to convince our people to farm and produce and not idle away in the name of looking for jobs in cities. We need to replace an ageing farming population, and we need to have a massive youth farm programme supported financially and technically.
We need to re-order the structure and conduct of transportation in Nigeria. Reviving the railways should be a major priority. Johannesburg (South Africa), Rabat and Marrakesh (Morocco), and now Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) have trams in the cities. Why is Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa left behind? We need, as a matter of urgent National action, working trains linking the major routes with the heaviest volume of transport of people and goods in Nigeria. See the regular tanker menace in Apapa in Lagos. Must we move all that fuel from the Wharf through congested Lagos by tankers? Why not Rails? Why are we even importing fuels?
Can we have a massive programme on renewables in Nigeria and at least develop solar efficient “bush lamps” for rural households? The technology exists and we can do with this what Coca-Cola or even MTN has done in a short period. Let each villager have a small lamp that is solar powered. With economy of scale, the unit price falls.
Some Decisive Actions for Public Sector Finance
With the financial challenges confronting the central and state governments in Nigeria, some persons suggest we focus on taxation. That is right if we can find creative ways of taxing the rich more and close the gap as is the case in the Nordic countries. However, in one state I know the Local Governments have been mandated to seize goats, fowls and palm oil from villagers as a way to raise IGR. Good luck. Now consider these:
Would it make sense for the central and state governments to agree that current financial structures are not sustainable and restructure the country entirely returning to manageable structures requiring less bureaucracy? The answer is no. No privileged group willingly gives up privileges. Pharaoh did not. Another prayer from me: may what happened to Pharaoh not happen to the privileged class/groups in Nigeria,
Can we declare a national emergency and convene a meeting of the public and private sectors and decide to make a national sacrifice to say, for instance, all wages, emoluments, earnings etc. for both the private and public sectors be reduced by half? The answer will be No. There will be losers, and better economists than me who will rather we reflate by putting more money into circulation, as a stimulus, or because of the traditional argument that capital will be advantaged over labour. Those ones may lynch me.
Can we agree with former CBN Governor Sanusi to devalue the Naira. Perhaps lets agree that oil prices have fallen by a third and so let us devalue by 100% (for instance), getting the Dollar to N300? No. Nigerians are already saying No. We saw that in the 1980s and we have nothing else to export except the Oil which is internationally priced, and so devaluation has no real benefit, but will bring high cost of imported industrial goods and inflation.
But Nigeria is a clever country! One of my friends will say this. We have not said we are devaluing the Naira, but depreciating the Naira, and so since early this year we have officially moved from about N160 to the Dollar to N197. In the unofficial market, it is over N250 as I write. Is there still round-tripping going on, or is the Naira simply showing its true colour? I don’t know.
What about this option?
It seems to me the situation is getting to what it was before the oil boom commenced in the early 1970s. What therefore should the central and state governments do? I focus on the states. I suggest the state governments look at how the regions were financed. How did the Eastern, Midwestern, Western and Northern regions seek funds in that era? What commodities did they produce and export to earn foreign exchange – given the configuration of demand and supply in the world at the time? Oil palm, Rubber, Cocoa, Groundnuts etc., Marketing Boards, exports, etc.!
Many of our states are bigger than some African Countries that have no oil and are still functioning. Hence, states and clusters of states need to delve into modern Nigerian history and attempt the question, “what is the oil palm of the 2010s and 2020s? what will represent the cocoa, cotton, groundnuts, etc of the 1950s in the 2020s – and how do we go about increasing production and expropriation for public good?”
The best time to plant a tree, they say, is 10 years ago; and the next best time to plant the same tree is today. The train of reduced hydrocarbon dependence by erstwhile major buyers of Nigerian crude oil has since left the station. We cannot afford to pretend that things will remain the same. It is already late in the day. There is an urgent need to begin planting those trees of economic restructuring that were not planted decades ago today. Fortunately, we have some history to learn from. It is time to dust up Okparanomics, Osadebenomics, Akintolanomics, and Bellonomics textbooks and manuals. Feeding bottle federalism is not sustainable. Welcome to a new Nigeria.
ByProfessor Chinedum Uzoma Nwajiuba(Nigerian negotiator at COP 21; Professor of Agricultural Economics, Imo State University Owerri, Nigeria, and Executive Director (Part-Time), Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team (NEST), Ibadan.. E-mail: chnwajiuba@yahoo.de; Phone: +234(0)8033273871)
COP21 has come and gone and, like most others before it, the response has been varied. Some have applauded the Paris Agreement as a giant step for humankind. Some are claiming a big win. Others take a holistic look at the future scenario the agreement presents and are aghast that after two decades of climate negotiations greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the Paris Agreement does not indicate any urgency in tackling this fundamental problem even though it does indeed recognise the urgency of the crisis.
Nnimmo Bassey
The Agreement speaks of a desirability to work towards a temperature increase of 1.5o C while immediately aiming at a target “well below 2o C.” We wonder how the COP quantifies the difference between 1.5 and “well below” 2 degrees. And which may be greater in this language of diplomats? The Agreement recognizes everything that needs to be recognized, including the need for finance and technology transfer, human rights, gender and intergenerational equity, etc., but provides no scope for the operationalising these in a manner that signifies this acknowledgment. Although it is generally agreed that fossils must be kept in the ground if we are to stand a chance of keeping temperature increase below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, the COP, perhaps encouraged by its oil company partners, ignored this and locked the planet on the path of peril.
The scaffold on which the entire COP21 hung was the infamous intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs). While the COP Itself notes that the figures submitted by countries do not on the aggregate point a way to cooling the planet, it nevertheless stayed the cause of this clearly wrong path. The INDCs if implemented will lead to a temperature increase of over 3 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels wiping out communities of people and sparking unpredictable repercussions. The Agreement recognises that INDCs will also be achieved through removals of GHGs – through sinks and offsets, etc. Thus, the path of the INDCs taken by the COP is an irredeemable self-inflicted injury that subverts real efforts to tackle the climate menace.
Applauding the COP for being a success because for the first time all nations have indicated commitment to tackle climate change on the basis of the INDCs indicates a total disregard of climate science and equity as epitomised by this pathway.
Head in the Oven, Feet in the refrigerator (or that Sinking Feeling)
We note that the Agreement speaks repeatedly of “sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases.” These are wedges to keep the door open for all sorts of carbon offset schemes including REDD and all its variants, yet-to-be-proven carbon capture and storage, geoengineering and such like. We can thus expect intense externalising of climate action on climate victims as well as carbon colonialism – which may include what is referred to in the Agreement as “internationally transferred mitigation” (Article 6) rather than direct in-country carbon emissions reduction.
At the launching of a publication of the No REDD in Africa Network (NRAN) at the Climate Forum during the COP, Firoze Manji, the pan Africanist, described carbon offsetting as putting your feet in a refrigerator when your head is in the oven and hoping to achieve a median temperature for your body. Very apt indeed.
The agreement ties non-market climate solutions to the enhancement of “public and private sector participation in the implementation of nationally determined contributions.” This hints at the privatisation of carbon or pollution, which arguably is already happening through carbon trading.
Climate financeremains grossly insufficient with targets of $10 billion yearly up to 2020 when this would shift to $100 billion yearly. That these amounts are insufficient can be seen from the fact that the US spent about $68bn to handle the aftermath of just one hurricane, Hurricane Sandy. Considering that rich countries spend up to $2 trillion annually in needless wars releases equally underscore that what we see are specious power play and climate apartheid. And, by the way, who accounts for the millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases released in warfare besides destruction of lives and wreaking of havoc on nations and territories, especially those that are fossil resources rich. It is clear that the paucity of the Green Climate Fund is not a lack of funds but a determination by rich countries to avoid historical and current climate debt.
Transition?
The Agreement makes a passing mention of “just transition” with reference to “workforce” and the creation of decent work. Again we see that the COP is so enamoured with dirty energy or fossil driven energy forms that it could not dare name fossils or a call for just transition towards renewable energy. In fact, “renewable energy” is mentioned only once in the preamble to the Agreement and in the context of developing countries. Where did analysts get the idea that the Agreement has declared the obituary for fossil fuels?
With 2020 as the pivot year for the voluntary emissions reduction, it is clear that between now and then the remaining atmospheric carbon budget may already have been taken up. Whether that happens or not, delayed actions until 2020 presents the planet and all beings on it a very dire future that many will not survive. That also breeches the right of Mother Earth to exist, her right to maintain her cycles and speaks poorly of our understanding of intergenerational equity.
In sum, COP21 betrayed the poor, the vulnerable and all those already suffering the impacts of climate change.
