TWN is concerned that the submissions of several developed country Parties are a substantial deviation from the Convention and Bali Action Plan!

TWN says Southern NGOs are extremely concerned that the submissions of several developed country Parties are a substantial deviation from the Convention and Bali Action Plan, and that this has resulted in a proposed negotiating text that, in many parts, do not comply with the legal mandate of the AWG-LCA. Some proposals go even further and would amount to re-writing the Convention. TWN says they are concerned that by introducing extraneous proposals and even creating legal commitments that are inconsistent with the Convention, there is a high risk of failure in Copenhagen. They therefore propose that the text be restructured in accordance with the Bali Action Plan mandate and that the operational text follows specific Convention provisions that seek to be fully implemented. The following is a statement by the Third World Network at the AWG-LCA plenary in Bonn (1 June 2009)

Item 3: Enabling the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action now, up to and beyond 2012

We reiterate that as NGOs in developing countries, we are actively working to support national efforts to address the climate challenge while also meeting the basic needs of our people through sustainable development. The Convention’s principles, architecture and commitments are crystal clear: based on science that affirms the causal relationship between human activity and global warming, and the historical responsibility of developed countries, concerted actions are needed. Such actions have to be equitable and in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. We are therefore extremely concerned that the submissions of several developed country Parties are a substantial deviation from the Convention and Bali Action Plan, and that this has resulted in a proposed negotiating text that, in many parts, do not comply with the legal mandate of the AWG-LCA. Some proposals go even further and would amount to re-writing the Convention.

The goal of the Bali Action Plan is to reach an “agreed outcome” to truly implement the Convention. However, developed countries in their proposals want to change the nature of the obligations of developing countries under the Convention, relegate the Kyoto Protocol to history and introduce unprecedented categories of developing countries in order to minimize their share of responsibility in dealing with climate change. The developed world has already used up more than its fair share of the atmospheric space to reach its current level of development. Yet their proposals on a long-term global goal for emissions reductions in Paragraph 12 coupled with the proposed Annex 1 reduction targets in Paragraph 14 reflect a continuing disproportionate claim to the remaining limited atmospheric space. Developing countries are asked to forego their development space while developed countries continue their high per capita emissions. The proposal in Paragraph 15 requiring developing countries to for example deviate between 15 to 30% below the baseline by 2020 is a major new commitment that is not in the Convention and Bali Action Plan. It is contentious, and not based on science or law and needs to be removed from the text.

The mandate of Paragraph 1(b)(ii) of the Bali Action Plan is further distorted by developed counties’ proposals to differentiate developing countries despite the high degree of controversy on this issue in the last sessions of the AWG-LCA. It is widely acknowledged that the level of ambition for finance and technology has to be very high, if we are to have results in mitigation and to meet the vast challenges of adaptation. Yet these “make or break” blocks for the Copenhagen outcome have been collapsed into one block together with capacity building. We are concerned that by introducing extraneous proposals and even creating legal commitments that are inconsistent with the Convention, there is a high risk of failure in Copenhagen. We therefore propose that the text be restructured in accordance with the Bali Action Plan mandate and that the operational text follows specific Convention provisions that seek to be fully implemented. We also propose that text proposing commitments and actions that are not in line with the Convention and Bali Action Plan be identified and distinguished so that Parties can proceed with the priority issues that can be decided upon in Copenhagen.

Finally we would like to inform Parties that a civil society initiative has been launched, called “Repay the climate debt: A just and effective outcome for Copenhagen”. On the basis of historical responsibility of the developed world that is the cornerstone of the Convention, NGOs call for 3 actions from developed countries:
i. Repay their adaptation debt to developing countries by committing to full financing and compensation for the adverse effects of climate change on all affected countries, groups and people;
ii. Repay their emissions debt to developing countries through the deepest possible domestic reductions, and by committing to assigned amounts of emissions that reflect the full measure of their historical and continued excessive contributions to climate change; and
iii. Make available to developing countries the financing and technology required to cover the additional costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change, in accordance with the Convention.