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Monday began with a recognition of the significant volume of work ahead. The Subsidiary Bodies forwarded a long list of issues to this second week of talks, adding to the slate of political-level discussions on key issues to be facilitated by ministers and the Presidency later in the week.
Presidency’s Consultations
Informal Stocktake Plenary: COP President Sameh Shoukry outlined three tracks of work for the week. He explained that technical work would continue on the 13 agenda items left outstanding from the Subsidiary Bodies, spanning mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, agriculture, gender, and response measures. Presidency consultations will also continue on the cover decisions and other issues identified in the opening plenaries. Ministerial consultations will begin Wednesday, 16 November.
Loss and Damage Governance: Facilitated by Amr Essam (Egypt), parties debated whether the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) is governed by the CMA only, or both the CMA and the COP. All developing country groups supported that the WIM be governed by the COP and CMA. A few developed countries said their interpretation of the Paris Agreement is that the WIM is only under the CMA, with one expressing flexibility to explore dual authority. Parties agreed to take this discussion up next year, and for this year use the “Glasgow approach,” whereby the COP would endorse the CMA’s outcomes.
COP
National Adaptation Plans: In informal consultations, co-facilitated by Pepetua Latasi (Tuvalu) and Jens Fugl (Denmark), Latasi sought comments on the latest draft decision text.
On a paragraph highlighting the importance of scaling up adaptation action and support, one group suggested shortening the text by simply referring to the adaptation sections of the Glasgow Climate Pact (decision 1/CP.26), particularly the call for developed country parties to significantly scale up their provision of adaptation finance.
Three developed countries pointed to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) guidance agenda item as a more appropriate forum to discuss GCF adaptation funding specifically. Several developing country groups disagreed and emphasized the need for implementation and action, expressing dissatisfaction with language simply “underscoring” the importance of this matter. Consultations will continue.
CMA
High-level Ministerial Roundtable on Pre-2030 Ambition: COP 27 President Shoukry relayed that the Presidency will prepare an informal note to reflect the views expressed at this roundtable.
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell called for an ambitious mitigation work programme that would reduce emissions faster, catalyze impactful actions, and secure assurances from key parties that they will raise ambition.
Bernd Hackmann, UNFCCC Secretariat, presented the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Synthesis Report, which provides an overview of current and updated NDCs, highlighting that their implementation would raise emissions 10.6% by 2030.
Jim Skea, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III Co-Chair, relayed major findings from the group’s report on mitigation, stressing that options exist in all sectors that could halve emissions from 2019 levels and cost less than 100 USD per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, or even pay for themselves.
Hong Patterson, GCF, highlighted the Fund’s Sustainable Renewables Risk Mitigation Initiative, which supports six African countries and Uzbekistan to address challenges to private sector investment in renewable energy.
Ministers delivered a common call to urgently ramp up ambition, with several developing countries stressing the need for support. On the mitigation work programme, SINGAPORE expressed concern that current text on the table may lead to a series of “talk shops,” and the UK called for clear modalities. Bhutan, for the LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDCs), called for a clear calendar of milestones for countries to follow.
On the COP 27 cover decisions, JAPAN, TUVALU, and others called for an emphasis on mitigation ambition. AUSTRALIA suggested a commitment to move toward 100% renewable energy.
On fossil fuels, Antigua and Barbuda, for the ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATES (AOSIS), stressed that safeguarding future generations means stranding assets. TUVALU and VANUATU called for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty and the UK called for stepping up efforts to phase out coal.
On support, BOLIVIA, GABON, and other developing countries stressed the need to deliver on previous financial promises and ensure support for just transitions. Citing the need to “mobilize trillions” in financial support, the EU underscored the private sector’s role.
Glasgow–Sharm El-Sheikh Work Programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation: In informal consultations, Co-Facilitators Mattias Frumerie (Sweden) and Kishan Kumarsingh (Trinidad and Tobago) requested parties to streamline the text where possible and, where views diverged, to set out options. Several parties reiterated that their proposals were not reflected in the text and sought their incorporation. Others identified red lines.
On an option for a framework to guide future work, supported by many developing country groups and opposed by some developed countries, some parties expressed willingness to find a middle ground and consider “a structured approach” to guide the work programme and contribute to the Global Stocktake.
