Climate Action 2012-2013

POLICY, GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Parties should take the lead in combating climate
change and the adverse effects thereof.” Numerous
grounds for differentiation have been suggested
over the years including historical responsibility,
different levels of economic development, and
differing vulnerabilities and needs. However, this
remains a central point of contest in the climate
negotiations. Rather than promoting a race to the
top and the type of bold collective action needed
to safeguard development, the current approach to
equity has become a tug-of-war between countries
that are reluctant to do more without assurances
that others will also act.
Low ambition is not conditioned by the equity
dispute alone. Too few of the leading emitters
currently view the transition to low carbon
development as being aligned with their national,
political or economic interests. However, the
inability to resolve the equity question exacerbates
these problems and as a result we are now on a
collision course with environmental integrity.
As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment Report and the UN
Development Programme Human Development
Report 2007/2008 explain, breaching the 2ºC
temperature target risks undermining vital
ecosystems, the services they provide, and the
vulnerable communities who depend on them for
food, water, jobs, and health. This is also understood
by the United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner of Human Rights as a justice issue
because climate change undermines the realisation
of a range of human rights, including the right to
food, the right to minimum means of subsistence,
the right to health, the right to adequate standard
of living and even the right to life. In the new
climate agreement equity cannot be about sharing
failure. It must become a means to share both the
opportunities and challenges of the transition to
low carbon, climate resilient development.
A NEW WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
In December 2011, more than 190 countries
gathered in Durban, South Africa for the 17th
Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC
(COP17) and acknowledged that climate change
represents an urgent and potentially irreversible
threat to both human societies and the planet and
thus requires urgent and sustained action by all. In
the Durban Platform, governments agreed to launch
a new round of negotiations that will culminate
in 2015 with the adoption of a new agreement
under the Convention and applicable to all. As a
result of this document, there is renewed hope that
countries can agree to act together to take positive
action on climate change and embrace a new
model of development that reduces greenhouse gas
emissions, builds resilience to climate change and
delivers sustainable development. To capitalise on
this opportunity and to build an atmosphere of trust
and reciprocity between countries, issues of equity
will have to be discussed, analysed and reshaped in
an open and constructive manner.
BUILDING A POWERFUL NARRATIVE
FOR ACTION
Beyond the negotiations, there is a need to
mobilise domestic constituencies in countries
around the globe to demand greater ambition
from political and business leaders. Compelling
arguments built upon a solid evidence base will
be needed to motivate domestic stakeholders,
including citizens, consumers, corporations and
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