Nnimmo Bassey heads the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)
History was made in Paris, France on Saturday (December12, 2015) when the Paris Climate Agreement was adopted around 19:27 hours local time.
Nigeria’s Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed; with Director, Department of Climate Change, Dr Samuel Adejuwon, and other delegates as the minister addresses global delegates at the close of COP21 on Saturday
It is the first time in history that all countries will agree to participate in addressing climate change.
“The Paris agreement is not perfect but it represents a major leap forward for developing countries,” says a South African delegate, amid widespread elation at the conference centre in the French capital city.
Nigeria’s Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed, stresses: “Africa’s vulnerability is complex and at the core of many of the challenges we face in the world today. It is a region full of promise, yet extreme poverty, inequality, conflicts, forced migration are all exacerbated by climate change and inaction. It is regrettable that this has not been given the required attention Africa deserves.
“However, we acknowledge today, that the world stands in a much better place for future generations because of this historic Agreement. We have agreed towards holding the temperature rise to 1.5 degree and the long term goal.”
World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim on the global climate change agreement at COP21, says: “We welcome the historic agreement that has just been reached in Paris. The world has come together to forge a deal that finally reflects the aspiration, and the seriousness, to preserve our planet for future generations.
“First, it leaves no one behind – protecting the poorest people and the most vulnerable countries by calling on all of us to hold the increase in temperatures to well below 2 degrees C and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Second, it sends the much needed signal to trigger the massive sums of public and private sector investments needed to drive economies toward a carbon neutral world as advised by science. While doing this, we will strive to ensure that there is the necessary finance to provide resilience for developing countries.
“Third, it changes development. We agree there is no development without tackling climate change. We cannot poison the planet and thrive.
“We called for strong ambition, for remarkable partnerships, for mobilisation of finance, and for implementation of national climate plans. Paris delivered. Now the job becomes our shared responsibility. The World Bank Group is ready to help immediately and will do its utmost to realise this vision of prosperity.
“We are grateful to the heads of state and governments for their leadership, to the government of France and the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for their unwavering and inspiring commitment, and for the tireless efforts of the negotiators, businesses, and civil society worldwide that have made this agreement possible.”
BirdLife International welcomes the adoption of the Paris agreement, adding that it sends an important signal to governments back home and businesses alike that the world must act now and rapidly shift to a low-carbon climate-resilient development.
Patricia Zurita, CEO at BirdLife International, states: “Despite all difficulties now the international community has a global agreement, that applies to all countries and that aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping people and ecosystems to adapt. We’ve demonstrated we are willing to come together to defend our Planet, our future and that of our children. Much remains to be done, in particular when it comes to protect the poorest and most vulnerable. We remain optimistic that implementation will continue to demonstrate the crucial role protecting nature plays in managing the climate crisis. What we have before us is not perfect but does represent an historic step forward.”
Melanie Heath, Director of Science, Policy and Information at BirdLife International: “The overall goal agreed upon – that increases in temperature must be kept well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C – is clearly good. It is also good that carbon neutrality is a set goal in the second half of the century. Unfortunately, these two important targets are weak when it comes to implementation: there is no set date for a peak in emissions, nor for the achievement of carbon neutrality. These targets are binding at global level but there is nothing binding for countries involved. Although there is an important “no-backsliding clause” that obliges all countries to do progressively better, the planned stocktake and reviews will be key to scale up ambition and commitments.”
Edward Perry, Global Climate Change Policy Coordinator at BirdLife International: “For the first time in history we have a global climate change agreement that recognises the critical role of forests, oceans and other ecosystems in combatting climate change and helping communities adapt. Importantly, the Agreement also stresses the need to ensure the integrity of ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity when taking action to address climate change. This is critical for safeguarding ecosystems and ensuring that climate change actions are truly sustainable.”
John Lanchbery, Principal Climate Change Adviser at RSPB: “Article 5 theAgreement stresses the need for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation and sustainable management of forests (REDD+). This should help to ensure that more money is available to conserve forests, especially tropical forests. This is very positive, because that’s where wildlife is.”
However, impacted communities insist that the accord has failed humanity. In a statement, the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance submits: “As impacted communities, we are deeply aware of the imperative of the climate crisis. Our waters are being poisoned from fossil fuel extraction, our livelihoods are threatened by floods and drought, our communities are the hardest hit and the least protected in extreme weather events. The climate crisis is a reality, but the COP21 Paris Accord is not based on that reality.
“The atmosphere within the COP21 meeting was one of business instead of saving Mother Earth. World leaders were in deep negotiations not over climate policy, they were in negotiations about commercialisation of nature. The result is a Paris Accord that is based on a carbon market that allows developed countries to continue to emit dangerously high levels of greenhouse gasses through shell games, imaginary technofixes, and pollution trading schemes that simultaneously let big polluters to continue polluting and result in land grabs and violations of human rights and the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“When Obama says we are doing out best, it is simply not true. From cap and trade in California, to the carbon trading requirements of the Clean Power Plan, the US came into Paris with a predetermined model based on false solutions and bullied other countries to jump on board. The commitments they made ignore the overwhelming historic responsibility as a leader greenhouse gas emitter, and are far too low to stop the burning of the planet.
“The COP21 agreement is a failure, condemning humanity to a slow and painful death. In imposing a market strategy, global leaders, particularly those in the US and Canada, are choosing a course of inaction that is blind to the stark realities of climate crisis.
“The Paris Accord failed humanity and now we have to take things into our own hands and push at all levels of government. We know that the extraction of fossil fuels must end completely by 2050 to keep the earth from warming more than 1.5 degrees. The Paris Accord will now be moved into implementation at the national, regional, and local levels and we need to be organised to remain vigilant around the demand to keep fossil fuels in the ground, because anything short of that equals destruction.
“We join the call for System Change, Not Climate Change because we know that the fundamental driving force behind the climate crisis is capitalism, and the very nature of the extractive economy as a whole. Climate Justice is not only about the environment. It is tied to jobs, housing, poverty, migration, food security, gender equality, access to health care. System Change requires fundamental respect for human rights, particularly the rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the rights of Mother Earth. System Change requires that we reject the corporate driven, free trade and investment agreements and how that is linked to also harmonising trading regimes, investment regimes, and trees, and nature itself. We are building new alternative economic models based on an internationalist strategy of Just Transition toward renewable energy, cooperative economies, and community control. We will continue to resist extraction at the local level in all frontline communities.
“We had no illusion coming into this COP. We knew that the fossil fuel companies had already hijacked the UNFCCC process. We leave Paris only more aligned, and more committed than ever that our collective power and growing movement is what is forcing the question of extraction into the global arena. We will continue to fight at every level to defend our communities, the earth and future generations. As Franz Fanon wrote, ‘the magic hands are the hands of the people’.”
Jesse Bragg, Media Director, Corporate Accountability International, speaks in a similar vein, pointing out that the agreement has failed people.
His words: “Today’s Paris Agreement falls far short of the mark. In fact, it’s potentially a death sentence for millions. While it may earn pats on the back for US negotiators from ExxonMobil and the other big polluters pulling the strings, it fails the people who need decisive action most urgently.
“Not only is this agreement weak, it undermines the architecture of the convention–rewriting the rules around finance to let the US and other historically high emitters off the hook for new and additional finance agreed to in the Convention and shifting the financial burden to the Global South. This text, from a complete fantasyland, disregards over 200 years of emissions that have made those in the Global North the economic powers of the globe.
“Fundamentally, the Paris Agreement fails to deliver meaningfully toward the systemic transition the current climate crisis requires. Whether it’s ambition or differentiation, finance or liability and compensation, the positions reflected in this agreement are heavily biased towards the US, Japan, the EU and other Global North countries, and the emissions-intensive industries they represent.
But, while the agreement fails to outline the action and commitments necessary to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the negotiations in Paris were a rallying point for civil society full of moments of hope and momentum for real solutions on the horizon.
“Around the world, people organised in unprecedented numbers to demand that leaders take urgent action to address climate change. This global mobilisation brings light to an otherwise dim outcome. Now more than ever it is clear that people can and will continue lead this movement. Our livelihoods depend on it.
“The mention of the goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees in the agreement, while only aspirational, is the direct result of this people-powered action, proving that when people unite and collectively demand something from our leaders, they must listen. We must take small victories like this and use them to build our movement, make uncompromising demands of our leaders and hold them to account.
“In the weeks, months and years to come, we must not relent. The Paris Agreement is not enough. We must secure more decisive science-based action now, no more platitudes about the need for it later. Most of all, we must take back our democratic processes and ensure they are working for people and the environment, not big polluter profits.