The Co-Facilitators urged parties to discuss among themselves using the Co-Facilitators’ text, resisting several parties’ requests for new text incorporating submissions. Due to disagreement on next steps, the Co-Facilitators said they will seek the Presidency’s guidance on the way forward.
Matters Related to Finance: New collective quantified goal on climate finance: In informal consultations, co-facilitated by Zaheer Fakir (South Africa) and Georg Børsting (Norway), a group of developing countries said the current text was too procedural and needed more substance. Parties also discussed how prescriptive the text should be in its guidance on topics for future technical expert dialogues, with some questioning whether it should “micromanage” future topics at this stage. Consultations will continue.
Matters relating to the Adaptation Fund: In informal consultations, Co-Facilitators Diann Black-Layne (Antigua and Barbuda) and Eva Schreuder (Netherlands) invited views on the draft text, which they said was mirrored in CMP text, as appropriate.
On a paragraph underscoring the urgency of scaling up financial resources, several developing country groups asked to specify that “developed country parties” should provide support to developing countries, with others seeking to add, “in particular, small island developing states (SIDS) and LDCs.” One developing country group opposed specifying groups for support.
Three developed countries, opposed by a developing country group, suggested adding a paragraph emphasizing the importance of Paris Agreement parties’ full participation in Adaptation Fund discussions.
Many engaged with a proposal to note with concern certain countries’ ineligibility to access the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator. The Co-Facilitators will circulate new draft text.
Matters relating to funding arrangements responding to loss and damage: Informal consultations were co-facilitated by Julio Cordano (Chile) and Ursula Fuentes (Germany), who introduced an elements paper that aims to capture all ideas. Citing very little time to consider the document, many said their views were missing, with some suggesting that this document might not be acceptable as a basis for negotiations.
Several indicated that their call for this COP to establish a facility was missing, which Cordano noted was under the title “Outcome of the ‘process’ up until 2024.” Others expressed concern with a footnote stating, among others, that the outcomes on this agenda item do not involve liability or compensation, include the Glasgow Dialogue, and will launch a process with a view to adopting a conclusive decision no later than 2024. They suggested this diverges from the agreement on the scope of this agenda item. Consultations will continue.
Guidance on Cooperative Approaches Referred to in Article 6.2: In informal consultations, Co-Chairs Kuki Soejachmoen (Indonesia) and Peer Stiansen (Norway) outlined a proposed schedule of work for the next two days under this item, based on text forwarded from SBSTA, starting with the agreed electronic format (AEF), Article 6 database, and centralized accounting and reporting platform (CARP). They noted “informal informal” timeslots available in the evenings.
On the AEF, parties indicated their preferred options for information in tables on actions and holdings. Many lamented the difficulty of engaging with a PDF format. Parties diverged on the specificity of the required information, with one developing country group stressing the need for many countries to first test the tables’ usability given their insufficient prior experience in this area and suggesting approving the AEF provisionally at this CMA. Those favoring agreement at this CMA pointed out that some countries foresee using internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) already in 2023 and that AEFs are needed to inform other components of the Article 6.2 reporting infrastructure.
Specific comments focused on, inter alia: interpretation of nomenclature under the heading “ITMO ID,” including the terms “ID” and “serial number”; streamlining and harmonizing nomenclature under “action type” and “sectors”; indicating mandatory and optional fields; and information and tracking of outcomes used towards other international mitigation purposes.
On the Article 6 database and CARP, parties proposed ways to advance work within the remaining time, including by dedicating further time for informal informals and identifying priority issues requiring decision at this CMA. Informal consultations will resume on Tuesday, 15 November.
Rules, Modalities and Procedures for the Mechanism Established by Article 6.4: In informal consultations, Co-Facilitators Kate Hancock (Australia) and Sonam Tashi (Bhutan) explained the CMA mandate for this week covers: the report of the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body (FCCC/PA/CMA/2022/6 and Add.1); and text forwarded from the Article 6.4 SBSTA discussions.
On the Supervisory Body’s recommendations, parties expressed support for the proposed rules of procedure and share of proceeds. On removals, parties, along with three observer groups, raised several concerns, calling for ensuring environmental integrity and aligning language on environmental and social safeguards and human and Indigenous Peoples’ rights with previous decisions. They also supported mandating the Body to work further on the recommendations and report back to CMA 5, and to: conduct this work jointly with that on related methodologies; undertake further stakeholder consultations and calls for submissions; and engage in further work on different removal types, reversals, leakage, and a grievance mechanism.
