Technology hard nut issues in the climate negotiations

Technology transfer from developed to developing countries, and increasingly between developing countries, will be needed on what the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change describes as an unprecedented scale. A major, ongoing focus of the UN discussions is how best to make this happen. Strategies include funding mechanisms, capacity-building, international collaborative research networks, public-private partnerships, and using multilateral and bilateral trade cooperation agreements to create incentives.

Six hard nut issues within the negotiating text on technology:
- Enhanced action on technology (e.g., Technology action plan)
- Means of implementation (e.g. Financing technology, technology incentives, technology leveraging facility, innovation centres)
- Institutional arrangements.
- Intellectual property rights (IPR)
- Objectives, scope and guiding principles.

Dag 3 i klimaforhandlingene

En av utfordringene i klimaforhandlingene er at klimasaker omfatter en rekke politikkområder. Derfor har den offisielle norske delegasjonen også medlemmer fra både finansdep (FD), olje- og energi (OED) og UD - mens arbeidet ledes av Miljødep (MD). Et relevant eksempel er rettighetsspørsmål knyttet til teknologi (IRP). Dette var også et stridsemne under WTO forhandlingene og er en del av TRIPS avtalen (http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/t_agm0_e.htm)

Det som imidlertid bekymrer meg mest er den manglende koherensen mellom klimaforhandlingene (COP) og andre utviklingsspørsmål. Mange land ønsker en separat mekanisme og institusjoner for finansiering av klimatilpasning. Begrunnelsen for dette er bekymringen for at det ikke skal være mulig å separere klimatilpasningsmidler (cop) fra utviklingsmidler (ODA) - og at kravet om addisjonalitet (at klimamidler skal komme i tillegg til bistandsmidler) ikke blir oppfylt. Begrunnelsen for ikke å lage nye mekanismer og institusjoner er at tiltakene innen klimatilpasning i stor grad overlapper med utviklingstiltak.

Heldigvis har Norge er forhandler innen klimatilpasning som er klar og tydelig på behovet for å se klimatilpasning i sammenheng med bistand. Håpet er at flere ser behovet for ikke å lage et nytt og tungrodd system for å forebygge og redusere effektene av klimaendringene.

De offisielle sidene for klimamøtene i Bangkok

Finner du her: http://unfccc.int/2860.php

Gap mellom i-land og u-land

Den første delen av klimaforhandlingene i Bangkok startet lite oppløftende. En rekke u-land og Kina (G-77) holdt et meget kritisk åpningsinnlegg hvor de påpekte at i-landene ikke har levert i henhold til Kyoto-protokollen og heller ikke har kommet med forpliktelser til hvor mye de "vil legge på bordet" i København. Det faktum at de færreste i-landene ikke oppfyller sine lovnader om 0,7% i bistand gjør at forhandlingene har fått en vanskelig start. Samtidig understreker G-77 at de er klare til forhandlinger, men at det må komme forpliktelser fra i-landene. Noen u-land mener også at i-landene må betale kompensasjon for de klimaødeleggelser som de allerede har påført fattige land. Dette er et tema som også kan gjøre forhandlingene vanskeligere. Forhandlingsklimaet mellom i-land og u-land er ekstra vanskelig etter at EU sa at minst 100 million euro måtte "på bordet", men at de selv kun var villige til å betale en liten del av dette.

Akkurat nå virker avstanden stor - men det er mange dager igjen. Men slik det ser ut nå kreves det et stort politisk lederskap for å få til en avtale med ønsket effekt i København.

Opening by Yvo de Boer

"Time is not just pressing, it has almost run out. There is no plan B - and if we don't realize plan A, the future will hold us to acoount for it. Some say this clock is ticking down to nothing, but you know this is not true. The Bangkok talks must end in an evident spirit of cooperation and with evident progress. The political winds are behind you, the negotiating sails are set. With all my heart I urge you to pull up the anchor and make full sail before we loose the tide and are left stranded on the beach, exposed to the coming storms" These are some of the words in the opening statement by Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary for UNFCCC.



Let's hope his wishes will come true !

