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TWN
Belém Climate News Update No. 9 COP 30 President outlines mode of work for final week of pivotal Belem talks Belém, Nov 17 (Hilary Kung and Meena Raman): The COP 30 President, Ambassador André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, convened a plenary meeting of the governing bodies of the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, evening of Saturday, Nov 15, to outline the mode of work for the final week of the climate talks, saying that this is “towards a strong and successful work in Belém”. The climate talks began on 10 Nov and is expected to conclude on 21 Nov. Prior to the convening of the plenary of the governing bodies of the COP, CMP (meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol] and CMA [meeting of Parties to the Paris Agreement], the Subsidiary Body for Implementation [SBI] and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice [SBSTA] held their closing sessions, where recommendations and draft decisions from the work of these bodies were transmitted to the respective governing bodies for their consideration adoption. At the plenary meeting of the COP, the President outlined three tracks of work for the coming week as follows: (i) conduct of ministerial-led consultations focusing on outstanding political issues; (ii) continuation of the technical work on a limited set of issues where emerging political guidance will be incorporated; and (iii) Presidency consultations. On the outstanding work relating to the governing bodies and the specific issues from the Subsidiary Bodies [SBs], the COP 30 President strongly encouraged Parties to progress and conclude work on both the political and technical aspects by Tuesday, Nov 18. Do Lago said he will convene a stocktaking plenary next week to provide an overview of progress across all workstreams, and he will also be conducting consultations of mutirão [meaning ‘collective efforts’] early next week at ministerial and heads of delegations (HODs) level across all items. For the ministerial consultations, the COP 30 President said that he has invited pairs of ministers to lead on the following issues, which “will benefit from political guidance”: · on the global stocktake: Andres Bjelland (Norway) and another minister to be announced; · on adaptation: Rohey John Manjang (Gambia) and Jochen Flasbarth (Germany); · on finance: Ed Miliband (United Kingdom) and Deborah Mlongo Barasa (Kenya); · on mitigation: Sara Aagesen (Spain) and Wael Aboulmagd (Egypt); · on just transition: Alicia Bárcena (Mexico) and Krzysztof Bolesta (Poland); · on technology: Chris Bowen (Australia) and Bhupender Yadav (India); and on · gender and climate change: Maisa Rojas (Chile) and y Helena Dyrssen (Sweden) Do Lago also said that the ministerial consultations will report back on progress on Nov 18.
He also announced that a summary note will be produced on the Presidency consultations on the four agenda items which have been on-going since last week viz. (i) ‘Implementation of Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement’ [which relates to the mandatory provision of finance from developed to developing countries]; (ii) ‘Promoting international cooperation and addressing the concerns with climate change related trade-restrictive unilateral measures’; (3) ‘Responding to the synthesis report on nationally determined contributions and addressing the 1.5 °C ambition and implementation gap’ and (iv) ‘Reporting and review pursuant to Article 13 of the Paris Agreement’ [which relates to the biennial transparency reports (BTRs)] to further structure the conversation going forward. The summary note was published on Sunday, Nov 16, around 8 pm. The note from the Presidency states as follows: “This document seeks to summarize key points received and heard from Parties in written submissions and during Presidency consultations. As per the compromised reached among Parties on 9 November, this note covers only issues related to the four agenda item proposals. The Presidency identified a high degree of convergence and alignment emerging both from written and oral inputs. The Presidency sees an opportunity for this summary to serve as a preliminary glimpse of where an overall package of outputs from the consultations could emerge from Parties. Where we saw potential divergence of views, we tried to reflect them in options that could be taken by Parties as either mutually supportive or mutually excluding, as they see fit. In Presidency consultations on Monday, Nov 17, we will invite Parties to reflect on balance and potential misrepresentation of topics within or outside of options, to ensure our process continues guided by what Parties feel is the right direction and pace.” The note states further that the “Presidency’s framing on direction, as guided by Parties” is as follows: · “Strong message around multilateralism, people, accelerating implementation” · “COP of Truth” · “Transition from negotiations to implementation” · “Significantly enhance international cooperation for accelerating implementation” · “Fully faithful to Convention, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement –its purpose, long term goals, principles and provisions as well as its architecture and policy cycle” · “No new obligations/commitments beyond the instruments and agreed decisions” · “Sustainable development, poverty eradication and tackling inequalities” · “Climate