“At the national level, emissions-intensive corporations have shaped our policies in their interest for decades and obscured their impacts on the environment. And, at the international level, these same corporations have forced themselves into every aspect of policymaking to not only influence policy outcomes but greenwash their otherwise dirty track records.
“For climate policy – including the Paris Agreement – to compel the rapid transition our planet so desperately needs, we must first address this conflict of interest. More than half a million people around the globe are already demanding that the policymaking process be insulated from those corporations who so richly benefit from the continuation of the fossil fuel economy. And it’s high time they listened.
“The Paris Agreement is not nearly enough for those whose lives are in peril from the climate crisis today. If governments are serious about taking the action necessary to limit warming to at least 1.5 degrees, it cannot do so with big polluters in the room. Movements have proved time and time again that when people unite around something and demand action, systemic change is possible. Now is the time to demand our leaders kick big polluters out of climate policy. The future of our world truly hangs in the balance.”
Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace responds: “It sometimes seems that the countries of the United Nations can unite on nothing, but nearly two hundred countries have come together and agreed a deal. Today the human race has joined in a common cause, but it’s what happens after this conference that really matters. The Paris Agreement is only one step on long a road, and there are parts of it that frustrate and disappoint me, but it is progress. This deal alone won’t dig us out the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep.
“The deal sets out the objective of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, but the emissions targets on the table take us closer to 3 degrees. That’s a critical problem, but it’s one with a solution. Renewable energy is already doing heavy-lifting across the globe, but now its moment must come. It’s the only technology mentioned in the Paris Agreement. There’s a yawning gap in this deal, but it can be bridged by clean technology. We’re in a race between the roll-out of renewables and rising temperatures, and the Paris Agreement could give renewables a vital boost. The wheel of climate action turns slowly, but in Paris it has turned.
“This is not a moment for triumphalism given the lives that have been lost already as a result of climate impacts, and the lives that are on the precipice as temperatures rise. This is a time for urgent action. The climate clock is ticking and the window of opportunity is closing fast.
“Now governments need to revise their short-term targets to be in line with their new goals, and revise their energy policies to speed up renewable energy uptake. They must stop funding fossil fuels and end deforestation by 2020.
“The Paris Agreement is a Treaty under international law, so it is legally binding. But the national targets (the so-called INDCs) aren’t legally binding and nor are the financial commitments. This is primarily to enable the United States to be part of this global agreement.
“The ‘Long Term Goa’” is written in seemingly incomprehensible language (“to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century”), but combined with the 1.5C limit, it implies a goal of achieving net zero in all emissions by around 2060-2080. This effectively means we need to phase out fossil fuels by 2050.
“Indigenous Peoples rights are in the pre-amble and in the Adaptation section of the Agreement. But they’re not given the protection they deserve, particularly given that forest protection will be key to achieving 1.5 degrees. The Paris Agreement acknowledges that countries should respect and promote human rights in addressing climate change.
“The conference saw good initiatives around renewables during the negotiations – though outside the official talks. India’s Solar Initiative, the launch of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative, mayors and leaders of more than 1000 cities giving their support to a 100% renewable energy future, to name a few. In the text itself, renewables are recognised in the context of promoting universal access to sustainable energy in developing countries, in particular in Africa, through the enhanced deployment of renewable energy.”
195 nations set path to keep temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius
Jubilation as Paris Agreement is adopted. Photo credit: unfccc.int
An historic agreement to combat climate change and unleash actions and investment towards a low carbon, resilient and sustainable future was agreed by 195 nations in Paris on Saturday.
The Paris Agreement for the first time brings all nations into a common cause based on their historic, current and future responsibilities.
The universal agreement’s main aim is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The 1.5-degree Celsius limit is a significantly safer defense line against the worst impacts of a changing climate.
Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability to deal with the impacts of climate change.
To reach these ambitious and important goals, appropriate financial flows will be put in place, thus making stronger action by developing countries and the most vulnerable possible, in line with their own national objectives.
“The Paris Agreement allows each delegation and group of countries to go back home with their heads held high. Our collective effort is worth more than the sum of our individual effort. Our responsibility to history is immense” said Laurent Fabius, President of the COP 21 UN Climate change conference and French Foreign Minister.
The minister, his emotion showing as delegates started to rise to their feet, brought the final gavel down on the agreement to open and sustained acclamation across the plenary hall.
French President Francois Hollande told the assembled delegates: “You’ve done it, reached an ambitious agreement, a binding agreement, a universal agreement. Never will I be able to express more gratitude to a conference. You can be proud to stand before your children and grandchildren.”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: “We have entered a new era of global cooperation on one of the most complex issues ever to confront humanity. For the first time, every country in the world has pledged to curb emissions, strengthen resilience and join in common cause to take common climate action. This is a resounding success for multilateralism.”
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said: “One planet, one chance to get it right and we did it in Paris. We have made history together. It is an agreement of conviction. It is an agreement of solidarity with the most vulnerable. It is an agreement of long-term vision, for we have to turn this agreement into an engine of safe growth.”
“Successive generations will, I am sure, mark the 12 December 2015 as a date when cooperation, vision, responsibility, a shared humanity and a care for our world took centre stage,” she said.
“I would like to acknowledge the determination, diplomacy and effort that the Government of France have injected into this remarkable moment and the governments that have supported our shared ambition since COP 17 in Durban, South Africa,” she said.
Agreement Captures Essential Elements to Drive Action Forward
The Paris Agreement and the outcomes of the UN climate conference (COP21) cover all the crucial areas identified as essential for a landmark conclusion:
Mitigation – reducing emissions fast enough to achieve the temperature goal
A transparency system and global stock-take – accounting for climate action
Adaptation – strengthening ability of countries to deal with climate impacts
Loss and damage – strengthening ability to recover from climate impacts
Support – including finance, for nations to build clean, resilient futures
As well as setting a long-term direction, countries will peak their emissions as soon as possible and continue to submit national climate action plans that detail their future objectives to address climate change.
This builds on the momentum of the unprecedented effort which has so far seen 188 countries contribute climate action plans to the new agreement, which will dramatically slow the pace of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The new agreement also establishes the principle that future national plans will be no less ambitious than existing ones, which means these 188 climate action plans provide a firm floor and foundation for higher ambition.
Countries will submit updated climate plans – called nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – every five years, thereby steadily increasing their ambition in the long-term.
Climate action will also be taken forward in the period before 2020. Countries will continue to engage in a process on mitigation opportunities and will put added focus on adaptation opportunities. Additionally, they will work to define a clear roadmap on ratcheting up climate finance to $100 billion by 2020
This is further underlined by the agreement’s robust transparency and accounting system, which will provide clarity on countries’ implementation efforts, with flexibility for countries’ differing capabilities.
“The Paris Agreement also sends a powerful signal to the many thousands of cities, regions, businesses and citizens across the world already committed to climate action that their vision of a low-carbon, resilient future is now the chosen course for humanity this century,” said Ms Figueres.
Agreement Strengthens Support to Developing Nations
The Paris Agreement underwrites adequate support to developing nations and establishes a global goal to significantly strengthen adaptation to climate change through support and international cooperation.
The already broad and ambitious efforts of developing countries to build their own clean, climate-resilient futures will be supported by scaled-up finance from developed countries and voluntary contributions from other countries.
Governments decided that they will work to define a clear roadmap on ratcheting up climate finance to $100 billion by 2020 while also before 2025 setting a new goal on the provision of finance from the $100 billion floor.
Ms. Figueres said. “We have seen unparalleled announcements of financial support for both mitigation and adaptation from a multitude of sources both before and during the COP. Under the Paris Agreement, the provision of finance from multiple sources will clearly be taken to a new level, which is of critical importance to the most vulnerable.”
International cooperation on climate-safe technologies and building capacity in the developing world to address climate change are also significantly strengthened under the new agreement.
Signing the Paris Agreement
Following the adoption of the Paris Agreement by the COP (Conference of the Parties), it will be deposited at the UN in New York and be opened for one year for signature on 22 April 2016 – Mother Earth Day.
The agreement will enter into force after 55 countries that account for at least 55% of global emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification.
Cities and Provinces to Companies and Investors Aligning
Saturday’s landmark agreement was reached against the backdrop of a remarkable groundswell of climate action by cities and regions, business and civil society.
During the week of events under the Lima to Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) at the COP, the groundswell of action by these stakeholders successfully demonstrated the powerful and irreversible course of existing climate action.
