19 November 2015, Climate Home, France confirms UN climate summit will proceed, diplomats praise solidarity. French and UN officials say plans for the 2015 UN climate summit in Paris will continue, despite Friday night’s terror attacks that left over 130 dead and 300 injured. “Profound emotion receiving so strong support to maintain #COP21. Humanity, courage, solidarity winning over fear and terror,” tweeted the country’s top climate diplomat Laurence Tubiana. “Of course #COP21 proceeds as planned. Even more so now. #COP21 = respecting our differences & same time acting together collaboratively,” said the UN’s top climate official Christiana Figueres. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was talked out of calling for the summit to be postponed, according to the AFP news agency, after a meeting with Francois Hollande. “He had questions about it on Saturday… he spoke about this with the president who gave him a full response. He will not ask for COP21 to be postponed,” a source told AFP. Read More here
Tag Archives: UNFCCC
19 November 2015, Climate News Network, Paris attacks cast shadow over climate talks. Organising a climate change conference involving nearly 200 countries has been made considerably more difficult by the recent shootings in Paris. Heads of state, presidents, prime ministers, and royalty. Delegations from at least 190 countries. An estimated 3,000 journalists. Dozens of NGOs and assorted lobby groups. They are all due to converge on the beleaguered city of Paris in less than two weeks’ time. But the recent terrorist mayhem in the French capital – resulting in the deaths of at least 129 people and injuries to hundreds of others − has made it a Herculean task to stage the huge UN climate change conference that is seen as vital for heading off potentially catastrophic global warming. The climate talks – officially known as the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) – constitute one of the world’s biggest and arguably most important conferences. It is being held at Le Bourget, a conference and airport complex about 10 kilometres north-east of the centre of Paris. The French government and UNFCCC have said the conference will go ahead, albeit amid what is described as “enhanced security”. Le Bourget is less than a 10-minute taxi ride from Stade de France, the sports stadium and site of one of the major explosions last Friday evening. Difficulties intensified With the whole of France currently in a state of emergency, security at the climate talks will be very tight. Any demonstrations by protesters against the causes of climate are likely to be closely controlled. Read More here
18 November 2015, The Conversation, The state of emergency could thwart public demonstrations at the Paris climate talks. What impact will the attacks have on the Paris Climate Change Conference scheduled to begin in 12 days? While already complicated, the talks will now take place within a state of emergency that is threatening to limit public participation. Events in Paris continue to unfold at a dizzying pace. But in the coming days we will learn a lot by paying attention to how parties use (and abuse) the language of freedom and liberty. American philosopher Judith Butler underlined this point in a note from Paris written the night after the attacks: “One version of liberty is attacked by the enemy, another version is restricted by the state. The state defends the version of liberty attacked as the very heart of France, and yet suspends freedom of assembly (“the right to demonstrate”) in the midst of its mourning and prepares for an even more thorough militarization of the police.” State of emergency the night of the attacks President François Hollande declared a state of emergency. The legal basis for this declaration derives from Article 16of the French Constitution (1958) and Law Number 55-385 (1955). Hollande’s announcement was only the second time since World War II that a President has exercised this power on French soil. The last occasion was in November 2005 when riots broke out in response to the deaths of two teenage immigrants, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré. On that occasion, the emergency lasted until January 4 2006. The current state of emergency took effect after midnight on November 14 and is set to expire after 12 days. However, it is likely that Hollande will successfully extend the emergency period for three months and gain broader security powers. Read More here
17 November 2015, Washington Post, In a major step on the road to Paris, rich countries agree to slash export subsidies for coal plants. After a concerted push from the United States, members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development agreed Tuesday to slash subsidies aimed at exporting technology for coal-fired power plants. The decision by the world’s wealthiest countries to eliminate export credits for the least efficient coal plants, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2017, and can be strengthened four years later, marks a major negotiating success for the Obama administration in the run-up to U.N. climate talks later this month. The U.S. and several other key global players–including France, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development–have already limited its export financing for coal plants and had been pressing other nations, including Japan and South Korea, to follow suit. A senior administration official, who briefed reporters about the agreement reached in Paris on the condition of anonymity, said that under the new rules OECD countries would still provide export credits for coal plants using ultra-supercritical technology and help finance slightly less-efficient plants in the world’s poorest countries. But the policy would effectively cut off public financing for 85 percent of coal plants currently in the pipeline, he said. Jake Schmidt, who directs the international program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, estimated that these export agencies typically fund between five and seven coal plants a year. A large number of private banks follow the OECD guidelines for their own lending practices, he added, so the move could have “a ripple effect.” Read more here