Hot air at Katowice (COP-24 to form rules for Paris Climate deal implementation)

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Hot air at Katowice (COP-24 to form rules for Paris Climate deal implementation)

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• Do what needs to be done: Climate change activists remind leaders that instead of focussing on what is politically feasible, we have to focus on "what needs to be done". Sadly, the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC did what should not have been done!
• The poor, shortchanged: Poor nations have deep concerns on global warming. The IPCC "1.5 Degree Report“ of Oct. 2018 showed that a climate catastrophe is lurking. Many nations opposed it including US, KSA and Russia citing lack of evidence. "Noted" but not "welcomed" was the idea.
• US part of rules-writing: Despite the US coming out of the Paris Climate deal (by 2020), its big team of lawyers participated in rules-writing (for many items of Paris deal) at Katowice.
• Aim of Katowice summit: To make implementation guidelines on Paris Agreement, and build rules to mointor / verify / report actions systematically.
• Mitigation and Adaptation: While most nations who gave the NDCs (nationally determined contributions) are going to mitigate emissions, for many developing nations "adaptation" is important.
• Transparency: Who will actually be doing what to cut emissions, must be known clearly. Otherwise, how do you keep stock? Katowice discussed this.
• Vulnerable and poor nations' concerns: As warming effects grow, these nations need technology transfers, capacity building, and funds from the rich. Ultimately, developing ones have to move from high to low carbon economies, and poor ones need money from rich (to pay for losses borne).
• Postponed! Funding discussions are postponed, and references to "equity" in draft rule book were erased by US, so maybe it wants the developed and developing to be treated as one! (bad for the developing)
• Article 9 ignored: It talks about funding from rich to the poor. Only when Africa group of nations forced the issue, did it come up. But Switzerland acted funny. US focussed on carbon markets and insurance mechanisms.
• Single rulebook produced: Despite all this, one rulebook is ready. It will be developed further. Disregard of equity was a shock for many civil society groups. (Poor nations with low GHG emissions will bear the brunt of warming effects, so must be funded by the rich).
• "Equity" wiped out from text: US got it done, and the EU, Australia, Japan etc. did not disagree. Some corporates are boasting they had a role in drafting of such agreements!
• What is the focus? For nations and peoples, climate change must be at the centre of policy making, and good development the focus. If GDP growth is all that is, and well-being marginal, climage change will ruin us all soon.
• Solutions and the system: Youth worldwide are rising on this issue. Surely, if system cannot get the solution, maybe be can change the system itself.   
• Summary : Sadly, the Katowice COP-24 summit did not do anything about rich world's funding of the poor world's concerns, nor were the concerns addressed at all.

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