Crunch Time Starts For Paris Climate Deal

The last preparatory session of the UN climate talks before the COP21 Paris climate change conference in December concludes today in Bonn. As negotiators leave Bonn, crunch time starts for Ministers to resolve the remaining differences especially in finance, loss and damage, and human rights and gender equality.

The pre-COP21 ministerial meeting in Paris, 8-10 November, is an important opportunity to show real leadership and give hope to the millions of people living on the frontlines of increasingly severe climate change impacts.

CARE International urges world leaders to accelerate efforts to avoid the worst effects of climate change and to guarantee support to the poorest and most vulnerable people already hit the hardest.

“It’s clear that all countries want a new climate deal, but the big question is how we will achieve this. The new draft Paris agreement we got today is manageable, but there hasn’t been enough progress in many key issues, like finance. Countries need to work together to bridge gaps and scale-up ambition to limit warming to below 1.5°C,” says Kit Vaughan, Director of CARE International’s Climate Change, Poverty and Environment Network.

“Discussions on loss and damage were very polarised this week. The G77 group, representing most of the climate vulnerable countries, made a strong joint statement on why it should be part of the Paris agreement, whereas many rich countries, including the US and Canada, want no reference at all. As the EU has no clear position yet, it should help to bridge the differences,” says Sven Harmeling, CARE International’s climate change advocacy coordinator and focal person for adaptation, and loss and damage.

“There was a lot of controversy around civil society being excluded from the talks in Bonn. This must not happen in Paris. Civil society has a vital role to play in ensuring the transparency, accountability and fairness of global intergovernmental processes,” says Aurélie Ceinos, CARE France’s Climate Change Advisor, and focal person for French COP21 presidency.

“Human rights and gender still remain to be tackled in the draft Paris climate agreement. Almost 70 years ago, the international community adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in Paris. Now the French COP21 presidency has the responsibility to facilitate the adoption of a binding and ambitious climate agreement, placing human rights and gender equality at the centre of the debate,” says Fanny Petitbon, CARE France’s Advocacy Manager, and focal person for human rights and gender equality.