Download - Climate Change
What’s happening?
“Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time”
Mary Robinson, Honorary President Oxfam International
Who’s responsible?
• Historic responsibility for climate change lies with richer industrialised countries. – USA: 24 tonnes per
person– Ireland 17 tonnes
per person
Who is suffering already?
• Those living in poverty
• Least responsible for the problem
• Least able to cope
Impacts
• Melting glaciers and ice-caps
• Rising sea levels
• Heavier rains
• More frequent droughts
Climate change in not just an environmental issue….
• It is a human rights issue
• It is a development issue
• It is a justice issue
Climate Change Facts
• 250 MILLION PEOPLE are now affected by natural disasters each year - up from an average of 174 million two decades ago
• 150,000 PEOPLE DIE A YEAR due to climate change
• BY 2050, 30 MILLION MORE PEOPLE MAY GO HUNGRY because of climate change
• 185 MILLION PEOPLE in Sub-Saharan Africa could die due to disease directly attributable to climate change
What’s being done about it?
• UNFCCC
• Kyoto Protocol
• National Actions– e.g. UK Climate Act– Irish Climate Bill?
Copenhagen
• Who was there?
• What was it about?
• What went wrong?
• Outcomes
• What must come next?
Who was there?
• Approx 190 governments
• 119 world leaders inc. Obama, Wen Jiabao etc
• Technocrats
• UN agencies
• Civil society – trade unions, environmental, development NGOs
• Business
From Ireland
• Taoiseach• Minister for the Environment• Minister for Energy• Department of Env, Finance, Ag, DFA,
Irish Aid, EPA.• Politicians• NGOs• Media
What was it about
• How to tackle climate change after 2012– What limit on climate change– What greenhouse gas emissions cuts– What finance to deal with climate change
• Should have been a Fair, Adequate, and Binding deal.
What went wrong in Copenhagen?• A lot to do
• Problems with process, lack of transparency and breakdown of trust
• Flood of texts and negotiations based on entrenched positions
• Chaos and near collapse in High Level segment
The Copenhagen AccordSummary• Totally inadequate to
protect the lives and livelihoods of poor people vulnerable to climate change
• Product of an untransparent & distrusted process
• A snapshot of current global political will. Key is relationship to Bali Action Plan mandate.
Copenhagen outcomes
• Pledges of emissions cuts by rich countries – but the same ones they’d made before
• Fast Start Financing - $30bn over 3 years
• Long Term Financing - $100bn p.a. from 2013
• Agreement to continue negotiating
• Aim of 2 degrees Celsius
Meaning….
• Uncertainty over future deal.– Legally binding outcome?– Replacement of UNFCCC by alternative fora (G20?)
• Mitigation pledges made by 31 Jan likely to mean 4°C global warming– Locks-in low ambition– Locks-in bottom-up approach
Expected mitigation pledges show minimum 4Gt gap to <2ºC trajectory (450ppm)
Low end of pledged ranges
High end of pledged ranges
Ireland at Copenhagen
• Represented through EU
• Little to add
• Fast start financing €100m over 3 years
Where now?
• Return to UN
• UN intercessional in June
• COP Mexico Nov/Dec ’10
• Build political will and process to succeed