Shadows of a dream

The COP22 was held in Marrakesh from November 7-16, 2016. Other subsidiary body meetings were also held at the same time, including the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12) and the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 1). The three other subsidiary bodies (SBs), which also met during this time were the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice for the 45th session (SBSTA 45), Subsidiary Body for Implementation for the 45th session (SBI 45), and the second part of the first session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA 1-2). The Marrakesh conference was being held even as the euphoria of having concluded a multilateral global climate deal was yet to die out. Discussions at Marrakesh were mostly about entry into force of the Paris Agreement and its implementation and various actions needed for addressing adaptation and mitigation issues in Africa. For this reason, COP22 was also referred to as the Africa Summit.

Discussions at COP22

The Climate Conference opened with the French President Segolene Royal reporting that 100 countries had ratified the Paris Agreement and appealed to others to do so before the end of 2016. The UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa noted that the Paris Agreement was just beginning and its success can’t be taken as ‘given’. She emphasized three areas of focus: adaptation support; progress on the loss and damage mechanism; and large doses of predictable finance which could accelerate the move towards a low emissions world. Highlighting the dangers of erratic weather and global warming, the Moroccan President of the General Council of Agricultural Development lamented that the rainfall was not only 15-20 per cent lower than in the 1990s, but also very erratic.

Another development that had a direct impact on the fight against global warming was the victory of Donald Trump in the US Presidential elections held in November, 2016. His victory caused alarm among countries because of his skepticism towards the adverse effects of climate change and his oft repeated statement that ‘Climate change is a hoax’.

As far as the discussions in COP22 are concerned, these were mostly to do with implementation of the Paris Agreement. One of the main issues discussed was the initiation of the development of a ‘Paris Agreement Rulebook’, which was to be completed by 2018. This Rulebook would contain detailed guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the implementation of the Paris Agreement and progress on the Nationally Determined Contributions and how these were to be arrived at. Apart from this, the usual issues discussed in the earlier COPs were revisited, namely:

Loss and Damage, including the strengthening of the Warsaw International Mechanism, which had suggested support to vulnerable countries for damages arising out of extreme climate change events.

Adaptation, including the development of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and helping developing countries in formulating and executing their adaptation strategies.

Capacity Building and Technology Transfer to developing countries

Finance, including the Climate Finance Roadmap, which would require developed countries raising USD 100 billion by 2020 and revival of the Adaptation Fund which was agreed under the Kyoto Protocol.

Pre-2020 Commitments were emphasized so that action under the Paris Agreement could be fast-tracked. This included urging developed countries to take the lead in taking increased emissions reduction commitments in the pre-2020 period.

The Marrakesh Action Proclamation included the above broad action points and underlined the need for quick action and greater solidarity among developed and developing countries to realize the climate goals under the Paris Agreement. The proclamation also called for greater involvement of civil society groups, NGOs, businesses and city governments. In particular, the increased participation of the private sector in Marrakesh led to the launch of the Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action. The main objective of this partnership was the increased collaboration between governments and city mayors and CEOs.

While there was general all-round support for the Paris Agreement, the EU continued to provide leadership and pushed all countries for early implementation of the Paris Agreement. The US, on the other hand, gave mixed signals, because of the climate skepticism displayed by US President Trump. One of the biggest achievements of the Paris Agreement was the coming on board of the big developing countries like China and India. While China reiterated its support for the Paris Agreement, it emphasized greater cooperation between developed and developing countries and more financial support to developing countries. India also reiterated its support to the Paris Agreement, but also emphasized the importance of adaptation efforts and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility.

Conclusion

The COP22 meet was mostly about the implementation of the Paris Agreement. However, the participation of private sector players and businesses was perhaps unique to the conference. As Peter Bakker, President/CEO of World Business Council For Sustainable Development put it: “We are seeing strong and long-term political signals that encourage business to invest with confidence in the low-carbon economy, and we welcome the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action that has been set up by the climate champions. This momentum is irreversible. {…} Business is the key implementation partner for governments around the world as they strive to hit their NDC targets”. On the other hand, the conference did little to address the perennial issues of lack of finance and transfer of technology to developing countries and the issue of loss and damage. Further, some of the Nationally Determined Contributions that had been submitted lacked ambition. Moreover, there was little progress on a clear actionable roadmap to implement the Paris Agreement. Finally, the election of Donald Trump had created a lot of uncertainty on the future of the Paris Agreement and President Trump had already announced the exit of the US from the Agreement in 2017. The sharp criticism by French President Macron did little to deter the US from taking this decision. The coming conferences were certainly going to face greater challenges in meeting emission targets, with the US opting out.

The writer is Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Mass Education Extension and Library Services and Department of Cooperation, Government of West Bengal