This July, representatives of Civil Society Organizations met for Consultation organized at Guyana to discuss Climate Change and Poverty Reduction. Held from 18 – 20 July 2007 in the capital Georgetown, the objective of the consultation was to arrive at consensual commonwealth civil society priorities, issues and recommendations on developing an agenda for growth and livelihoods for presentation to the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting scheduled for 15-17 October 2007. AFPRO participated in the event and was represented by the Programme Coordinator, M. S C Jain. A total of 36 participants from 14 countries took part in consultation.
The phenomenon of Climate change was being accepted across the world as a reality, confirmed by various experiences and research. It becomes increasingly important to distinguish the issue and address it as a complex of negative impacts and relative opportunities. To this end the consultation drew on the collective experiences of Civil Society representatives to aim at adaptation strategies and measures for mitigation.
Keynote Papers
The special theme of the CFMM was introduced through two papers. The first lead paper, titled “Climate Change and its Implications: Which Way Now?”, by Professor Praveen Jha of the Center for Economic Studies and Planning. JNU, New Delhi, confirmed the active occurrence of climate change, visibly noticed and experienced all over the world.
The paper indicated changes such as change in species habitats and habits, rapid and continued loss of bio-diversity, acidification of oceans, loss of wetlands, bleaching of coral reefs and increases in allergy-inducing pollen, among other occurrences, as definite symptoms of global climate change. The Ecological Footprint, which measures the extent of human demand on Earth’s ecosystems, has tripled since 1961, showing that the planet’s resources are being used at a rate 25% higher than their ability to regenerate. It was stated that at the given rate, many hundred millions would be deprived access to water, many tens of millions displaced by floods and rising sea levels, and an increase in the intensity of dangerous pests and wildfires.
The main recommendation of the lead paper was the prioritized mainstreaming of sustainable development for climate change on the national and global agenda. It also spoke of converging synergies between sound environmental policies, the framework of the international response to global warming, and the millennium development goals.
Participatory approaches including in the promotion of scientific understanding, negotiation capacities and resources, networking and broad consultation processes has been suggested as the best way forward. Inevitably, Civil Society actors will have to play a crucial role for the accomplishment of such processes.
The second lead paper, presented by David Singh, Iwokrama International Centre, Guyana was titled ‘Realizing the Economic value of forest resources’. The paper, based on a study, discussed the present system of valuation of forest resources in purely economic terms, without considering the environmental and livelihood costs. The forests play a major role in the reduction of climatic risks, at the same time providing direct livelihood support to dependant local communities. Thus the issue of according Carbon Credits under the Clean Development Mechanism to those countries contributing in terms of conserved forest resources was also raised. At present carbon credits are given for the promotion of appropriate technologies and measures that help in the reduction of emissions that cause the greenhouse effect.
Discussion Papers
Other presenters and discussions together raised a corpus of critical issues that would need to be addressed if the issue of climate change had to be dealt with.
The importance of recognizing climate change at all levels and addressing it systematically would require prioritized action for mainstreamed responses. Poverty Reduction Strategies and Country Level Development Plans would need to address the issue, including the aspect of significant financial allocations together with technical support. The response plan and communication strategy would require cross-sectoral and regional assessments, which would help in effective messaging, packaging and negotiation at various levels.
Promoting a model of good governance for addressing the issue would help in the speedy streamlining of policies. International civil society organizations needed to closely coordinate on achieving such national and global responses to climate change.
The issue was also connected to the issue of Gender, and the group recognized that women and children were most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and the shrinking resource base would increase their hardship. In addition the participants were also updated on the status of high level international discussions on financing for development.
Statement of Civil Society Organizations for CFMM
After the discussions, exercises for developing the statement for the CFMM were carried out. The themes for these group exercises focused on the economics of climate change for developing countries, tracking climate change in terms of mitigation, adaptation and the implications for finance ministers, and exploring innovative financial solutions. The finalized statement is presented below.
The statement was presented at the Special Theme Session of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting hosted by the Government of Guyana from 15 - 17 October. Governments of Commonwealth Nations have identified climate change as key issue for the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) set to take place in Uganda from November 23 - 25 this year.
