Pretoria – The BASIC group of countries - namely Brazil, South Africa, India and China - have welcomed progress made at the recently concluded United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Bonn, where negotiations under the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action were prominent.
The environmental ministers of these countries met for three days in Cape Town, where they welcomed progress made at the Bonn meeting under the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.
The parties also acknowledged that both the process and the outcome of the Bonn negotiations will be under the UNFCCC, and that all of its principles, provisions and Annexes of the Convention shall apply, in particular the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
They reaffirmed that the Durban Platform was by no means a process to negotiate a new regime, nor to renegotiate, rewrite or reinterpret the Convention.
The parties to the meeting shared the view that a future agreement will be built on institutions and mechanisms, including the work carried out by parties under the Bali Road Map, in accordance with the UNFCCC principles and provisions, and also strengthen the multilateral rules-based system.
In a joint statement issued after the15th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change, which concluded on Friday, the ministers reaffirmed that the 2015 agreement should address the four pillars of adaptation, mitigation, finance and technology development and transfer in a balanced, comprehensive and holistic manner.
They emphasized that the convention itself has provided the structure of the future agreement, which defines the differentiated commitments and actions for developed and developing countries.
“The future agreement shall follow the structure and provisions of the Convention, in particular the provisions of Articles 4 and 12, as well as the Annexes, which fully reflect the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
“Ministers specifically referred to Articles 3.1 and 4.2 of the Convention in respect of developed countries taking the lead in tackling the climate change challenge, in accordance with their historical responsibilities and as demanded by science,” the statement said.
With regards to Workstream II, the countries once again stressed that pre-2020 ambition shall primarily be achieved through the implementation of the 2nd commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and the outcome of the Bali Action Plan in accordance with the principles and provisions of the Convention.
In the context of the inadequacy of developed countries’ current commitments on emission reductions and provision of finance and technology support, ministers called for a comprehensive approach to raising ambition in the pre-2020 implementation phase, covering mitigation, adaptation and finance and technology support.
Ministers further noted with concern that there was evidently a huge ambition gap between what developed country parties have pledged and what is required by science and their historical responsibility.
Studies show that if Annex I Parties as a whole commit to the ambition level of 40% below the 1990 levels, the pre-2020 ambition gap will be fully addressed.
In this context, ministers called for the urgent ratification of the amendments to the KP establishing the second commitment period. They also stated that the Annex I Parties’ lack of ambition had the effect of transferring the responsibilities of the developed countries to the developing countries, and would impact the post 2020 period.
“Ministers noted with consternation that the mitigation contributions by developing country parties is much greater than that by developed country parties who should take the lead in combating climate change. Any activities, whether internationally or domestically supported, are part of their efforts to implement their nationally appropriate mitigation actions that have been presented,” reads the joint statement.
Ministers further called for the full operationalization of mechanisms established under the Convention, including the Green Climate Fund, the Climate Technology Centre & Network, the Adaptation Committee as well as addressing issues of IPR and unilateral measures in a purposeful manner. They underlined that full implementation of the existing decisions is a sine qua non for the success of the 2015 agreement. -SAnews.gov.za
