The
United Nations Climate Change Conference, Durban South Africa year 2011,
brought together representatives of the world’s governments, international
organizations and civil societies. The discussions sought to advance, in a
balanced fashion, the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol,
as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun
Agreements, reached at COP 16 December, 2010.
The
UN Climate Conference in Durban was hailed as a ‘historic success’ after an
agreement was reached on Sunday morning 11 December, 2011. COP 17 treaty seemed
to be in a lock jam looked in trouble just before 2am, after India and China
protested at the lack of equity in proposals put forward by the European Union
(EU). But a dramatic 15-minute ‘huddle’ in the centre of the plenary has
resulted in a form of words that all parties could agree on. COP 17 President
Mashabane called the agreement: “…truly historical,” adding “…You are prepared
to show the required political will to move this process forward. It is without
any doubt in my mind that we have worked together to save tomorrow, today.”
The
deal should mean that every country in the world is committed to reducing its
carbon emissions, although the fine details are still unclear. Parties have signed
up an EU-sponsored roadmap that will see a new reduction in green house gas
emissions of the Kyoto Protocol to be negotiated by 2015, and come into force
by 2020. A second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which does not
include the US, China or India, will be finalized at COP 18, in Qatar, the
Middle East. Talks on this new, more inclusive document, which must have “legal
force,” will get underway in 2003. The roadmap was further developed by the EU,
the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and the Least Developed Countries
bloc (LDCs). The Green Climate Fund has also been approved, although sources of
funding are unclear, and state such as Bolivia appeared to reject the idea that
the private sector and carbon markets could be used to source finance.
The
Durban conference was the longest in history, running almost 36 hours longer
than the original cut-off point on 6th December, 2011 Friday afternoon. And at
1.40pm local time, COP 17 looked close to collapse after an impassioned plea
from India’s Jayanthi Natarajan, who accused the EU block of ignoring ‘equity’
in the text. With the belief growing in the BASIC block that the EU timetable
was overly legalistic and too stringent, she directed her anger to COP 17
President Mashabane, declaring that “…India will not be intimidated.” Natarajan
was backed by lead Chinese negotiator Xie Zhenhua, who delivered an angry
rebuke to parties who he said had not fulfilled their current commitments.
As
vehemently stated by Zheuhua, “Look not what is said but what is done, …” We
have been talking about this issue for the past 20 years. We are doing things,
you are not.” But with support for a deal growing around the room, together
with an intervention from US negotiator Todd Stern, Mashabane decided to call
an impromptu ‘huddle’ for the main parties to come to a solution. On agreement
of the roadmap, the rest of the package was agreed with bewildering speed, Mashabane
banging the gavel at regular intervals to speed the meeting along.
A
framework for the Green Climate Fund – which could generate finances of $100
Billion a year by 2020 for developing countries – was adopted, although a venue
for its Headquarters is as yet unclear. There also appears to have been
progress on REDD+ and deforestation measures. Speaking on RTCC in the plenary
hall, the UK’s lead climate diplomat, John Ashton, said the talks had been a
success, adding the roadmap and accompanying measures “represented closure,”
after Copenhagen. Chris Huhne, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate
Change, warned that there was still work to do but was enthusiastic and
optimistic about the deal. “There are still many details to be hammered out,
but we now need to start negotiating the new legal framework for agreement as
soon as possible and there are still many details to be hammered out,” he said.
Adrian Macey, Chair of AWG-KP, the track of the talks dealing with Kyoto, said
that “We’ve got a package with clarity on the Kyoto Protocol, and more
important we shall have clarity on the long term too, and it’s quite momentous
I think, looking at this longer term agreement, it is better than people
expected.
Norway’s
Climate Minister Erik Solheim told RTCC that they were “very, very pleased
because it’s in the upper range of what we hoped for. We’re pleased both with
the substantive outcome and also the agreement on this process. “For us this is
a great outcome. The key aspect is that it is crucial, when you have a Kyoto
Protocol with limited scope… [it’s] crucial we get a legally binding framework
for all major emitters and that’s the core here. It’s also important the
deadline for the negotiation process is not too far into the future. So it’s
the ambition level and also the urgency. We have something to take climate
action forward and we now have an ambitious pathway to go forward,” said
Solheim.
“It’s
been a long two weeks and also the months leading up. Very tough for all
parties,” he added. NGOs were less pleased, with Greenpeace branding the deal
“grim news”. “Blockers led by the US have succeeded in inserting a vital
get-out clause that could easily prevent the net big climate deal being legally
binding, “said Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International Executive Director. “If
that loophole is exploited it could be a disaster. And the deal is due to be
implemented ‘from 2020’ leaving almost no room for increasing the depth of
carbon cuts in this decade when scientists say we need emissions to peak,”
ACTION
PROPOSED IN NIGERIA
Farmers
Environmental Education Programme (FEEP)
OUR
MOTIVATION
We
live in a changing world in which the environmental challenges of our present
world are fast increasing and evolving in a new dimension. Young farmers need
to be equipped with information on how to deal with climate change (adaptation)
and how they can prevent it (mitigation). Article 6 of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate change deals with climate change education,
training and public awareness. It stresses the importance for countries to
develop and implement programmes to educate their population on climate change
and its effects and developing adequate responses.
OUR
OBJECTIVES
v To
educate and inform farmers on environmental issues affecting them and how they
can be actively part of the solutions.
v To
help farmers become advocates of the change they want to see in their society.
FEATURES
OF THE PROGRAMME
Group
discussions. Role play Media presentations
Questions & answers Talent display Information on opportunities
for
members
Knowledge
sharing Life building skill.
OUR
PERSPECTIVE
Young
farmers need to be well-informed about their environment (climate change
science and mitigation options) and to be made aware of the consequences of
their consumption behaviour so that they can plan a strong role in combating
climate change and promoting changes in attitudes and behaviours. Education and
training in the field of climate change can also prepare young farmers to take
advantage of the new opportunities arising from the shift to a greener economy.
Given
the cumulative nature of human development, misinformation or dearth of quality
information for young farmers on environment issues are difficult to reverse
later in life. Therefore, allocating sufficient public resources to informing
and building capacities of young farmers, even in times of economic stress and
budgetary constraints, is a sine qua non
for a society’s development and competitiveness.
COMRADE
AMITOLU SHITTU
Coordinator
Committee for Democracy and Rights of
the People (CDRP) affiliate of Climate and Environment Development Initiatives
(CEDI) And Human & Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA)
+(234)8034456035
cdrp03@gmail.com
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