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Action Plan) through decisions
adopted by the sixteenth, seventeenth
and eighteenth sessions of the Conference
of the Parties, at which time
the Ad Hoc Working Group on Longterm
Cooperative Action under the
Convention shall be terminated.’
The request to carry on further
work on the L4 document next year
was, however, ignored by the Chair,
who proceeded to transmit the document
to the COP under his own authority.
There was deep frustration
among many delegations. The Venezuelan
climate envoy Claudia
Salerno had to stand on the chair with
her country’s name plate to draw the
attention of the AWGLCA Chair after
he had gavelled the adoption of the
report of the meeting.
Salerno said that the AWGLCA
document had serious deficiencies.
Yet, it was being transmitted to the
COP. She disclosed that there had
been threats that if Venezuela did not
agree to the adoption of the text, there
would be no second commitment period
under the Kyoto Protocol and the
multilateral system would not be preserved.
The Chair just ignored Venezuela’s
protest and adjourned the meeting.
At the formal session of the COP
plenary, Reifsnyder informed the
COP that Parties were not able to
reach consensus. The text, he said,
was rich and comprehensive and harvested
important progress. He hoped
that it could be adopted by the COP
as part of the comprehensive Durban
package. The document was eventually
adopted as part of the Durban
package.
Institutional boost for climate change adaptation actions
Chee Yoke Ling
ALTHOUGH more political and media
attention has been given to the
mitigation debate in the UN climate
negotiations, adaptation to the adverse
effects of climate change is equally, if
not even more, crucial for countries
that are already suffering from the
impacts of climate change. This is
particularly so for developing countries
– from small island states and least
developed countries to countries with
huge populations living in low-lying
coastal areas and landlocked
mountain states. No one is immune,
with the poor and vulnerable suffering
disproportionately.
In the past few years, adaptation
has risen in priority in the
implementation of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change. There
is recognition that adaptation is vital in
order to reduce the impacts of climate
change which are happening now and
increase resilience to future impacts,
and that there is an urgent need for an
integrated policy response to the
climate change and development
challenge. Under the Convention
developing countries are promised
funding, insurance and technology
transfer, and scientific/technical
support to undertake adaptation
actions.
The 2010 Cancun decision 1/
CP.16 on the Outcome of the Ad Hoc
Working Group on Long-term
Cooperative Action under the
Convention (AWGLCA), in Part I on ‘A
shared vision for long-term cooperative
action’, affirmed that ‘Adaptation must
be addressed with the same priority as
mitigation and requires appropriate
institutional arrangements to enhance
adaptation action and support’.
The Cancun Adaptation Framework
and the Adaptation Committee were
established in 2010. The Framework is
to enable sharing of knowledge and
lessons learned from adaptation, and for
developing countries to develop and
implement adaptation measures
supported through scaled-up financial
support, technology and capacitybuilding.
The details of the Framework
continue to be worked out through the
AWGLCA negotiations. The Committee
is to promote the implementation of
enhanced action on adaptation in a
coherent manner under the Convention,
as provided for by the Framework.
The discussion on adaptation in
Durban concluded with some important
steps towards increasing the profile of
the work on adaptation, including
through the implementation of elements
agreed under the Adaptation Framework.
Developing countries pushed for
a focus on implementation of adaptation
under the Convention, moving away
from research and assessment of
vulnerabilities and impacts. Four decisions
were adopted by the COP as outcomes
of the AWGLCA, the Subsidiary
Body for Implementation (SBI) and the
Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological
Advice (SBSTA), as well as the
operationalisation of the least developed
country process for the formulation and
implementation of national adaptation
plans.
The decision on ‘Enhanced action
on adaptation’ in Part III of the AWGLCA
outcome document, which largely focused
on the operationalisation of the
Adaptation Committee, was significant.
It affirms the Committee as the
overall advisory body to the Conference
of the Parties (COP) on adaptation to
the adverse effects of climate change,
and decided that it shall operate under
the authority of, and be accountable to,
the Conference of the Parties, which
should decide on its policies in line with
relevant decisions.
It decided that the Committee
should make use of the following
modalities in exercising its functions:
workshops and meetings; expert
groups; compilation, review, synthesis,
analysis reports of information,
knowledge, experience and good
practice; channels for sharing
information, knowledge and expertise;
coordination and linkages with all
relevant bodies, programmes,
institutions and networks, within and
outside the Convention.
The Committee during its first year
shall develop a three-year work plan,
which should include milestones,
activities, deliverables and resource
requirements, as well as initiate some
of the indicative activities listed in Annex
V to the Durban decision.
The Committee is requested to
engage and develop linkages through
the COP with all adaptation-related work
programmes, bodies and institutions
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