Countries at COP 21 recognised the enormous importance of these initiatives, calling for the continuation and scaling up of these actions which are entered on the UN-hosted NAZCA portal as an essential part in the rapid implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The LPAA and NAZCA have already captured climate actions and pledges covering:
Over 7,000 cities, including the most vulnerable to climate change, from over 100 countries with a combined population with one and a quarter billion people and around 32% of global GDP.
Sub-national states and regions comprising one fifth of total global land area and combined GDP of $12.5 trillion.
Over 5,000 companies from more than 90 countries that together represent the majority of global market capitalisation and over $38 trillion in revenue.
Nearly 500 investors with total assets under management of over $25 trillion
Christiana Figueres said: “The recognition of actions by businesses, investors, cities and regions is one of the key outcomes of COP 21. Together with the LPAA, the groundswell of action shows that the world is on an inevitable path toward a properly sustainable, low-carbon world.”
More Details on the Paris Agreement
All countries will submit adaptation communications, in which they may detail their adaptation priorities, support needs and plans. Developing countries will receive increased support for adaptation actions and the adequacy of this support will be assessed.
The existing Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage will be significantly strengthened.
The agreement includes a robust transparency framework for both action and support. The framework will provide clarity on countries’ mitigation and adaptation actions, as well as the provision of support. At the same time, it recognises that Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States have special circumstances.
The agreement includes a global stocktake starting in 2023 to assess the collective progress towards the goals of the agreement. The stocktake will be done every five years.
The agreement includes a compliance mechanism, overseen by a committee of experts that operates in a non-punitive way.
The COP also closed on a number of technical issues.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, there is now a clear and transparent accounting method for carry-over credits for the second commitment period, creating a clear set of rules.
The first round of international assessment and review process (IAR) that was launched in 2014 was successfully completed.
A number of technical and implementation issues related to the existing arrangements on technology, adaptation, action for climate empowerment and capacity building were also successfully concluded.
Greenpeace campaigners demanding a just climate deal in Paris. Photo credit: Reuters
Under Paris climate pact, countries agreed on several critical components of climate action, such as:
Mitigation Objectives and Plans (Articles 2 and 4): The text includes a new stretch goal of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius to accompany the current hard limit of 2 degrees. Countries will pursue the mitigation plans laid out in their domestic climate commitments, which will go into effect in 2020 (also in Decision Section II and Section III, Paragraphs 22-41).
Long-Term Goal (Article 4): The overall aim specified in the agreement is to peak global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and undertake rapid reductions so as to achieve a balance between emissions by anthropogenic sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of the century. The specificity of this long term goal is such that, when coupled with the goal of limiting warming to 2˚C, countries would be de facto required to completely decarbonise the global electric sector by 2050, according to the IPCC.
Ratchet Mechanism (Article 14): The COP Decision established that a global stocktake will take place in 2018, where countries will regroup to assess and potentially adjust their national commitments (COP Decision Section II, Paragraph 20). Countries agreed to reevaluate their commitments every five years, starting in 2023, in order to get stronger action on the table and to adjust for global changes, like the falling prices of renewables and increasing climate impacts.
Transparency and Compliance (Articles 13 and 15): The “sunshine” provisions of this text require all countries to report on mitigation actions and support, both given and received. All countries will participate in the same system of measuring, reporting and verification of emissions, and all will be measured against the same standards: “good practice methodologies accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.” The transparency system will be flexible regarding the scope and detail of developing country reporting, as long as it meets the minimum standards of the IPCC. In addition, all but the poorest and smallest countries must report at least every two years. For verification, the agreement sets up a single verification system: technical expert review. The agreement both mandates and promotes compliance to the various provisions.
Adaptation (Article 7): Developed countries will provide financial and technological support to help developing countries adapt to impacts of climate change, building resilience and preventing further damage (also in COP Decision Section III, Paragraphs 42-47).
Loss and Damage (Article 8): The Paris Agreement includes a section directing countries to create a special process to address the losses and damage that stems from unavoidable climate impacts which overwhelm the limits of adaptation (e.g. sea level rise), as well as follow the procedures laid out in the Warsaw Mechanism. The COP Decision explicitly excludes liability or compensation for losses and damages (COP Decision Section III, Paragraph 52)
Finance (Article 9): The COP Decision text reiterates a global finance pledge with a floor of $100 billion per year in climate financing from developed countries by 2020 (Section III, Paragraph 54), and expands the donor pool post-2020 to encourage other countries to voluntarily provide additional financial support (Article 9.2). Countries have agreed to set a new global, collective climate finance goal for 2025 that increases upon the $100 billion target for 2020 (COP Decision Section III, Paragraph 54).
An attempt by nearly 200 countries of the world to strike the first climate deal in history that will commit them to cut emissions received a massive boost on Saturday in Paris at the UN Climate Change Conference, where organisers of the global summit released details of the proposed landmark agreement.
French Foreign Affairs Minister and President-designate of COP21, Laurent Fabius . Photo credit: REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen
France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, while presenting the final draft agreement to international delegates after two weeks of talks in the French capital, described the final draft of the deal as fair, legally binding and on that would limit warming to “well below 2C”.
If endorsed, the global climate pact would represent “a historic turning point”, said Mr Fabius. It will take effect from 2020. The agreement can be accessed here: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09.pdf
“It confirms our key objective, the objective which is vital, that of continuing to have a mean temperature well below two degrees and to endeavour to limit that increase to one point five degrees,” he stated.
The agreement would be reviewed every five years, he added.
The final two-part agreement is 31-page document, down from the 86 pages agreed to last February in Geneva. The agreement consists of two parts: a formal text (11 pages) that houses the durable provisions and principles of the accord, known as the Agreement; and a second part, known as the COP Decision (20 pages), which is more flexible and houses many of the technical details of the deal as well as those actions that do not require country ratification, as those actions fall under the existing provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Hopes are high for the historic deal and comments have trailed the much vaunted development. Observers believe that the text will likely be accepted at plenary by all countries without any major changes.
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, remarked: “I would like to take this opportunity to commend the commitment, engagement and leadership of all the Heads of State, Government ministers and negotiators who have brought us so far in this very difficult negotiation.
“The end is in sight. Let us now finish the job. The whole world is watching. Billions of people are relying on your wisdom. The time has come to acknowledge that national interests are best served by acting in the global interest.
“Nature is sending urgent signals. People and countries are threatened as never before. We have to do as science dictates. We must protect the planet that sustains us. For that, we need all hands on deck.
“Over the past nine years, I have travelled to the climate front-lines, I have talked to world leaders, and I have engaged the private sector, civil society and vu lnerable gr oups. I have worked to raise awareness of the dangers of a warming world and the immense opportunities of a clean-energy, climate resilient future.
“Your leaders have listened. They came in unprecedented numbers to the beginning of this conference and gave clear instructions. They want a flexible, robust, meaningful, universal agreement that will help us rise as one to the climate challenge. The issues are many and complex. But we must not let the quest for perfection become the enemy of the public good. Today, I ask you to continue in the same good spirit of compromise that has characterized the discussions over the past two weeks.
“I count on developed countries to provide financial resources for mitigation and adaptation, and to embark decisively on a low-emissions pathway. And I ask all developing nations to play an increasingly active role, according to their capacities. I commend you all for submitting your national climate plans.
“The solutions to climate change are on the table. They are ours for the taking. Let us have the courage to grasp them. I look forward to joining you later today to celebrate an agreement that will offer new hope for safety and prosperity for all on a healthy planet.”
Samson Ogallah of Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA): “The Paris Agreement is weak and insufficient to address the impacts of climate change. The Agreement shows clearly that developed countries have succeeded in weaking the Convention, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and got away with historical responsibilities, thereby shifting the additional burden of addressing climate change to the developing countries.
“The Agreement will not keep the world to the below 1.5 degrees and this will mean more losses and damages, floods, droughts, sea level rise, and conflicts in Africa.”
Mohamed Adow, Senior Climate Advisor, Christian Aid: “For the first time in history, the whole world has made a public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deal with the impacts of climate change. Although different countries will move at different speeds, the transition to a low carbon world is now inevitable. Governments, investors and businesses must ride this wave or be swept away by it. Negotiations were long and hard fought but the result is an agreement which will usher in a new dawn of climate-aware politics. The era of politicians burying their heads in the sand is over.”
Samantha Smith, Leader of the Global Climate and Energy Initiative, WWF: “Governments have critically agreed to keep warming well below 2C and aim to limit temperature increase to 1.5C. Everything they do from now on must be measured against that goal. And most importantly, they still need to actually deliver on that goal going forward, which must include assistance for the poor and vulnerable who will suffer from the immediate impacts of climate change. Those impacts are only getting worse and our ambition and actions must urgently match the scale of this global threat and be in line with science. Our leaders must make their actions stronger and stronger over time, in terms of mitigation, adaptation and finance. This is vital.”