Røde Kors fokus i klimaforhandlingene

Frem mot klimatoppmøtet Conference of the Parties (COP 15) i København har Røde Kors følgende fokus:
* Tilfredsstillende fordelingsinnretning knyttet til tilpasning der de mest sårbare prioriteres
* Forebygging, beredskap og respons blir en sentral del av avtalen.
* Finansierings- og implementeringsmekanismene er realistiske og ikke undergraver eksisterende mekanismer
* Finansieringen kommer i tillegg til landenes ODA forpliktelser (0,7%)

Røde Kors-bevegelsen støtter arbeidet for å få i stand en forpliktende avtale om utslippsreduksjon (25-40 % i 2020 og 80 % i 2050), samt en robust finansieringsmekanisme for forebygging og klimatilpasning. På FNs andre møte i Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (juni 2009) la Forbundet og FN/OCHA frem et forslag om å øremerke 1 % av utviklingsmidlene, 10 % av de humanitære midlene og 30% av nye klimatilpasningsmidler til tiltak for forebygging.

Fakta klimaendringer

- Hvert år rammes om lag 250 millioner mennesker av naturkatastrofer
- Mens det i årene 2000-2007 var gjennomsnittlig 66 000 mennesker som årlig mistet livet i naturkatastrofer, er antallet døde i 2008 mer enn tredoblet: 235 000 døde.
- Mens naturkatastrofer i årene 2000-2007 i gjennomsnitt forårsaket ødeleggelser for om lag 520 milliarder kroner, kostet de i 2008 over 1200 milliarder kroner
- Omfattende endringer i ekstreme temperaturer de siste femti årene
- Reduksjon i antallet frostdager i regionene rundt de midterste breddegrader, økning i antallet hetebølger og reduksjon i antallet daglig ekstremkulde
- Hetebølger har økt i lengde fra midten av det 20. århundre
- Signifikant nedbørsøkning i de østlige delene av Nord- og Sør-Amerika, Nord-Europa og Nord- og Sentral-Asia
- Tørke i Sahel, Middelhavsområdet og sørlige deler av Afrika og Asia
- Substansiell økning i værhendelser med tung nedbør
- Økning i tropisk sykloner i Nord-Atlanteren siden 1970, sammen med økning i overflatetemperaturen i tropisk sjø
- Mer intense og lengre tørkeperioder er observerte over større områder, spesielt i tropiske områder, siden 1970-tallet
- Overføringsmønsteret til enkelte smittsomme sykdommer er endret.

Fremtidige konsekvenser:
· Global oppvarming med størst temperaturøkning rundt nordlige breddegrader
· Vanligere, mer intense og lengre hetebølger, økning i områder rammet av tørke
· Intensivering og større utbredelse av skogbranner i hele verden
· Færre, kortere og mindre intense kuldeperioder om vinteren
· Økt nedbør i høyere breddegrader, og redusert nedbør i de fleste tropiske regionene
· Flere ekstreme nedbørshendelser og risiko for flom pga intens nedbør og avrenning
· Økt risiko for konflikt rundt tilgang til mat og vann
· Havnivået er ventet å fortsette å stige de neste tiårene
· Flere kraftige tropiske sykloner, med større vindstyrke og mer intens nedbørsmengde
· Omfattende økning i smeltingen av permafrost

Kilder:
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)
Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS). Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change, Adaption and Human Security. (Report 2008: 3)

Disaster Risk Reduction and Development

The heart of the disaster risk reduction agenda lies in the prevention of catastrophic threats to human life and the reduction of people’s exposure to such events. At a time when populations are growing, people are inhabiting increasingly marginal land and the incidence of natural hazards is increasing because of climate change, this poses a massive challenge to the development and humanitarian communities. It is vital that risk reduction features more centrally in the development agenda if preventable death and impoverishment are to be avoided in the future.

The limited ability of poor people to take risks and innovate puts a brake on development and hampers progress towards the MDGs. But it is the effects of risk over which they may have no control that dominate the lives of many of the world’s poorest. At this level of vulnerability, even a comparatively small shock can spell disaster. The growing numbers of poor people who face exposure to natural hazards are doubly vulnerable: to the direct physical impact of flood,
drought or cyclone, and to the consequent loss of property, livelihoods and access to services.

But some risks can never be transferred. No amount of compensation could bring back the 100,000 or more who died in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in May 2008. However, many of these deaths could have been prevented with relatively modest investment in early warning and preparedness, as experience from Bangladesh shows.

