Temperature Check Inside COP18

Things are nearing the point end at COP18 with ministers from all around the world arriving in Doha, Qatar for the UN climate talks. Senior government officials have arrived ready to provide advice on outstanding issues – unfortunately, there are quite a few. Yesterday was dominated with speeches to open the high-level segment with increasing calls for ambition and clarity.

Christiana Figueres opened proceedings by describing the Sidra tree, an icon of Qatar. Travellers and scholars would meet in the Sidra’s shade, and how it came this tree came to symbolise perseverance, solidarity, and determination. She asked ministers to embody those traits as they exercise their “unequivocal guidance” to ensure decisive action takes place in Doha.

Here are the four key areas that need to be resolved by Friday:

1. Finalising the Kyoto Protocol

Alongside a general call from developing countries for increased ambition, the precise length of the second commitment period (five or eight years) and the issue of “hot air” remain unresolved. The so-called “hot air” issue refers to a number of European countries who experienced a reduction in emissions due to changes in economic conditions and want to carry over these surpluses into Kyoto’s second commitment period. The issue with this is that the science demands new and greater cuts to emissions if we are to stay within the safe 1.5-2 degree warming threshold. Environmental group TckTckTck spelt out the finer details of hot air to delegates today in an amusing skit.

2. Climate Finance

Climate finance is easily the most contentious issue this year. The Green Climate Fund has been dubbed an ‘empty shell’ because, to date, the $100 billion promised is yet to be put on the table. The UK is the only country to have given some indication about how much they will provide. Whilst it is unlikely that money will be put in the bank in Doha, verbal guarantees are not cutting it with the world’s poorest who are already experiencing the impacts of a warming world. Progress on climate funding is critical to reaching an agreement in Doha and moving towards the highly anticipated 2015 legally binding treaty.

3. Ambition

Figueres urged delegates to remember the ultimate objective – of keeping warming within a two degree increase – and called for an “urgent response to the widening emissions gap.” With reports emerging in the last week of melting permafrost, and the UN Environment Program’s ‘Emissions Gap Report 2012’; global progress is out of step with the science that has us heading for a four degree warmed world. The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the European Union have both been vocal about the need for increased ambition.

4. Moving Towards a Legally Binding Treaty

In Durban, parties agreed to work towards a legally binding treaty that would apply equitably to all countries. In Doha, discussions are taking place under the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) to formulate a clear plan of attack. Talks thus far have been constructive and positive but momentum is essential to maintain the trust of the developing world, and to heighten the ambition.

Figueres’ speech was the most comprehensive but, speeches were also delivered by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the Emir of Kuwait, the Emir of Qatar and the UN Secretary General. All contained similar rhetoric urging international cooperation and speedy, decisive action.

Notably, in the context of negotiations that have largely been characterised by finger-pointing and debate over historic responsibility, H.E. Vuk Jeremic (UN President of the General Assembly) acknowledged generational responsibility for the climate crisis of today. “I’m afraid we cannot say as those who came before us could, that we did not know the extent of the damage we were causing.”

The role of Qatar as host has also come under close scrutiny. The irony of a country whose wealth is built on oil has not escaped the attention of the media, civil society or the disgruntled global south at the climate talks.

The Emir of Qatar confirmed his country’s commitment as “partners on this planet” to cutting greenhouse gases. He announced Qatar’s commitment to have two percent of Qatar’s energy needs provided for by solar by 2020. His speech felt somewhat like a defensive reaction to the barrage of hostility Qatar has faced throughout the conference. One example yesterday was a question posed to Todd Stern asking whether he thought it was “ironic” that Qatar was hosting the conference. Stern replied that he was “not one that is going to throw stones” at countries that have contributed to the world economy and are now moving towards more sustainable forms of energy production. This discourse of blame and culpability is a palpable backdrop to this year’s talks and make already charged issues such as finance and ambition particularly volatile.

Finally, the role of the US under the Obama administration has been another hot topic. In a press conference held by WWF, Oxfam International and Greenpeace, Obama was called on to delivery a legacy “not only to the citizens of the US but, for the rest of us.” In light of the recent devastation reaped by hurricane Sandy, WWF urged Obama to deliver on the promises made to protect US citizens from the destruction caused by a warming world. The US’s emissions reduction commitment of 17 percent was criticised for not only being out of sync with science but for lacking a clear process for its achievement. Whilst it was acknowledged that Obama faces genuine congressional barriers to strong action, the case was levied that even so; he was not doing enough. Obama’s recent decision to pass legislation excluding US airlines from the European Union’s carbon trading scheme was a point of particular criticism.

David Waskow from Oxfam spoke of the need for US negotiators to “demonstrate an openness and creativity on issues of equity far beyond what has been seen so far, and that’s the key to unlocking ambition from all countries.” The problem of staleness and lack of innovation is not particular to the US.

It could simply be symptomatic of the slow and bureaucratic nature of the negotiation process as a whole. The solution however, is not a rejection of the UNFCCC process. The solution, according to Figueres, is taking action back home. Supporting scientific research and implementing domestic legislation “is critical because it is the linchpin between action on the ground and the international agreement.”

For now, Ministers will be undoubtedly working late into the night trying to close up procedural gaps and reach consensus on questions of ambition, finance and the steps towards an eventual global deal.

By Sophie Trevitt, photo by Laura Owsianka.