Michael Brune, Executive Director, Sierra Club: “The Paris agreement is a turning point for humanity. For the first time in history, the global community agreed to action that sets the foundation to help prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis while embracing the opportunity to exponentially grow our clean energy economy. Decisive leadership and action from President Obama and other world leaders, an increasingly powerful climate movement, and strong progress in the U.S. and globally to move off coal cleared the way for every nation to come to the table.”
Alden Meyer, Director of Policy and Strategy, Union of Concerned Scientists: “The agreement’s temperature goal, net zero emissions objective, and processes to steadily increase the ambition of national emissions reduction commitments combine to send a clear message to the fossil fuel industry: after decades of deception and denial, your efforts to block action on climate change are no longer working. Growing public concern about climate impacts, and the availability of cost-effective efficiency and renewable energy solutions are giving leaders the political will to stand up to fossil fuel polluters and put us on a path to create the global clean energy economy needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.”
Emma Ruby-Sachs, Acting Executive Director, Avaaz: “If agreed, this deal will represent a turning point in history, paving the way for the shift to 100% clean energy that the world wants and the planet needs. By marching in the streets, calling leaders and signing petitions, people everywhere created this moment, and now people everywhere will deliver on it to secure the future of humanity.”
Sven Harmeling, Climate Change Advocacy Coordinator, CARE International: “Climate change is already causing devastating impacts for poor people around the world. Developed countries politicised the issue of loss and damage in the Paris talks, trying to limit options for poor countries to deal with climate threats. With the Paris Agreement, all countries promise not to leave the poor behind. Developed countries leave Paris with an even higher moral obligation to scale up support for the most vulnerable people and to cut their emissions more rapidly.”
Bill McKibben, Co-Founder, 350.org: “Every government seems now to recognise that the fossil fuel era must end and soon. But the power of the fossil fuel industry is reflected in the text, which drags out the transition so far that endless climate damage will be done. Since pace is the crucial question now, activists must redouble our efforts to weaken that industry. This didn’t save the planet but it may have saved the chance of saving the planet.”
Helen Szoke, Executive Director, Oxfam: “This deal offers a frayed life-line to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Only the vague promise of a new future climate funding target has been made, while the deal does not force countries to cut emissions fast enough to forestall a climate change catastrophe. This will only ramp up adaptation costs further in the future. Governments across the world have now come together in the global fight against climate change but must play catch up. We will be holding them to account with the millions of people who marched in cities all around the world so that dangerous warming is averted and the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities get the support that they need.”
Harjeet Singh, Global Lead on Climate Change, ActionAid: “What we needed out of Paris was a deal which put the world’s poorest people first – those who are living with the constant threat of the next disaster. Yet what we have been presented with doesn’t go far enough to improve the fragile existence of millions around the world. Despite disappointment, the Paris agreement provides an important hook on which people can hang their demands. As climate change continues to worsen and affect millions more, people are beginning to demand more from their governments and ask for the transformative change to secure homes, jobs and futures. We already have the practical solutions to climate change, we now just need them to be scaled up with adequate support. Paris is only the beginning of the journey.”
Paul Cook, Advocacy Director, Tearfund: “We welcome the agreement brokered at these crucial climate talks. This is a good step forward, but let’s not be complacent. This doesn’t give us everything we need – nations will need to go further in reducing their emissions over the next few years to ensure the global temperature does not rise by more than 1.5 degrees to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. What has been exciting is to see the growing movement these talks have fostered – people from all walks of life, including the church, have raised their voices for climate action here in Paris. We will not stop this momentum, but continue to hold governments to account, to help people across the world who are seeing the devastating daily impact of climate change.”
Krishneil Narayan, Coordinator, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network: “Rapid action to address climate change is a matter of survival for my Pacific people and as such, how can we accept any compromises? That is why the Pacific region always puts forward the most ambitious proposals on the table at the negotiations. The Paris Agreement did not reflect all we asked for in the Suva Declaration on Climate Change, but Paris was never meant to be the last step. It was meant to be a progressive step in identifying new common grounds to address climate change together collectively through a new, universal agreement. The Pacific will continue be climate leaders post-COP21, and keep going strong to survive climate impacts and show leadership to the world. In the words of my Pacific community: ‘We shall overcome someday.’”
Happy Khambule, Coordinator, South African Climate Action Network: “This historic agreement has sent a strong signal that we need to move away from fossil fuels and that we have a global need to act on climate now. In South Africa, we will follow up this international agreement with actions here at home to take climate action even further. We will be working hard to push South Africa to transition to a low-carbon economy, and call on our leaders to reform fossil fuel subsidies and build more accessible renewable energy.”
David Tong, Coordinator, New Zealand Climate Action Network: “The Paris Agreement is an important step forward. Countries worldwide are acting on climate change. This agreement marks the end of the fossil fuel era and the dawn of the renewable energy era. The momentum towards 100% renewable energy future is unstoppable. Although more must be done in the coming years, the Paris negotiations show that the New Zealand government is out of step with the world. New Zealand has chosen to take the opposite side of the table from its Pacific neighbours, resisting their call for a 1.5ºC goal, blocking progress on loss and damage, and turning deaf ears to their calls for increased climate finance. And the New Zealand government has also proven that it is out of step with the people of New Zealand. As proven by the People’s Climate Marches worldwide, New Zealanders are leading the transition to a safe, just climate future. It’s time for New Zealand politicians to get with the program.”
Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia: “The Paris agreement has clear signals to countries across the globe to now take deeper actions domestically to keep temperature rise to 1.5 Deg C. It also creates the momentum for countries like India to further scale up their already ambitious renewable energy and energy efficiency targets. Now the onus is on developed countries to fulfill their promises and scale up climate finance flows to support mitigation and adaptation efforts, especially for the most vulnerable countries.”
Tania Guillen, Coordinator, Climate Action Network Latin America: “The Paris Agreement has made some steps forward in order to face the climate crisis, but we know that more action is needed and citizens have to be considered in deciding and taking actions. It is important to see that there were clear signals about limiting the increase of temperature to 1.5C compared with pre-industrial levels. In Latin America, and special in the Central America and Caribbean region, climate change is happening. For our region, climate change is not only about future, models or scenarios, it is about our reality. The current reality that farmers and ecosystems, for example, are living. We need to know that what is agreed here in Paris, will guide strong actions to prevent climate change, but also to improve the climate resilience and to prevent the climate-induced losses and damages of those most vulnerable communities. Paris has given us a momentum, but we are clear that is not the end.”
Wendel Trio, Director, Climate Action Network Europe: “All countries have agreed upon the pathway to phase out all fossil fuels, but failed to make headway towards this common goal. This is why the hard work needs to continue after the summit. The EU now needs to live up to the Paris agreement and recalibrate the climate targets for 2030 during the next European Council in March. It also needs to cut emissions much more drastically starting now. In particular, we expect the European Council to raise the 2030 emission reduction target well beyond 40%, to improve the renewables and energy efficiency targets and to tackle fossil fuel subsidies.”
David Turnbull, Campaigns Director, Oil Change International: “The Paris climate talks present a lowest common denominator of global politics, not the aspirations of the global community. It’s the people on the streets who provide the real hope for addressing the climate crisis. People fighting for climate justice around the world are the ones who will solve this problem and they’re already making headway day by day. This year, with wins over the Keystone XL pipeline and Arctic drilling, the climate movement has begun to show its true strength. It is by continuing these fights day in and day out, year in and year out, through the voice of a growing global movement that cannot and will not be silenced, that change will happen.”
Tim Flannery, Chief Councillor, Climate Council: “Today, all of the countries in the world have agreed to act together to address the threat posed to humanity from climate change. This agreement signals the end of the fossil fuel era as the world rapidly replaces coal, oil and gas with clean energy sources. All countries, big and small, rich and poor, have acknowledged they have to act, and almost all are already doing so. This is an important and deliberate signal to businesses worldwide that there is a enormous transition underway and there will be great opportunities for innovation.”
Jaden Harris, Australian Youth Climate Coalition: “This historic moment gives young people hope that a safe climate future is still within reach and the era of fossil fuels is ending. But we’re still on track for a 3-degree warmer world, which paints a bleak future for vulnerable communities. We now have a structure to increase ambition to stay below 1.5, and young people will lead the call to use it. Our movement for climate justice is beginning to win because we’re right and we’ve worked hard. Young people at the forefront of this movement will now be scaling up our actions, ensuring nice words in Paris are matched with real progress around the world.”
