Mr President, your Excellencies and delegates.
At the outset let me thank you for the wonderful arrangements and warm hospitality extended to us by the people and government of Qatar.
Mr President, the focus of our work here is to find a global solution to the global climate change crisis that severely impacts all countries.
In Africa, where poverty eradication and addressing basic human needs supported by sustainable economic growth are the overriding priorities, climate change is already undermining past development and threatening future potential, and multiplying impacts on the poor and vulnerable.
Mr President,
Current pledges by countries fall far below what is required by science to limit the global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. The 2013 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap report tells us that if we continue with business as usual, we are looking at a 3 – 5 degrees celsius world – which would be an absolute disaster for Africa and other very vulnerable countries.
Therefore, last year in Durban, we agreed to a very delicately balanced package, founded on a set of mutual reassurances:
- That firstly, recognised the need for urgent action now, and in this regard we agreed to conclude the Bali negotiations and move to implementation – starting from 1st January 2013 up to 2020 through the implementation of a 2nd Commitment Period under the Kyoto Protocol; and the full implementation of the agreed actions and institutional mechanisms under the Convention
- That secondly, recognised that global circumstances are ever changing and that we need to build and develop the system under the Convention for the future – beyond 2020. Therefore, we initiated, under the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, the negotiation of an inclusive, fair, ambitious and binding future legal instrument applicable to all Parties; to come into force by 2020.
- Thirdly, we recognised that the current levels of ambition of mitigation commitments on the table are totally inadequate and do not nearly approach what is required by science. Therefore, we set up processes to increase levels of climate ambition, particularly for the pre-2020 period.
Mr President, our challenge here in Doha is essentially two-fold:
- Firstly, we must secure the multilateral rules-based climate change system to guide urgent and adequate implementation of climate action starting from the 1st January 2013 up to 2020;
- Secondly, we must define the process for negotiating the further development of this system for the period beyond 2020.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, this means that we must:
- Adopt the 2nd Commitment Period through amendments to its Annex B
- Ensure that there is no legal or operational gap between the 1st and 2nd commitment periods
- Ensure that there is no gap at the end of the 2nd commitment period
- Ensure that the 2nd commitment period has environmental integrity and the necessary levels of mitigation ambition in line with the science
- Therefore, ensure that there is a mechanism to ratchet up ambition during the 2nd commitment period
- And limit the erosion of ambition through carry-over of surplus Kyoto assigned amount units.
Under the Convention, this means that we must:
- Close the work under the Bali Action Plan having meaningfully concluded the mandated work.
- And fully implement climate action – enabled, supported and guided by the new post 2012 arrangements such as the Adaptation Committee; the Technology Executive Committee; the Finance Standing Committee; the Green Climate Fund; the mitigation NAMA registry and transparency arrangements.
In order to do this there are some key issues that must be solved here in Doha:
Firstly, finance is key to enabling adaptation and mitigation action by developing countries. Doha must therefore address
- The finance gap between 2013 and 2020
- Provide confidence and direction on long-term sources of finance.
- The Green Climate Fund is a significant achievement. However, without early capitalisation, it remains an empty shell.
Secondly, on mitigation, Doha must:
- Agree to a process to ensure comparability of effort between countries taking a Kyoto 2nd Commitment Period and developed countries not willing to do so, through establishing quantified economy wide emission reduction pathways.
- Ensure the alignment of the ambition of these mitigation commitments with the 2013 – 2015 review.
- Ensure that the implementation arrangements of the post 2012 system continues to further develop technical and political solutions to issues that may not be concluded and require ongoing work; such as, the questions of equitable access to sustainable development, intellectual property rights and unilateral trade measures.
Mr President,
We have 2 work-streams under the Durban Platform on Enhanced Action.
One work-stream is focussed on raising ambition in the pre-2020 period, to close the ambition gap. Here in Doha, a clear plan of work must be in place to implement this decision.
The second work-stream is focused on the process to develop a new legal instrument under the Convention, applicable to all Parties. This instrument should reinforce a fair, multilateral rules based regime that will give effect to the principles of the Convention, and to the right to equitable access to sustainable development. It must balance mitigation and adaptation, and ensure the provision of finance, technology and capacity building to enable developing countries to transition to lower carbon and climate resilient economies. Doha must agree to the plan of this important work from now until 2015.
President,
The world has demonstrated the political will to maintain a rules-based multilateral system to address the global climate change challenge. We have all demonstrated our preparedness to compromise and find creative solutions. We must use that resolve to ensure that Doha delivers on meaningful actions between 2013 and 2020, and establishes a solid base to drive up the mitigation ambition so that by the time the new legal instrument comes into effect, we still have a fair chance of preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
