On the opening day of the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference, Climate Action Network (CAN) laid out its expectations for the negotiations. Top of the bill is the new climate finance goal (NCQG), which needs to be set by the end of this year.
Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of Climate Action Network International, said: “Bonn is the dress rehearsal for Baku, where the climate finance goal must be decided. The priority this year is to get developed countries to fulfill their obligations and to pay for the historic damage they have caused, and continue to cause, for communities particularly in the Global South who are least responsible for the climate crisis. This is an issue of justice.”
The Bonn climate talks mark the halfway point between the last and next COP, and just ahead of the G7 Summit in Italy.
Climate Action Network demands:
1. A climate finance goal that delivers justice. Rich and historical polluters need to provide new and additional public finance to contribute towards the costs of climate action in developing countries.
2. On Adaptation, a clear roadmap for the UAE-Belem Work Programme has to be established. Criteria for indicator development to ensure progress in efforts has to be detailed while the woeful inadequacy of adaptation finance should be addressed.
3. The UAE Work Programme on Just Transition Pathways (JTWP) must go beyond sharing practices. The JTWP needs to serve as a space to identify common ground and opportunities for speeding and scaling up Just Transition, working towards delivering real-world impact for workers and communities, among other measures.
4. The Glasgow Dialogue should be used to discuss operationalisation of the Loss & Damage fund. The Loss & Damage Fund Board must be supported, and prepare both an initial capitalization effort as well as a long-term fundraising and replenishment strategy.
5. The Annual Global Stocktake Dialogue (GST) must be conducted in an inclusive manner. Among other requirements, Observers need to be allowed to participate with the same possibilities as Parties, including virtual and live-streaming opportunities.
CAN’s calls-to-action come against the backdrop of 2024 being the biggest electoral year in history, amid the violence happening in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond. CAN, as a network in over 130 countries, joins all those who are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and calling for an immediate ceasefire and for justice and lasting peace. Climate Action Network is also increasingly concerned about restrictions being placed on civil society.
“There is no climate justice without human rights. CAN demands that Israel be held accountable for the war crimes it is committing, for an immediate international arms embargo against Israel and for a ceasefire. We stand in solidarity with Palestinians, and also with all facing repression and violence for wanting to create a safer, just, and sustainable world,” said Essop.