May Boeve, Executive Director, 350.org: “This marks the end of the era of fossil fuels. There is no way to meet the targets laid out in this agreement without keeping coal, oil and gas in the ground. The text should send a clear signal to fossil fuel investors: divest now.
“Our job now is to hold countries to their word and accelerate the transition to 100% renewable energy. Over ten thousand of us took to the streets of Paris today to demonstrate our commitment to keep up the fight for climate justice, while many more demonstrated around the world. Our message is simple: a livable climate is a red line we’re prepared to defend.
“The final text still has some serious gaps. We’re very concerned about the exclusion of the rights of indigenous peoples, the lack of finance for loss and damage, and that while the text recognizes the importance of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C, the current commitments from countries still add up to well over 3 degrees of warming. These are red lines we cannot cross. After Paris, we’ll be redoubling our efforts to deliver the real solutions that science and justice demand.”
Michael Jacobs, Senior Adviser for the New Climate Economy project, and former advisor to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown: “This is a historic moment. The world’s governments have finally understood what the science has long been telling them – we have to act now if the earth’s climate is to remain safe. Today they have committed to act – and to act together. Historians will see this as the turning point: the moment when the world started shifting decisively away from fossil fuels and towards clean and safe energy systems. Remarkably this effectively signals the end of the fossil fuel era. This is unquestionably a great success. But the work really starts now. These commitments now need to turn into policy, and policy into investment. They can congratulate themselves for 24 hours – now they need to act.”
Jennifer Morgan, World Resources Institute: “This agreement would mark a true turning point in the global effort to address climate change. The text reflects both the push for high ambition and the voices of the most vulnerable. It accelerates the energy transformation that is well underway, pointing us to a safer and stronger future.”
Monica Araya, member of the Climate Vulnerable expert group: “This agreement marks the beginning of a new era where we find good examples of climate action from all, developed and developing countries, because it is in everyone’s best interests to do so. It is no longer about who is acting and who is not, but how strong the world can act together.”
Nigel Topping, We Mean Business (WMB): “This is a remarkable diplomatic settlement and a historic economic catalyst. The world’s governments have sent a decisive signal to businesses and investors that will accelerate the shift towards a thriving, clean global economy. The Paris Agreement for net zero emissions will turn the billions of investment we’ve seen so far into the trillions the world needs to bring clean energy and prosperity to all. The diplomatic process that included businesses, investors, cities, states, regions and civil society created a powerful alliance which has clearly raised the level of ambition in the negotiations. Businesses and investors look forward to playing a continued role in turning this agreement into on the ground reality.”
Major General (ret) A M N Muniruzzaman, Chairman of Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC), Bangladesh: “Military leaders, assembled under GMACCC, realising the fragility of the situation call upon leaders for urgent action to implement the Paris agreement, to save mankind from the catastrophic consequences of climate change. The Paris agreement must be more than paperwork. Its success depends on a verifiable, implementable, transparent and fair agreement which is made accountable. The military has a new, definitive, more humanitarian role, to deal with millions of people on the move, and this will only grow over time as climate impacts bite.”
Anthony Hobley, the Carbon Tracker Initiative: “A 1.5 degrees Carbon Budget means the fossil fuel era is well and truly over. There is absolutely no room for error. Fossil fuel companies must accept that they are an ex growth stock and urgently re-assess their business plans. New energy technologies have leapt down the cost curve in recent years. The effect of the momentum created in Paris means this is only going to accelerate. The need for the financial markets to fund the clean energy transition creates unparalleled opportunity for growth on a scale not seen since the industrial revolution.”
Christoph Bals, Political Director at Germanwatch: “Our experience in Germany has shown that renewable energy can be scaled up rapidly with significant economic benefit. The decarbonisation signal from the Paris Agreement will increase and accelerate these benefits, but Germany still needs to up its game. Chancellor Merkel needs to commit to a plan to phase out the use of coal within the next two decades. The Paris outcome requires developed countries to come back next year with a credible plan for reaching their 2020 targets – that just is not going to be possible without a coal phase-out.”
Chris Field, Founding Director, Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology: “The world truly reached a turning point with the historic Paris agreement, but this is not a time for self-congratulations. This is our moment to unleash ambition with new levels of innovation, building the clean energy system of the 21st century, developing sustainably, and comprehensively protecting people and the planet.”
Muhtari Aminu-Kano, Senior Policy Advisor in Poverty Reduction at Islamic Relief Worldwide, an international humanitarian organisation, and the former CEO of Nigeria’s leading national environmental NGO, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF): “Muslims living in some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries can be hopeful that this climate deal provides a foundation for positive change. In August, Muslim leaders laid out in a declaration, grounded in the Qur’anic teachings, their vision of the low-carbon future necessary for the peace and prosperity of the planet: while COP21 reaffirmed that this vision is necessary and feasible with strong political willpower, the various positive announcements of the last two weeks (and last six years) prove that it is already on its way to becoming a reality. There is still much work to be done: the Muslim community, in continued solidarity with those from other faiths and humanity at large, must now encourage those in Paris and beyond to live out their pledges and take responsibility as stewards of the Earth.”
Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist, Microsoft: “Microsoft stands with the many voices within the private and public sectors urging the negotiators in Paris to come to a final agreement on climate change. Reaching agreement on a long-term goal framework for cutting carbon emissions and achieving GHG neutrality is critical to address climate change. It will also provide the certainty required for corporations around the world to accelerate their low-carbon investments and foster the creation of a true low-carbon global economy.”
Kathleen McLaughlin, chief sustainability officer for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.: “We believe climate change is an urgent and pressing challenge, and it is clear that we must all do our part to reduce, avoid and mitigate the impact of rising greenhouse gas (GHG) levels. That’s why we support the UN’s call for the U.S. corporate sector to commit to science-based targets to reduce emissions. In addition, we have already successfully decoupled our growth from emissions, and recently announced that we exceeded our goal to reduce 20 MMT of GHG emissions from our supply chain.”
Kevin Rabinovitch, Global Sustainability Director, Mars Incorporated: “Back in October, we joined with the rest of the food and drink industry calling on global leaders to embrace the opportunity presented in Paris. Now really is the time for talk to become action and to meaningfully address the reality of climate change. Global policy makers should think big. Because big thinking leads to big results. Having a long term science based target will drive ideas and innovation, ultimately making what may have seemed impossible – possible. We are on the cusp of a deal that can change the world. And as a business we are committed to tackling the climate challenges that face us. We hope that global leaders will do the same.”
Professor Peng Gong, Co-Chair, Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, Tsinghua University, Beijing: “Beijing’s first-ever ‘red alert’ this week, called due to dangerous levels of air pollution in the city, is a clear symbol of the crucial importance of a strong climate deal here in Paris. Concerted action on climate change, particularly through a transition to clean energy, has immense potential to protect respiratory and cardiovascular health and to improve quality of life. In China, it is estimated that over 4000 people die every day as a result of air pollution, much of which comes from burning coal, and worldwide, air pollution is responsible for 7 million deaths every year: a shocking one in eight of all deaths. By accelerating the transition to healthy renewable energy sources and continuing to scale up climate ambition over the coming years, we can protect millions of people from air pollution as well as the serious health impacts of climate change.”
Dr. Xavier Deau, Former-President of the World Medical Association: “We the physicians have the ethical duty to stand for the health of the population, so do all the politicians here in France today. We leave Paris with a strong public health agreement and are encouraged to see elements crucial to the protection of health central to the final agreement. Millions of physicians around the world have their eyes on Paris and are now looking forward and calling on their governments to get to work protecting the health of their populations.”
Mr José Luis Castro, Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease: “The Paris Climate Agreement cements a decisive call for concerted action to reduce emissions which are toxic to human and planetary health. It is now the duty of the health community to work with others to ensure that these emissions are dramatically reduced – to reduce exposure to leading NCD risk factors, limit global warming, and promote health for all.”
Ms Johanna Ralston, CEO of the World Heart Federation: “The adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement and its embedded references to health mean that NCDs and other health issues can no longer be side-lined in the global response to climate change. The NCD Alliance and its Federations are dedicated to ensuring a comprehensive response to create sustainable environments in which we can live, work and prosper.”
Ms Katie Dain, Executive Director, NCD Alliance: “The adoption of the Paris agreement is an unprecedented victory for people and planet, and a catalyst for the next phase of action. Now, all of government and all of society must come together in a coordinated response to mitigate the impacts of global warming, NCDs and ill-health.”