On other further work, groups called for ensuring the mechanism’s operationalization through requesting the Body to work on all relevant mandates, including methodologies, standardized baselines, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) transition, and review of the CDM sustainable development tool. They also called for setting 2023 as the deadline to finalize this work and ensuring a dedicated support structure and sufficient funds.
Parties also briefly considered sections in the draft CMA decision text forwarded by SBSTA on the transition of CDM activities and on the use of certified emission reductions (CERs). Consultations will continue.
Work Programme under the Framework for Non-market Approaches Referred to in Article 6.8: In the contact group, Co-Chairs Maria Al-Jishi (Saudi Arabia) and Jacqueline Ruesga (New Zealand) explained the focus of work in the second week is to agree on remaining issues in the draft decision text forwarded from Article 6.8 SBSTA discussions. Deliberations then continued in informal consultations, with parties sharing views on sections on an implementation schedule for work programme activities, and inputs to the review of these activities in 2026.
On the schedule, the Co-Chairs shared their bridging proposals relating to: mandating a schedule for activities in 2023 and an indicative schedule for 2024-2026; removing labels for the proposed work programme periods; and mandating the CMA to provide input annually instead of a mid-term assessment of the programme. Parties expressed their views, including for and against the bridging proposals.
On inputs to the 2026 review, parties debated whether the section was necessary, with some suggesting references to “standard procedures” at this stage and deciding on specific guidance later.
The Co-Chairs encouraged parties to continue discussions in “informal informals” in the afternoon.
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The Climate Chance Summit Africa 2023 will bring together on the 23rd, 24th and 2th of October 2023 at the Palais des Congrès in Yaounde 1,500 African actors from the "climate community": high-level personalities, experts, actors in the field, representatives of local governments, businesses and organised civil society.
Celebrations for World Environment Day 2023 kicked off in host-country Cote d’Ivoire, as millions of people prepare for similar activities across the world. Venues across the capital city, Abidjan – from its historic lagoon to its first modern art museum - shone the spotlight on this year’s theme #Beat Plastic Pollution.
Congo Basin Carbon brings together information on various research and education projects in the Yangambi and Luki MAB Reserves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Through this website we hope to strengthen research networks and improve project visibility, specifically for carbon research. Tropical rainforests such as the forests of the Congo Basin comprise nearly half of the world’s vegetation carbon. Intact tropical forests represent a carbon sink at a level that is higher than other vegetation types. The issues of carbon stocks, sinks and sources in tropical forests are therefore a central topic in international policy debates on climate changes.
At last year’s United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), 141 leaders committed to halt and reverse forest loss and degradation by 2030. Forests, particularly tropical ones, are known to play a crucial role in removing carbon from the atmosphere, partially offsetting the effect of greenhouse gas emissions. This is a highly valuable service to the global climate, meaning the world should be willing to pay to ensure it happens. In this policy note, we look at just how valuable that service is, and put that in the context of aid efforts to protect forests.
During the process of photosynthesis, trees naturally absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Rainforests act as important 'carbon sinks' stemming global heating. The Congo rainforest is the planet’s most important “lung,” new data has revealed. The world’s rainforests absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide, slowing down global warming.
The world is getting a better understanding of just how important forests are in the global fight against climate change. New research, published in Nature Climate Change and available on Global Forest Watch, found that the world’s forests sequestered about twice as much carbon dioxide as they emitted between 2001 and 2019. In other words, forests provide a “carbon sink” that absorbs a net 7.6 billion metric tonnes of CO2 per year, 1.5 times more carbon than the United States emits annually.
This brief describes the first efforts to integrate agroforestry with charcoal production in the Yangambi tropical forest landscape. Activities resulted in both increased food crop production and reforestation, as well as the establishment of producer-led local associations and greater collaboration between communities and local authorities.
The GEF Secretariat prepared this document to summarize the GEF’s potential role in a financial mechanism for the internationally legally binding instrument under negotiation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). The document is prepared to help inform deliberations. It also includes questions and answers to key issues raised thus far by countries. GEF’s role as Convention Financial Mechanism: The GEF serves as a/the financial mechanism for five Conventions, namely the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Minamata Convention on Mercury, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Chemicals, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
On May 8, 2023, in the BOUN'S Hotel conference, in Yaoundé, a workshop was held to launch the process of drawing up the Cameroon Country Investment Plan (CIP) on the nexus of transboundary transhumance, protected areas, peace and security, and development. Please download the final communiqué of the workshop...
