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Paris agreement and Nepal |
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by Ashtha Lamsal | 18-06-2017 14:54
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The government of Nepal participated in the Paris Climate Conference with the leadership of Bishwendra Paswan, Minister of Science Technology and Environment. The ministry engaged a team of experts comprising government and civil society members to prepare for the conference. The team prepared key issues of concerns for Nepal from the Paris Conference after a series of thematic consultations with broader stakeholders. The advocated issues included:
- A legally binding agreement or a protocol which commits to keep emissions trajectories within the global carbon budget for 1.5 degrees Celsius. - Adequate emissions reduction commitments from the developed countries, with progression of commitmentsthrough a no-backsliding principle to be enshrined as a principle in the legally binding agreement. - The sharing of responsibilities on the basis of the principles of equity and justice that form the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. - Establishment of a global goal on adaptation and linkage of adaptation support with projected temperature increase scenarios. - Inclusion of a clear provision on support to LDCs for adaptation actions in the Paris Agreement. - A stand-alone article on loss and damage (separate from adaptation) with dedicated fi nancial and technical support mechanism. - The peaking of global emissions before 2020 in light of the scientifi c ask so as to limit global average temperatures below 1.5?C. The emissions reductions should be 50% by 2030 and above 90% by 2050 (at 1990 levels). - An increase in the scale and provision of climate fi nance by developed country Parties to meet the existing commitment of mobilizing US$ 100 billion per year by 2020 and further scale up the amount with US$ 100 billion per year as the minimum benchmark for beyond 2020 period on the basis of a clear pathway laid out in the Paris Agreement. Nepal also strongly advocated for the recognition of the special vulnerabilities and needs of the Small Mountainous Developing Countries (SMDC). What does the Paris Agreement mean for Nepal? This is an important question for two reasons. First, Nepal should use the opportunities that the agreement provides to transform to low carbon climate resilient development and second, it should continue to raise its voice at the international level for enhanced actions on emission reductions and increased financial support to vulnerable countries where the agreement falls short. It is also beneficial to reflect on the agreement in the context of the key issues of concern that Nepal had prepared before the conference, including the positions laid out by the LDC Group where Nepal plays a crucial role. Nepal was the chair of the LDC Group in the year 2013 and 2014. Nepal (together with LDCs) had been demanding a legally binding commitment to keep the temperature rise to 1.5°C. This is included in the Paris Agreement as an aspirational goal but without a clear trajectory to achieve it. The INDCs contained in the agreement will lead to an increase of more than 3°C compared to pre-industrial levels. This is of particular worry to Nepal and other vulnerable countries, which are already facing impacts with the rise of 0.85°C rise above pre-industrial levels. There is no guarantee that the developed countries and other high emitters will keep the promise. But the inclusion of 1.5°C in the agreement should be used to hold developed countries and other high emitters to account if they fail to live up to the promise they made in Paris. The agreement has also created new frame works and mechanisms for carbon trading. Nepal should start exploring the opportunities of reaping benefi ts from market and non-market based mechanisms. In doing so, it can use the learning and experience from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Nepal will have to be equally conscious of the fact that carbon trading schemes will not reduce net emissions rather transfer the responsibility of developed countries to the developing countries. There is a strong view that the exclusion clause only refers to what the Article provides for and does not imply a general exclusion on L&D liabilities. It does not mean that fi nancial resources cannot be allocated through the Financial Mechanism of the Convention and the Paris Agreement for developing countries to address the adverse impacts related to loss and damage. As Nepal is represented in the executive committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism on L&D, Nepal should use this opportunity to fl esh out provisions that will be benefi cial for vulnerable countries so that the essence of L&D is restored. The weak language on fi nance in the Paris Agreement means the developed countries are unwilling to provide adequate support to the developing countries for climate actions. The climate fi nance needs for both adaptation and mitigation in developing countries are far higher than US$100bn. There is still suspicion that the traditional development assistance will also be counted as climate fi nance. Consequently, Nepal may face stiff competition to obtain fi nancial resources from multilateral climate finance mechanisms established under the UNFCCC and other channels of regular development assistance. One important initiative the Nepal Government can start is by forming an 'Expert Working Group' building on the past experience of engaging experts from both government and civil society organizations that have experience in the international climate negotiations. The expert working group can be tasked to provide the government with technical support to strengthen the negotiating strategies. The Government of Nepal has been raising the importance of refl ecting the special needs of the Small Mountainous Developing Countries (SMDCs) in the climate agreement. This issue, however, was not addressed in the Paris Agreement. If Nepal wishes to champion this issue in the future, it should forge alliances with like-minded mountainous countries and continue efforts to build a common understanding regarding the vulnerabilities, impacts and collaborative actions associated with the SMDCs. Moreover, there should be clarity on which countries fall under the category of SMDCs as both small and mountainous are vague terms. Nepal needs to be prudent to reap the benefi ts that the Paris Agreement has provided and continue to strive to safeguard its people from the adverse impacts of climate change. Nepal needs to access climate finance from the available international mechanisms and deliver it for the benefi t of the most vulnerable communities. Nepal should also work to create the necessary enabling environment to support climate actions by setting up the necessary institutional mechanisms and enhance capacity of existing machinery. Building our internal capacity is necessary to give shape to our own model of sustainable development and reduce reliance on international institutions in the process of doing so.
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2 Comments
Asthma, thank you for your report. What is interesting about the Paris Climate Agreement is that although every nation is joining same agreement, each carries out policies, actions in its own way. I see here Nepal's own issues. Very interesting! Tell us more about Nepal later!
Posted 01-07-2017 23:56
Hi Ashtha! Thanks for sharing your report on Paris agreement and Nepal.
The differenciated responsibility of developed countries and developing countries has always been a key issue of negotiation in every climate agreements. Even if Paris agreement got improved from the former agreements, we still have a lot to negotiate. Hope global society could handle this issue wisely!
Posted 19-06-2017 21:42