STATEMENT
CIVIL SOCIETY MEETING
ON THE SPECIAL THEME OF THE
2007 COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS MEETING
CLIMATE CHANGE: IMPLICATIONS FOR FINANCE MINISTERS
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA, 18-20 JULY 2007
PREAMBLE
We, representatives of civil society organisations from across the Commonwealth, convened in Georgetown, Guyana from 18-20 July 2007 to deliberate on the theme Climate Change and Poverty Reduction.
We note that civil society has been instrumental in putting the issue of climate change on the Commonwealth agenda. At the Commonwealth People’s Forum held on the eve of the 2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta, they called upon the Commonwealth Foundation, in conjunction with the Commonwealth Secretariat, to bring together all concerned to prepare a programme of action on climate change in the Commonwealth that can address this long-term and crucial issue, which affects us all. The Commonwealth Foundation went on to mobilise Commonwealth Associations and partners: firstly at an international conference held in collaboration with the Government of The Seychelles in October 2006, which identified the contribution that Commonwealth networks can make in preparing for adaptation to climate change. There is now a Commonwealth programme of work on climate change, which emphasises the importance of civil society and partnerships in addressing the multiple facets of climate change.
We recognise the position of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1994), that all countries should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. We fully support the Convention’s policy that developed countries should take the lead in combating climate change and its adverse effects.
In 1987 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Vancouver, President Gayoom of the Maldives described how unprecedented waves had caused great destruction in his country, a concern which found an echo in the December 2004 tsunami. Heads “expressed serious concern at the possible implications of man-made climatic change, especially for low-lying and marginal agricultural areas” and called on the Secretary-General to examine the implications of rises in the sea-level and other natural disasters, including flooding.
Of the Commonwealth member countries, 32 are small states of which 25 are island states characterized by small populations, lack of economic resources and vulnerability to ecological and economic shocks and disasters. They are looking to the Commonwealth to demonstrate practical leadership in helping small states to prepare for change.
We note that the report by M.W. Holdgate et al, Climate Change: Meeting the Challenge (1989), prepared following recommendations of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1987 recognised that the impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed and that it is the citizens of the poorest countries, who have contributed least to the problem, that will suffer the most from predicted increases in global temperatures, rainfall and extreme weather events such as drought and flooding. Climate change already poses a threat to the survival of several small island states, in the Commonwealth.
Climate change constitutes an external shock to economies of the developing Commonwealth that can seriously undermine current debt reduction efforts and other financial measures to reduce poverty. As the Stern Review points out, the benefits of immediate action on climate change can be obtained through expenditure of around 1 per cent per year of global gross domestic product (GDP), far outweighing the costs of inaction, which are estimated to be equivalent to losing 20 per cent of global GDP or more each year.
Commonwealth member nations are diverse and range from developed countries to newly industrialised countries (NICs), rapidly industrialising developing countries (RIDCs), developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs). They have vastly differing national ecological footprints ranging from 6.6 global hectares of bio-productive area per person in more developed countries, to just 0.5 ha in LDCs, well below the global average of 2.2 global hectares per person. In other words, some Commonwealth countries are already exceeding their ecological limits, which will eventually lead to destruction of ecological assets on which the earth depends such as groundwater, fisheries and forests, and aggravate carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere, while others have set development goals that will eventually take them along a similar, unsustainable path.
Recognising that the only pro-development strategy in the long term requires deep cuts in global carbon emissions, this situation provides a compelling case for developed countries, NICs and RIDCs to now develop along a low-carbon emissions growth pathway which will enable them to meet their development objectives while also lowering their ecological footprints. We also recognise standing forests (such as Iwokrama in Guyana, which has been supported by the Commonwealth) as valuable resources that must be included in pro-development strategies.
In light of the above, a number of issues and concerns related to climate change and poverty reduction must be addressed:
KEY ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Building on existing United Nations Climate Change Commitments
To address the issue of climate change and poverty reduction and noting the forthcoming conference of the parties of the UNFCCC in Bali, Indonesia in December 2007, we recommend that Commonwealth Governments endorse, implement and build on existing global partnerships and commitments specified in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol and call for new and more ambitious targets.
1.1 Mitigation
As mitigation is the primary means to address climate change, we recommend that:
• Developed countries within the Commonwealth should take the lead in pursuing deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions with the following targets – at least: 5 per cent by 2012, 30 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050, based on 1990 levels.
• Efforts be made to ensure that average global temperature increases stay below 2 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels.