Geneva and Yaoundé, 26 May 2023. The Ministry of Economy, Planning and Land Planning of Cameroon (MINEPAT) and CAFI are launching two Calls for Expressions of Interest today to all relevant implementing organisations concerned, representing a maximum of 60 million US$.
WWF is supporting the Government of Cameroon in her effort to restore more than 12 million hectares of degraded landscapes in the country. In 2017, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife committed, on behalf of the Government of Cameroon, to restore 12,062,768 ha of degraded landscapes under AFR100 and the Bonn Challenge by 2030. Of these, 80% are in the three northern regions of Adamaoua, North and Far North; with the remainder in the high plateau, Centre region, vast forest and coastal areas (Mangroves).
As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting transparent and accountable governance of climate and environmental funds, we are pleased to invite you to two upcoming online sessions. These sessions will offer valuable insights, strategies, and best practices for combating corruption, and reinforce our collective efforts to create a more sustainable future. We hope you will join us for these important discussions.
International Day for Biological Diversity, celebrated each year on 22 May, is an opportunity to not only acknowledge the crucial role healthy biodiversity plays in the survival of the planet but also to assess the nature crisis. With the theme ‘From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity,’ this year’s Day follows the historic adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 196 nations at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022.
Bukavu, May 10, 2023 – The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (PNKB) is deeply saddened to announce the death of its ecoguard Alain Lukinga, born in Kakongya on June 12, 1989, who sacrificed his life for the protection of the PNKB in an armed clash in Cibumbiro between the villages of Kajeje and Lukananda in the Mudaka groupement, in Kabare territory in South Kivu.
From April 19 to 20, 2023 a workshop for the development of a national investment plan for Nigeria on transhumance and related topics was held in Abuja, NIGERIA. This workshop, funded by the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) Facilitation of the Federal Republic of Germany, aimed to...
The SWM Programme is the first international initiative to tackle the wild meat challenge by addressing both wildlife conservation and food security. It is an initiative from the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), funded by the European Union with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD).
In a bid to boost indigenous people and local communities’ (IPLC) engagement in wildlife protection around Lobéké National Park in Southeast Cameroon, Lobéké Management has signed social pacts with 34 Bantu and Baka communities in the Park. Thirty-four social pacts were signed between the communities and the Lobeke Management in December 2022, with each pact corresponding to a community project worth FCFA 300,000.
This report highlights the impacts of direct as well as indirect deforestation through mining. It presents for the first time ever the deforestation embodied in the consumption of products and showcases the extensive deforestation potential that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) can have on forest ecosystems.
A new toll road in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province is under construction to improve access to the interior of Borneo, including to the nation’s new capital city, Nusantara. Construction of the road, however, poses immediate environmental risks, as the route cuts through a forested area with high conservation value that connects the Sungai Wain protected forest, coastal mangroves, and Balikpapan Bay. Prior to road construction, the integrated forest and coastal ecosystem supported populations of orangutans, sun bears, proboscis monkeys and Irrawaddy dolphins. Conservationists say the construction of this toll road belies the Indonesian government’s claims that the development of the new capital will be green and sustainable.
The tobacco industry causes a fifth of Zimbabwe’s forest loss. What is being done to minimise this? At the beginning of this century, the Zimbabwean government embarked on an audacious land reform programme, ostensibly to correct the injustices suffered by local people when the land was colonised. The controversial programme saw an estimated 170,000 black Zimbabwean families – mostly small-scale farmers – taking over agricultural production from about 3,000 white-owned farms.
SAN MARTÍN, Peru (AP) — The Cordillera Azul National Park on the eastern flank of the Peruvian Andes takes in a sweep of Amazon rainforest, mountains and waterfalls in a territory about the size of Connecticut, so precious that tens of millions of dollars in carbon credits have been sold in a program that supporters said would protect its trees.
To fight climate change and biodiversity loss, the new law obliges companies to ensure products sold in the EU have not led to deforestation and forest degradation. While no country or commodity will be banned, companies will only be allowed to sell products in the EU if the supplier of the product has issued a so-called “due diligence” statement confirming that the product does not come from deforested land or has led to forest degradation, including of irreplaceable primary forests, after 31 December 2020.