action and impacts linked to sustainable development” · “People - Important role and active engagement of non-Party stakeholders.” The COP President also said that the technical work will continue, especially on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA); the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP); the Mitigation Work Programme (MWP); Review of the functions of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN); Technology Implementation Programme (TiP); National Adaptation Plans (NAPs); Adaptation Fund (with regard to the Adaptation Fund Board); the Global Stocktake (GST) issues on ‘procedural refinement’ and UAE Dialogue; Gender and climate change; Response Measures (RMs); and the Review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts. [All of these agenda items were taken up during the first week under the Subsidiary Bodies (SBs), and discussions concluded with agreement that additional technical work is required to achieve consensus on the draft text/informal notes produced.] During the plenary session, there were two interventions by some Parties. Chile took the floor to comment on the agenda item on “Linkages between the Technology Mechanism and the Financial Mechanism”, [which could not be concluded due to lack of consensus among Parties during in the first week of talks under the SBs, attracting the application of rule 16 of the UNFCCC’s draft Rules of Procedure.] It wanted this matter to be discussed again based on the work Parties made this year, by including the draft text prepared by the co-facilitators and expressed that it will propose this during the closing plenary of the Belem talks. (Rule 16 states that where an item on the agenda of a session’s consideration has not been completed at the session, it shall be included automatically in the agenda of the next session, and normally, Parties begin consideration of the item from scratch, without reference to any documents worked on from the previous session.) Honduras, for the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN), highlighted the need to have a roadmap to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, in accordance with Article 5 of the Paris Agreement, adding that this is an “Implementation COP”. It also said that it is currently working with Parties on a draft decision text. [Article 5 of the Paris Agreement states that, “Parties should take action to conserve and enhance, as appropriate, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases…including forests”…; and “Parties are encouraged to take action to implement and support, including through results-based payments,…and alternative policy approaches, such as joint mitigation and adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of forests, while reaffirming the importance of incentivizing, as appropriate, non-carbon benefits associated with such approaches.”) At the SBI closing plenary During the negotiations under the SBI held in the first week in Belem, on the Adaptation Fund (AF), Parties could not arrive at a conclusion on matters related to the AF, which was forwarded to second week for further consideration. [For background, please see TWN Bonn Update 17.] The main contention in the discussions in this regard is over the issue of change in terminology of groups of Parties [from “Parties included in Annex 1 to the Convention (Annex 1 Parties)” and “Parties not included in Annex 1 to the Convention (non-Annex 1 Parties)]” as referenced under the Kyoto Protocol, to “developed country Parties” and “developing country Parties” respectively, aligned with the terminology used in the Paris Agreement.] [See TWN update). At the closing of the SBI, China, for the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), expressed disappointment that developed countries continued to link the institutional arrangements of the AF for its transition to serve the Paris Agreement to the membership of the AF Board, where there are clear political divergences. It said that “We don't see it as a package deal” and that “there is no relationship between the two”, and requested the developed countries to adopt a decision in Belem, without holding the institutional arrangements hostage to the smooth transition of the AF, which is of critical importance to all developing countries.” Turkiye said it did not accept any new classification and linkages between the Convention’s annexes and classification between developed and developing countries in the PA, citing that this is its red line. Turkiye’s intervention was supported by Russian Federation. The European Union [EU] said it concurred with many Parties’ views that “the transition of the AF has to be achieved here at this COP and as part of the transition, we also have to make sure that the Fund has a fully functional Board. The changes in terminology that we propose is in line with PA. In Bonn, we worked on language that provided comfort for Parties that have concerns with this.” It then said that it is willing to work with the COP Presidency and Parties on the language. The EU’s intervention was echoed by the United Kingdom, saying that it is important to conclude this matter to ensure that the “institution arrangements are functional for what the AF board will need to do in the coming period”. The final week of the talks is expected to be intense, and how compromises are arrived at will be closely watched.
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