Professor Hugh Montgomery, Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change: “The impact of climate change on everything from food production to heat stress and water scarcity means it poses the single biggest threat to global health. This agreement is incredibly important for beginning to ease that health burden, ultimately saving lives. It will also set us on a path to a cleaner, less polluted world which in turn reduces costs for our healthcare systems.”
Dr. Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, Climate Change Lead, World Health Organisation: “Every tonne of carbon that we put into the atmosphere turns up the planet’s thermostat, and increases risks to health. The actions that we need to take to reduce climate change would also help clean up our air and our water, and save lives. To take a medical analogy: We already have good treatments available for climate change, but we are late in starting the course. The Paris Agreement helps us take this forward and is a crucial step in protecting our climate and our health.”
Dr. Bettina Menne, Climate Lead, WHO Europe: “As doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, it is our duty to safeguard the health of our families and communities. The Paris Agreement takes us one step closer to securing a future which protects the public from the impacts of climate change – the defining health issue of this century. Today, we are leaving France with a deal that bolsters community resilience, strengthens our health systems, and helps to tackle inequalities.”
Myles Allen, University of Oxford: Achieving a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century will require net carbon dioxide emissions to be reduced, in effect, to zero. It seems governments understand this, even if they couldn’t quite bring themselves to say so. To have a good chance of staying below 2 degrees, we need to aim for 1.5 degrees anyway, and it is sensible to acknowledge that 2 degrees itself is hardly “safe”. So, all told, a great outcome. Chapeau to French diplomacy.
Johan Rockström, Executive Director, the Stockholm Resilience Centre: This agreement is a turning point for a world transformation within a 1.5-2°C safe operating space on Earth. Paris is a global starting point. Now we need action consistent with science to reach decarbonisation by 2050 and sustainable development.
Diana Liverman, Director, Institute of the Environment, University of Arizona: “The Paris agreement is a significant step in reducing the risks of anthropogenic climate change but it certainly does not eliminate them. We still face serious impacts. The current national pledges (INDCs) for emission reductions take us above 2 deg C. The agreement suggests these pledges may not be revised until 2018 by which time we will have burned even more fossil fuels with yet more commitment to warming.
“This makes funding for adaptation and loss and damage from climate change even more urgent. Both are mentioned in the agreement but there is no indication of how much of the $100 billion a year in finance promised to developing countries in the agreement will be allocated to the vulnerable to cope with the impacts of climate change. It also means that subnational, individual and private sector efforts to reduce emissions are important, especially if they contribute to emission reductions beyond national pledges.
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is invited to provide a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. The scientific community will need to focus efforts on that right away as there is still a lot we need to understand about impacts in a world at 1.5 deg C, especially patterns of precipitation and impacts on key sectors, vulnerable groups, and regions. And we should start studying how the planet can survive peak temperatures and then recover.
“The Paris agreement preamble recognizes obligations for countries to respect, promote and consider human rights, the right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity. This recognition of rights and particular groups is a modest win for many concerned with climate justice, but will now have to be translated into action so that mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance and technology transfer explicitly consider how these policies affect, and hopefully benefit, human rights, women and other groups.”
John Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research: “If agreed and implemented, this means bringing down greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero within a few decades. It is in line with the scientific evidence we presented of what would have to be done to limit climate risks such as weather extremes and sea-level rise. To stabilise our climate, CO2 emissions have to peak well before 2030 and should be eliminated as soon as possible after 2050. Technologies such as bio-energy and carbon capture and storage as well as afforestation can play a role to compensate for residual emissions, but cutting CO2 is key. Governments can indeed write history today, so future generations will remember the Paris summit for centuries to come.”
Joeri Rogelj (IIASA, UNEP Emissions Gap Report Lead Author): “The new Article 4 text is clearer in scientific terms than what we had before. Importantly, the benchmarks in terms of global peaking and global emissions reductions are consistent with the 1.5°C and 2°C temperature targets. Much remains to be done and it is encouraging to see that this agreement puts into place a process that could deliver this ambition.
“Climate action has been delayed tremendously over recent decades and, even today, emissions are still increasing. Limiting warming to 1.5°C is an aspiration we will not be able to deliver if we are unable to scale up action in the next decade.
“Technologies that can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will become indispensable for attaining this long-term goal. The negative emissions technologies required to limit warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century are uncertain. It therefore makes scientific sense to increase climate action.
“Aiming to limit warming to 1.5°C means that we need to scale up action in the near term. If some technologies do not prove viable in the longer term, then near-term reductions might well be the only way we can still manage to stay well below two degrees.”
Steffen Kallbekken, Research Director (CICERO): “The greatest achievement of this process is that more than 180 countries have submitted national climate policy goals. Nevertheless, this is an historic agreement that sends a clear signal to policy makers, businesses and investors to start the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient society.
“However, estimates suggest that current pledges will result in a 2.7 and 3.7 degrees temperature increase. In order to limit climate change further, efforts must be ramped up. Importantly, countries will submit new climate policy goals every five years. Each time countries submit a new goal, the new goal must be more ambitious than the previous goal.
“The Paris Agreement aims to limit warming to 2C above pre-industrial levels and to “pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C”. This reflects growing concern over the impacts of climate change also at levels of warming below 2 degrees. The ambitious temperature goal is, however, not matched by an equally ambitious mitigation goal. The agreement states that countries should aim to peak their emissions as soon as possible, decline thereafter, and – in the second half of the century – balance emissions and sinks.
“This does not send a clear signal about the level and timing of emission cuts, and does not provide a useful yardstick against which to measure progress. While not inconsistent with science, this does not reflect the best available science. The IPCC concluded that in order to have a likely chance of limiting warming to 2 degrees, emissions would have to be cut by 40 to 70 percent by 2050 (as compared to 2010). To reach the 1.5 degree target the emission cuts would have to be substantially larger, on the order of 70-95% by 2050.”
Kumi Naidoo, executive director, Greenpeace International: “The wheel of climate action turns slowly, but in Paris it has turned. This deal puts the fossil fuel industry on the wrong side of history. “There’s much in the text that has been diluted and polluted by the people who despoil our planet, but it contains a new imperative to limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees. That single number, and the new goal of net zero emissions by the second half of this century, will cause consternation in the boardrooms of coal companies and the palaces of oil-exporting states.
“Now comes the great task of this century. How do we meet this new goal? The measures outlined in Paris simply do not get us there. We have a 1.5 degree wall to climb, but the ladder isn’t long enough. The emissions targets on the table aren’t big enough, and the deal doesn’t do enough to change that. The new goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the second half of the century effectively means we need to phase out fossil fuels – the easiest to cut – by 2050.
“There’s not enough in this deal for the nations and people on the frontlines of climate change. It contains an inherent, ingrained injustice. The nations which caused this problem have promised too little help to the people who are already losing their lives and livelihoods.
“This deal alone won’t dig us out the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep. To pull us free of fossil fuels we are going to need to mobilise in ever greater numbers. This year the climate movement beat the Keystone pipeline, we kicked Shell out of the Arctic and put coal into terminal decline. We stand for a future powered by renewable energy, and it is a future we will win. In the coming years new political leaders will come to power, and many of them will stand against us and our goals. They will wield great power, but so will we. For us, Paris was always a stop on an ongoing journey. Ultimately our fate will be decided over the coming decades by the collective courage of our species. I believe we will succeed.”
Nicholas Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and President of the British Academy: “This is a historic moment, not just for us and our world today, but for our children, our grandchildren and future generations. The Paris Agreement is a turning point in the world’s fight against unmanaged climate change, which threatens prosperity and well-being among both rich and poor countries. The Agreement creates enormous opportunities as countries begin to accelerate along the path towards low-carbon economic development and growth.
“The commitment to limit the rise in global warming to well below 2 centigrade degrees, and to pursue a limit of 1.5 centigrade degrees, recognises the enormous risks we face from growing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And it acknowledges that the world will need to reach net zero annual emissions of greenhouse gases in the second half of the century. Importantly, the Agreement takes into account that current pledges for emissions limits in 2030 fall short of the collective ambition required and so it includes a commitment by countries to review every five years their efforts to reduce annual emissions of greenhouse gases and to ramp up their emissions cuts. And it recognises that that rich countries are expected to mobilise more financial support to help poor countries make the transition to a low-carbon economy and become more climate-resilient. Increased investments will be needed, particularly in infrastructure, and the multilateral financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the regional development banks, must play a leading role in scaling up finance and bringing down the costs of capital.