• A mandate be given for the introduction of subsequent commitments for developed countries (Annex I) in the Kyoto Protocol after the first commitment period ends in 2012.
• Commonwealth countries ratify the Kyoto Protocol and once developed countries have taken the lead in pursuing deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, newly industrialised countries and rapidly industrialising countries contribute to global efforts on climate change by decarbonising their economies.
• Subsequently the Commonwealth should examine the possibility of the development of a graduated or differentiated protocol which would inform mitigation and adaptation funding responsibilities among NICs and RIDCs.
• Commonwealth countries with vast forest be given the opportunity to take advantage of carbon offset schemes via standing forests.
1.2 Adaptation
Least developed countries and small island states within the Commonwealth should focus on adaptation to cope with unavoidable impacts of climate change. To enable this, we recommend that:
• Developed countries make financial contributions to and activate funds already provided for adaptation under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol frameworks, including the:
–Adaptation Fund
–Special Climate Change Fund
–Least Developed Countries Fund
–Two per cent adaptation levy on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects
• The Adaptation Levy currently imposed on CDM projects be extended to Joint Implementation (JI) projects (or voluntary carbon offset programmes between Annex I countries), international aviation, and national Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
1.3 Technology Transfer, Capacity Building and Education and Training
As most countries in the Commonwealth need support to shift to a low-carbon emissions pathway, we recommend that:
• Resources and support be provided by developed countries for the development of intra-Commonwealth programmes and partnerships between developed and developing countries and between developing countries for sharing climate-friendly technologies suited to the specific needs and circumstances of different countries, for capacity building in technical and planning disciplines, and for education and training programmes to raise public awareness on climate change. Governments should especially consider working in partnership with and supporting civil society organisations in education and training programmes.
2. Leveraging on Existing National and Global Instruments
2.1 Fiscal Incentives and Policy Directions
As Finance Ministers are responsible for formulating the annual budgets in their respective countries, we recommend:
• Immediate steps be taken to provide tax incentives or funding for utilising energy saving technologies and products; enhancing the quality of public transportation; and valuing and conserving natural resources such as forests.
• Climate change and its differential effects on various populations, be integrated into ongoing poverty reduction strategy papers and national poverty reduction plans. Civil society organisations should be involved in partnership with the government in the formulation of such strategy papers and plans.
• Governments must lead by example to promote a dramatic shift towards environmental sustainability in land use, construction practices, energy efficiency, agriculture and consumer choices.
2.2 Global Mechanisms
The scale of the challenge of climate change and poverty reduction requires access to global mechanisms in addition to the UN climate change-related instruments. They include use of profits of globalisation to work for global public good. In this regard, we recommend the Commonwealth:
• Join in the existing airlines solidarity levy to address urgent global health concerns such as HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and extend its use as an instrument to generate a carbon tax.
• Implement a Currency Transaction Tax to raise additional resources to adequately fund mitigation and adaptation initiatives on a sustainable basis.
3. Millennium Development Goal on Climate Change
Given the gravity of the situation on climate change, we recommend the Commonwealth Finance Ministers to urge the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, to lobby for the introduction of a Ninth Millennium Goal on Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation.
CONCLUSION
We urge that action taken by Commonwealth nations on climate change and poverty reduction encompass the following principles:
Urgency – action should be taken now to positively affect future outcomes, as business-as-usual paths for emissions will increase risks of serious, irreversible impacts of climate change.
Common but differentiated responsibilities – developed countries which have historically benefited most from the global commons should take the lead in combating climate change.
Ethics – all countries have an ethical obligation to act on climate change and to apply ethical dimensions as a basis for making decisions on climate change.
Equity – emphasis should be given to ensuring equity within developed countries and developing countries respectively; between developed and developing countries; and with special attention to vulnerable groups.
Additionality – funds for climate change allocated to developing countries must be “additional” to the Official Development Assistance international aid target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income.
Governance – Implementation of programmes on climate change, funding instruments or flexible mechanisms such as the Clean Development Mechanism should be supported by governance structures which involve a multi-stakeholder consultative approach at national as well as international levels, with built-in provisions for ensuring transparency and accountability.
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the support of the Commonwealth Foundation in convening civil society on this issue and thank the Commonwealth Finance Ministers for their commitment in engaging with Civil Society at their annual meetings.
