Climate vulnerables’ manifesto for COP26
This week an interesting difference of opinion emerged between that large section of the climate movement who have called for the COP26 meeting of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at Glasgow to be postponed, and the coalition of climate vulnerable states, who - concerned that a further loss of pressure and momentum cannot be risked - oppose this call and want the meeting to go ahead as a matter of urgency.
The Climate Action Network expresses concern about vaccine inequity and the ability of NGOs and delegates from the global south to attend safely and have their views heard. Their strong position statement on the COP can be read here, which includes "bans of dirty infrastructure like coal power stations, standards and policies". We hope this means they will move to endorse our Coal Elimination Treaty proposal - the only global fossil fuel ban proposal in existence - as a matter of urgency.
Bakhtiar Zein, Shutterstock
Below, we reprint the Climate Vulnerables' Manifesto for COP26, which, among many other creative ideas, calls for annual increases in emissions reduction ambition from member states, and “climate resilient debt restructuring” with relief purposed towards urgently needed climate resilience and adaptation measures.
In doing so, they are highlighting some of the key flaws of the Paris Agreement framework and demanding meaningful change. If the Glasgow meeting fails to deliver serious NDCs from all countries consistent with holding global heating to 1.5C, both civil society and climate vulnerable states will need to consider how to move forward once it becomes clear the Paris Agreement is failing planet Earth.
—Anthony Burke
The Climate Vulnerables’ Manifesto for COP26
7 September 2021
Issued following the Climate Vulnerable Forum High-Level Exchange on COP26
Yesterday’s Communique of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) High Level Dialogue on UNFCCC COP26, following the August 2021 IPCC Assessment Report, has highlighted the alarming concern that global heating will undergo an acceleration unparalleled in human history over the coming decade as the world is locked onto warming to 1.5ºC, with the already unprecedented climate impacts plainly striking communities worldwide becoming far more severe and powerful. Weeks ahead of COP26, major polluters have still failed to align their Paris Agreement NDC national emission commitments with all available efforts to limit warming to 1.5ºC which requires large-scale pre-2030 action, while adaptation is under-supported, leaving vulnerable nations at the brink of survival and people all over the planet deep in harms’ way. Glasgow must deliver–it may be the last chance for humanity to avert climate catastrophe.
We, Ministers and High Representatives of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) meeting in the world adaptation capital of Rotterdam, and building on the outcomes of CVF Regional Dialogues for Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific, involving 45 of the world’s most climate threatened nations, resolved to call on the international community to seize the unique opportunity of COP26 and adopted the following Manifesto for what Glasgow must deliver in order to keep the planet safe and protect the most vulnerable:
COP26 must happen in-person in October-November 2021 with robust COVID-19 measures, and vulnerable developing countries need special support, facilitated access and hybrid modalities to ensure inclusive participation. This is the most important meeting for the future of the planet and it cannot wait.
We are calling for COP26 to deliver a “Climate Emergency Pact” to rebuild confidence in international climate cooperation, accelerate adaptation and to keep 1.5ºC within reach, including:
Delivery Plan for the annual US$100 billion in climate finance for developing countries from 2020-2024 with 50:50 split of funds between adaptation and mitigation, and independent annual monitoring of implementation involving the IMF. We call on the COP26 Presidency of the United Kingdom to take full responsibility for the development of the Delivery Plan so vital to re-establishing confidence in the Paris Agreement and for supporting urgent climate action by developing nations.
Annual 2030 Ambition Raising platforms mandated for every single COP yearly until 2025, where all governments but especially the major emitting countries are urged to come forward with new ambition on adaptation and mitigation, over and above their current NDCs. Out of time, the world’s government have no choice but to work year-in-year out to constantly raise ambition to accelerate adaptation to keep people safe and 1.5ºC within reach.
3. COP26 must achieve substantial progress on loss and damage including by fully operationalizing the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage in addition to executing existing commitments to the Warsaw International Mechanism, and mandating work for financing options to increase the level of support to frontline communities that experience loss and damage, wrecking lives, livelihoods, and communities on the frontlines of this global crisis.
4. Finalized, robust carbon market mechanisms consistent with 1.5ºC and providing at least 5% of proceeds for financing the urgent adaptation needs of the most vulnerable nations.
5. We have decided to form a high-level CVF Climate Survival Leadership Group for COP26, headed by HE A.K. Abdul Momen, the honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs of the incumbent CVF presidency of Bangladesh, and resolved to actively collaborate for the realization of our Manifesto for COP26 to the conclusion of Glasgow. We invite interested CVF ministers to join our initiating Group: Minister Casten Nemra of Marshall Islands, Commissioner Fekadu Beyene of Ethiopia, Minister Andrea Meza Murillo of Costa Rica, Deputy Prime Minister Eve Bazaiba Masudi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Minister Simon Stiell of Grenada, Minister Keriako Tobiko of Kenya, Mayor Mohammed Adjei Sowah of Accra, Ghana, CVF Ambassador for Ambition President Mohamed Nasheed, CVF Presidency Special Envoy Abul Kalam Azad, and Managing Partner Professor Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation.
As we mobilize for COP26 and beyond, as most climate threatened nations, we are also calling on the international community for 7 urgent and essential actions to:
Address the emergency of adaptation action which cannot wait: full engagement of donors and international funding support behind the AU-endorsed, GCA, African Development Bank and AAI-led Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), the most ambitious and urgently needed initiative for driving transformational adaptation action on the ground across the African continent, in addition to similar programs building on the prototype of AAAP in all other vulnerable regions of Central, South and East Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific.
Launch an Emergency Coalition for Climate Resilient Debt Restructuring to harness debt servicing payments to ensure existing infrastructure of fiscally constrained vulnerable nations is rendered climate resilient and consistent with a rapid transition to 100% renewable energy, avoiding financial losses for all concerned.
Create at the Human Rights Council’s 48th Session this September-October 2021 a United Nations Special Rapporteur for climate change, to complement the vital work of the Special Rapporteur on the Environment, in light of the devastating impact of the climate crisis on the fundamental human rights of the most vulnerable people on Earth, and to promote efforts to enhance protection of the rights of the most vulnerable.
Support and economic cooperation for the development and implementation of CVF members’ national Climate Prosperity Plans (CPPs) to enable a strategic investment pathway for delivering robust socio-economic development optimized with maximum ambition for climate adaptation and low- or carbon neutral- development, starting with the Mujib CPP of Bangladesh, named in honor of the Father of the Nation, Shiekh Mujibur Rahman.
Establish the IUCN ‘Climate Crisis Commission’ at the World Conservation Congress at Marseille, France, on 3-11 September 2021 because the climate crisis is also the most significant future driver of the planetary ecological crisis and nature-based solutions will be indispensable to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Stimulate transnational cultural and youth contributions to international dialogue and action to respond to the climate crisis, including “Ñaat? When Is Now. Seeding Climate Action through the Arts” which links poetry and murals reflecting on national and regional demands for climate action, and people’s lived experiences of the climate crisis.
Mobilize enhanced action and support from the international community to address climate-driven migration and displacement, through the Migrants4Climate initiative, with burden sharing of rehabilitation of climate migrants or displaced people due to coastal and river erosion and other impacts of the climate crisis in most vulnerable nations.
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