“National, and local governments, cities and businesses must now raise their efforts to match the ambition of this Agreement. Cities and businesses have been strongly represented at the Paris climate change summit and have played an important role in urging governments to achieve a strong agreement, and emphasising the important role of innovation in creating a low-carbon economy. This Agreement, together with the Sustainable Development Goals, should allow countries to overcome both climate change and poverty, the two defining challenges of our generation. Now is the time for us to seize the opportunity of a brighter, low-carbon and climate-resilient future.”
Corinne Le Quéré, Professor of Climate Change Science and Policy at the University of East Anglia and Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research: “The final draft text recognises the imperatives of the science community to tackle climate change. The three key elements to do it are there in some form: keep warming well below two degrees, practically move away from fossil fuels, and review each country’s contribution every five years so they scale up to the challenge. The emissions cuts promised by countries now are still wholly insufficient, but the agreement as a whole sends a strong message to businesses, investors, and citizens that new energy is clean and fossil fuels belong to the past. There is a lot of work ahead of us to make this happen.”
Dr. Andrew Steer, President & CEO, World Resources Institute: “The City of Light is now the City of Hope for climate change. Leaders came to Paris with serious determination to get a strong climate agreement and that’s precisely what’s happened. While not sufficient to solve the problem alone, the agreement puts us on a path where a solution is possible. The Paris Agreement has the power to send loud, clear signals to economic markets that there’s no turning back from the transition to a zero-carbon economy. The agreement will be good for people, good for the economy, and good for the planet.
“The Paris talks have already delivered a sizable impact. It builds on the foundation of national climate commitments by more than 185 countries. It reflects the groundswell of activity in capitals, cities, board rooms, stock markets, forests and fields that complement the global and national actions.
“Yet, our work is far from over. Over the coming months, we will join with our partners to build on the foundation created here. The shift from commitment into action will be even harder and take even more determination. But for today at least we rest a little easier knowing that the world will be stronger and safer for our children and future generations.”
Jennifer Morgan, Global Director, Climate Programme, World Resources Institute: “It took hard work, grit and guts, but countries have finally united around a historic agreement that marks a turning point on the climate crisis. The Paris Agreement marks a new form of international cooperation – one where developed and developing countries are united by a common and fair framework. The agreement is both ambitious and powered by the voices of the most vulnerable.
“Of course, like all tough negotiations, we cannot say we came away with everything we wanted. And there is much work to be done. The agreement includes clear signals: a commitment to come back to the table every five years to review and strengthen country commitments; a long-term signal about the inevitable shift to a zero-carbon economy; and financial support for vulnerable countries that will be scaled up over time.
“We can enjoy this moment, but there is little time to rest. World leaders need to build on the momentum created by the Paris moment and move even faster and further toward a decarbonised economy.
“In Paris, the world has delivered a clear message: we are united in our determination, we stand together, and we will push forward to create a safer, healthier and more prosperous future.”
African delegates are of the opinion that the release on Thursday of yet another draft of the climate change negotiating text on Thursday at the ongoing global summit in Paris indicated an encouraging progress.
Samson, Samuel Ogallah of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA)
“Great progress has been made to secure a dedicated process to deal with this,” says Samson Ogallah of the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), adding that while Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 8 in the draft text should reflect the leadership of developed countries, not just “all Parties”, Paragraph 5 needs to remain. “I’m very supportive of this,” he adds.
“I have taken a look at the Section dealing with Capacity Building (81 – 91), and glad to see there are no more brackets therein. What we have now shows a lot of work even further than what we had yesterday, and the contents if it stays this way should be acceptable to AGN/Nigeria,” states Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, a Nigerian negotiator.
“I have just finished looking at the capacity building and thinks that its good,” adds Priscilla Achakpa, a gender advovate.
Payal Parekh, 350.org’s Global Managing Director: “The latest draft text has a lot of aspirational language, the real test will be what it means on the ground.” The standard of any effective climate policy is clear: does it keep fossil fuels in the ground and accelerate a just transition to 100% renewable energy? The commitments we are seeing in the text are a start, but they won’t get the job done, so activists are already mobilising to close the gap between rhetoric and reality.”
The “Red Lines” demonstration will hold on Saturday in the streets of Paris.
According to Parekh, over the last 48 hours, 350.org mobilised hundreds of thousands of supporters online to send tweets and emails to key country negotiators and heads of state urging them to support an ambitious long term goal of full decarbonisation by 2050 in order to keep global warming below 1.5°C.
On Thursday afternoon, 350.org Executive Director May Boeve joined with Al Gore and the directors of Avaaz, Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Earth Day Network and others to deliver 6.2 million signatures calling for a strong agreement in Paris that would move the world towards 100% renewable energy.
350.org, Attac, Confédération Paysanne, Réseau Sortir du Nucléaire, Climate Games and others are now apparently taking the message to the streets. Defying a ban on public protests that has been implemented in France under the State of Emergency, campaigners are planning for a gathering of thousands of people at an iconic location in Paris at 12:00pm on December 12th.
The mobilisation is called “Red Lines,” a nod to the principle that is often invoked at the climate talks themselves, and activists will take to a major boulevard to unfurl two 100 meter banners with the words “Keep It In The Ground” and “Crimes Climatiques, Stop!” Participants will then place over 5,000 red tulips along the banners as a tribute to the victims of climate change and the fossil fuel industry, and their commitment to keep up the fight for climate justice after the Paris talks.
Campaigners have already announced a major set of mobilisations for next May called “Break Free” that will challenge the fossil fuel industry at some of the most polluting projects around the world.
Over the past week, 350.org and partners have been hosting trainings and art-builds at locations across Paris. The trainings have been packed full of interested participants, according to the activists, so many that people have had to be turned away at the door. Nightly assemblies at the People’s Summit in Montreuil, just outside of downtown Paris, have drawn more than a 1,000 people. Now, more buses and trains are also on their way towards the city, full of people looking to take part in the December 12th mobilisation. More than 8,000 people have RSVP’d to take part in the event.
Other events on Saturday include a geo-location action at 9:30am, when people will use their smartphones to tag themselves on a digital map to spell out “climate justice is peace,” and a gathering at the Eiffel Tower at 2:00pm.
“Paris has never been an end point for us, but a chance to get an agreement that will help us continue with our fight for climate justice,” said Parekh. “If they won’t keep fossil fuels in the ground, we will. Our communities, our climate, our survival: those are our red lines, and we’re mobilising to defend them.”
“Investments in renewable energy should be the concern of both the government and the private sector. This is one of the best ever innovations in COP conferences and it is time private investors in Africa wake up and seize the opportunity,” notes Assaad Razzouk, chairman of Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia at a discussion on the theme, “Creating Enabling Environments for Private Sector Finance for Renewable Energy in Africa,” which held on the tenth day of the Paris climate talks.
Assaad Razzouk, chairman of Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia. Photo credit: plus.google.com
Hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the discussions centered on how African countries can make significant economic progress if the renewable energy plan is given the attention it deserves especially by the private sector.
The involvement of the private investors in AfDB’s new renewable energy scheme can be an icing on the cake in the continent’s development drive, it was noted.
“Energy is central to any development equation and private investors need to take advantage of the opportunity this new business offers,” Bruno Ban Sasson of ENGIE Africa said.
The case of the involvement of the private sector renewable energy projects in Rwanda was presented with a call for other countries in the continent to walk in their footsteps.
“In Rwanda we are very keen about translating energy policies into workable solutions. The private sector is very instrumental in this drive,” explained Alex Mulisa of the RwandaNational Fund for Environment and climate change, FONERWA.
However, the success of any development project depends on the sacrifice the different stakeholders are ready to pay and this include the general population of the different countries, notes John Ward of London based VIVID Economics consultancy.
“Renewable energy in Africa, yes but this has a price which the tax payers must be ready to pay. There must be some readiness to embrace the changes and sacrifices that come with innovations,” Ward cautioned.
He admitted that the cost of energy in Africa at the moment is relatively high but noted that the solution to the crisis has to be local and that is where the drive for renewable energy comes handy.
Statistics show that energy access in rural areas in Africa is only 15%. It is hoped that with the embrace of renewable energy the access could leapfrog to acceptable levels.
Africa is focused on achieving its sustainable development goals irrespective of the outcome of the climate deal in COP21, notes civil society actors from the continent.
“Whether there is a favourable agreement or not, it does not prevent Africa from pursuing and attaining its development goals,” notes Augustine Njamnshi of the Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA).
The same message was echoed by the coordinator of the Pan African Media Alliance for Climate Change (PAMACC), Isaiah Esipisu, who also hailed the great role the media was playing in driving the renewable energy scheme in Africa.
“Though the challenge of creating awareness and driving understanding of renewable energy imperatives in Africa is huge, PAMACC’s resolve to overcome these challenges remains unbroken,” Esipisu said.
