Uganda demands legally binding agreement on climate change

Jun 17, 2015

Uganda is demanding the developed countries to sign a legally binding agreement during the forthcoming 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC) in Paris, France, in December

By Alfred Wandera

Uganda is demanding the developed countries to sign a legally binding agreement during the forthcoming 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC) in Paris, France, in December.


The Paris conference is crucial because it must result in an international climate agreement enabling the limitation of global warming to below 2°C.

The Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Water and Environment, David Obong, Wednesday said there is need to have a binding agreement on climate change financing, mitigation, adaptation, technology development and transfer and responsibilities of developed and developing countries.

"The current agreement on climate change is expiring this year and therefore we need a legally binding agreement so that financing of climate change fund by the developed countries is concretized. We further ask for more funding to mobilize more negotiators to the COP2 in Paris," said Obong during the Climate Diplomacy Day workshop at Protea Hotel in Kampala.


Ministry of Water Director Environment Paul Mafabi (left) talks to European union official Ross Groskinsky (2nd left), while Ministry of Water Permanent Secretary David Obong and WWF David Duli (right) look on, during the Climate Change Diplomacy Day, at Protea Hotel, June 17, 2015. PHOTO/Kennedy Oryema

Uganda is a signatory to the UNFCCC. The countries that are committed to create a new international climate agreement by the conclusion of COP2 agreed to publicly outline what post-2020 climate actions they intend to take under a new international agreement should be, known as their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

The INDCs will largely determine whether the world achieves an ambitious 2015 agreement and is put on a path toward a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.

Obong said Uganda's INDC will be ready by August before they join the rest of the world in Paris in December.

The European Union head of delegation, Kristian Schmidt, said the Paris conference presents the world with an opportunity to make the right choice of embarking on a journey towards the sustainability of the world or to stick to "our current destructive business-as-usual pathway".

"The EU strongly believes that countries with low capacity to respond appropriately to climate change must be supported. We have been at the forefront of providing and mobilizing international support for less developed countries," said Schmidt.

The Copenhagen climate talks in 2009 were meant to deliver a new legally binding, global deal to replace the Kyoto protocol that was adopted in December 1997 and expired in 2012. But instead, it resulted into the Copenhagen Accord that only recognized the need for countries to tackle climate change, and set the deadline to review existing agreements by the end of 2015.

In 2014, negotiations were held in Lima, Peru, to agree on a post-Kyoto legal framework that would obligate all major polluters to pay for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. China, India, and the United States all signaled that they will not ratify any treaty that will commit them legally to reduce CO2 emissions.

There are currently 192 Parties to the Protocol. The biggest challenge, though, to having an international legally binding agreement on climate change, is the decline by major greenhouse gas emitters such as the USA, Canada, China and India signaling not to ratify the protocol.

During the Paris conference, climate finance will be a crucial component – a milestone has been reached with the initial capitalization of the Green Climate Fund, amounting to $9.3b, including nearly $1b from France.

The local and regional initiatives developed by local governments, civil society organizations and businesses that will attend the conference will boost mobilization and supplement the contributions made by states.
 

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