Gret

Echoes from Durban : four e-newsletters reporting on the progression of the negotiations

During the Conference, GRET will monitor in particular the discussions at the interface between climate change and development (financing, adaptation, capacity building, etc.). It will coordinate the writing of four e-newsletters—“Echoes from Durban”—reporting (in French and in English) on the progression of the negotiations, published by Coordination SUD and posted on GRET’s website.

Pendant la Conférence, le Gret suit tout particulièrement les discussions à l’interface entre changement climatique et développement (financement, adaptation, renforcement de capacités, etc.). Il coordonne la rédaction de quatre bulletins d’information électroniques sur l’avancée des négociations publiés par Coordination SUD et relayés sur le site du Gret  « Les Echos de Durban» (en français et en anglais).

Echoes from Durban N°4 : Durban : not an entirely new dawn
Echoes from Durban N°3 – Day 2: Who stands to gain from the current confusion ?
Echoes from Durban N°2 – Time for a more optimistic outlook!
Echoes from Durban N°1 – Durban: last chance to revive the climate regime?

Durban’s Climate Change Stakes

(Durban, South Africa, November 28 – December 9, 2011)

At the end of 2010, the Cancun climate conference (the 16^th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) made it possible to avoid the collapse of the UN system following the failure of the Copenhagen summit. It also saw progress on certain chapters, notably with the creation of a Green Climate Fund, the establishment of an international framework on adaptation to climate change, and the operationalization of the REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) mechanism. Despite this, with its lack of any real ambition to lower greenhouse gas emissions, Cancun did not breathe new life into the international climate talks. In a morose geopolitical and economic context, no one dares dream any more that a new legally-binding agreement encompassing developed and developing countries could be adopted during the next Conference of the Parties in Durban starting on November 28, nor even that the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends at the end of 2012, could be continued. Yet, salutary decisions could revitalize the process, in particular the adoption of governance rules for the Green Climate Fund to make it operational as soon as possible.

In preparation for this Conference, GRET, as coordinator of Coordination SUD’s Climate and Development Commission, contributed to the elaboration of Coordination SUD’s position papers on the Commission’s four themes of work: Adaptation, Agriculture, Finance and REDD+. These texts will be promoted by the delegation of Coordination SUD members in Durban.

GRET will co-host a parallel workshop via Coordination SUD’s Climate and Development Commission:

-       Thursday, December 1 (11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Hex River room): Implementing Adaptation to Climate Change: Examples and Tools to Improve Development Plans and Projects. This side event will present the main results of efforts to analyze and document projects to include consideration of adaptation in development projects: tools, good practices, challenges (Africa, Latin America, Asia).

with The Nature Conservancy (TNC)

GRET will co-host and speak at two side events via Coordination SUD’s Climate and Development Commission:

-       Tuesday, November 20 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Warsaw Room): How to Ensure that Green Climate Fund Finance Will Be Allocated Equitably and Disbursed Efficiently? The aim is to compare the visions of the northern and southern representatives of the Transitional Committee, the Agence Française de Développement and French-speaking civil society (CAN-France, the climate and development network, Coordination SUD) to identify the modalities for more direct access to finance, multi-stakeholder governance, more equitable distribution of climate finance among countries, sectors and communities, and priority actions for low-carbon, climate resilient development. The discussions will make it possible to compare the often divergent perspectives of civil society and countries, and analyze policy demands in light of field experience.

-       Thursday, December 1 (3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Warsaw Room): The Role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Defining and Implementing Adaptation Strategies: Challenges and Perspectives How can CSOs help strengthen adaptation capacities in developing countries by adopting an integrated and systemic approach to adaptation? For CSOs, what are the opportunities for and obstacles to this contribution? A study and Coordination SUD’s positions will be presented, serving as a basis for dialogue on the integrated approach to adaptation.

Following the Conference, GRET will participate in the Durban special “4D Tuesday” on December 13, and will coordinate the writing of a Coordination SUD joint analysis (publication scheduled for mid-February). Finally, a “hindsight” workshop on the Durban conference will be held at GRET at the end of February.