Floods in Senegal

Heavy flooding has affected over a 16000 families, more than 117.000 people in Senegal since two weeks of torrential downpour around the country. Initial assessments show that damage has been serious in Saint Louis, Kaolack, Thies, and Dakar provinces, where 2,611 houses have collapsed, more than 400 families are still displaced, and 1,051 have lost their livelihoods. There are reported losses to infrastructure, increasing the risk of individuals being exposed to harsh weather conditions, unclear water and poor sanitation.

Form 21th to 31th august, Senegal has received more than 300 mm as estimated for Climate prediction center

Source Noaa (National Oceanic and atmosferic administration). http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/fews/global/africa/


Senegalese Red Cross Regional offices have been doing the first emergency assessment with the result of :
- 418 families displaced
- 2611 houses collapsed
- 979 families have not access to safe water and sanitation, as 979 latrines and 573 water sources has been heavily damaged or contaminated
- 1051 families have lost their crops/livestock
- 1974 reported cases of diarrheal
- 3309 cases of malaria/fever

Why disaster and climate?

The number of disasters – be it natural or man-made – are increasing, especially weather-related disasters such as floods, storms, cyclones, drought and extreme temperatures, affecting over a third of the world’s population and causing severe damage over the last decade. In addition, climate change and environmental degradation is contributing significantly to an increase in disaster risk. The Red Cross / Red Crescent recorded a 210 per cent increase of disasters responded to by National RC/RC Societies between 2004 and 2007. The provisional figures for 2008 show a continued trend in the increase of disasters, mostly climate-related. Indeed the projected impact of climate change clearly demonstrates that we can anticipate a continued rise in the number of climate-related disasters, especially floods, cyclones and increase in new emerging diseases like malaria, as well as disease outbreaks and epidemics.

Whilst the increasing disasters have resulted in fewer deaths mainly due to increased efforts at disaster preparedness over the last 20 years, the resultant economic losses are growing. Disasters strike outside recognised and previously predictable patterns - geographically or seasonally. Thus, the socio-economic consequences increase as disasters may affect economic activity, harvests etc. and threaten traditional coping strategies. If current trends continue, natural disasters could have a global cost of more than USD 300 billion a year by 2050. Hence, engaging in efforts for disaster risk reduction and preparedness is highly cost-effective.

Climate change means that there will be more natural disasters requiring a humanitarian response, even in places previously unaffected. Flooding has been reported in areas where it was previously unheard of, and hurricanes are reported to be much more intensive and to last for longer periods directly affecting harvests. In Papua New Guinea, for example, Red Cross health officers are encountering cases of malaria further up the highlands as the temperatures rise and mosquitoes are able to survive at higher altitudes. These changing conditions impact on the socio-economic fabric of already vulnerable communities unaccustomed to certain types of disasters and with poor coping mechanisms to deal with the changing conditions.

Despite progresses within global health many challenges still remain. Access to basic health services, clean water and proper sanitation are still non-existent for the majority of the world’s population. Communicable diseases kill more than 14 million people every year. More than one billion people still lack access to safe water, 2.4 billion people lack basic sanitation, and many more suffer from malnutrition and disruption of livelihoods. Underlying this, Aids continues to attack the socio-economic fabric of society in the worst affected countries, further increasing vulnerability to disasters.

According to the UN Humanitarian Appeal for 2009, the world food situation changed dramatically in 2008 as a result of the increase in food prices and diminishing of food stocks.
These conditions have greatly worsened access to food for many populations and have led to a complex set of challenges, especially in Africa. The World Bank estimates that 45 to 50 per cent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa live below the poverty line making it the poorest region in the world. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that approximately 33 per cent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa is undernourished. It is the only region in the world where malnutrition, in many cases a product of food insecurity, is on the rise. Food insecurity in Africa has complex causes, including abject poverty, HIV and Aids, climate change, environmental degradation, conflict, increase in population size and debt.

Lastly, disasters are a humanitarian and a development concern. According to DFID[1] evidence shows that countries of low human development are not only disproportionately affected by disasters, but people’s vulnerabilities to disasters have increased through failed development. Hence, investing in disaster risk reduction and preparedness is both a humanitarian imperative and a human development necessity if we are to progress towards and sustain achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
[1] DFID (2004), Disaster risk reduction: a development concern