A number of reports have found that an Indonesian government program to establish large-scale agricultural plantations across the country has led to deforestation. More than 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of forests, including carbon-rich peatlands, have been cleared in Central Kalimantan province for the so-called food estate program, according to a spatial analysis by the NGO Pantau Gambut. Last year, the NGO Kaoem Telapak detected 100 hectares (250 acres) of deforestation in food estate areas in North Sumatra. Villagers whose lands have been included in the program have also reported an increase in the severity of floods since their forests were cleared to make way for the food estates.
Press release 3 May 2023 | The German government will make two billion euros available for the Green Climate Fund (GCF). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the commitment at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin today. This makes Germany the first major donor to announce its contribution for the upcoming pledging conference for the Green Climate Fund. The conference will take place in Bonn on 5 October and will be chaired by Development Minister Svenja Schulze. The Green Climate Fund is one of the largest climate action funds of the world. The creation of the fund was an important objective of the developing countries, which have an equal say in how funds are spent on climate mitigation and adaptation projects in developing countries.
With GEF and LDCF support, Nespresso, IUCN, and TechnoServe are working together to promote more sustainable and resilient coffee farming practices in South Kivu. Antoinette Shabanyere’s 1,800-tree coffee farm in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is at the forefront of efforts by local communities to adapt to climate change.
The Second Consultation Meeting (CM-2) for GCF’s second replenishment (GCF-2) was held on 27-28 April. Hosted by GCF and moderated by Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, the replenishment facilitator, the two-day virtual meeting convened over 100 current and prospective contributors where they received updates on GCF and discussed matters related to the replenishment process.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Country Representative, Suze Percy-Filippini is impressed with the progress made by the department of Forestry in the implementation of the Forest Farm Facility –FFF Program in the Choma District of Southern Province.
This case study forms part of a series of six case studies on mobilizing internal finance within Forest and Farm Producer Organization (FFPOs) prepared by forest and farm FFPOs for the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF). It describes the Jwa Ngwaane Community Cooperative Credit Union, established by the Kassena Nankana Baobab Cooperative Union (KANBAOCU) through the mobilization of 96 Village Savings and Loans Associations.
The African Regional Exchange, a three-day workshop co-organized with CIFOR-ICRAF, the Kenya Forestry Research Institute and the Kenya Forest Service, brought together farmers, bankers, governments, and development partners from across Africa to discuss ways to ensure smallholder farmers have access to the finance they need to improve and scale up sustainable forest and farm management practices.
This agrobiodiversity case study (No.6) from Zambia is the sixth of six case studies prepared by forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs) for the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF). It describes the actions of the Choma District Tree Nursery and Growers Association (CDTNA). CDTNA represents 111 members, either individual nursery growers or collective enterprises that furnish diverse tree seedlings for forest and agroforestry restoration projects across Southern Zambia.
Oyéoussi Charles Balogoun is the Africa Representative of the NGO Panel under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Civil Society Panel (CSO Panel) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) represents nearly 500 organisations accredited to the Convention. Charles Balogoun is also the Global President and Chairman of the Board of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Afrique Espérance. He answers ENVIRONNEMENTALES’s questions on the state of desertification in Africa.
A common vision of sustainable finance is being developed in Central Africa. The project is at the heart of an international forum scheduled for 8 and 9 May 2023 in Douala, Cameroon, under the theme « Trajectories towards sustainable finance ». An initiative of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN).
Delegates to the Sixth Meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development emphasized the need for forward-looking, high-impact initiatives involving all relevant actors, to enable the structural transformations Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) needs to “resume and sustain the path to 2030.”
Kenya loses 2–2.4 percent of its gross domestic product annually due to the effects of climate change, such as drought and floods according to according to a 2018 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics study. Droughts alone cost the country 8 percent of GDP every five years. Arid and semi-arid rangelands (ASALs) occupy over 80 percent of Kenya’s landscape, and are home to about 36 percent of the total human population, and seventy per cent of the nation’s livestock and 90% of wildlife. Livestock's contributions account for 80 percent of household incomes in arid lands, and 65 percent in semi-arid lands.
Sitting at the forefront of the climate crisis, forest and farm producer organizations (FFPOs) have a vital role in supporting smallholder resilience and attaining climate change and biodiversity goals. Together, their members have a transformative potential to achieve sustainable development and respond to climate change at scale.