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What is for LDCs in the Adaptation negotiations?

By: Sumaya Ahmed Zakieldeen (CLACC Fellow, SECS Sudan & Assistant Professor

Institute of Environmental Studies)

zakields@yahoo.com

27/11/2010

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for sustained capacity building in support of international climate change negotiations

pour un renforcement durable des capacités en appui aux négociations internationales sur les changements climatiques

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Commitments under the Convention

Article 4 of the Convention is about commitments.

• Article 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 clearly state financial commitments for adaptation and technology transfer

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Con..

Article 4.1e

“Cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of

climate change; develop and elaborate appropriate and

integrated plans for coastal zone management, water

resources and agriculture, and for the protection and

rehabilitation of areas, particularly in Africa, affected by

drought and desertification, as well as floods”

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Map of the LDCs

Article4.9:

• The Parties shall take full account of the specific needs and

special situations of the least developed countries in their

actions with regard to funding and transfer of technology

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What was done in adaption under UNFCCC?

• In spite of the clearly spelled commitments in the articles of the Convention very little was achieved

• some programmes (e.g. 1.CP/10, NWP, LEG) and Funds (e.g. Adaptation fund, LDCs Fund) for adaption,

• however they are not adequate compared to what vulnerable countries are facing and expected to face.

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• During the past 3 year 12 session of AWG-LCA negotiations were held, the whole process was not

an easy one (went from exchange of view to formulation of negotiating text)

• In adaptation LDCs similar to other developing countries repeatedly express that adaptation

situation in the UNFCCC process has not been satisfactory (fragmentation of programmes)

• Accordingly in their positions, LDCs and all the developing countries expressed that they claim a

comprehensive process for adaptation that could be implemented through efficient institutional structure and supported by all the means of

implementation

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• LDCs faced a lot of difficulties (preparation, financing, implementation etc) when they were/are working on their

National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA).• The NAPA experience was significantly helpful in the

formulation of LDCs positions • NAPA experience put the LDCs ahead of many Groups and

Parties regarding assessment of vulnerability and identification of adaptation options (recognition of NAPA

process and experience in adaptation text)

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Main cluster of issues in adaptation text

• (a) Objectives, Scope and Guiding Principles

• (b) Adaptation Actions

• (c) Means of implementation

• (d) Institutional arrangement

• (e) Risk reduction and management

• (f) Monitoring and Reviewing

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Scope of Adaptation

• The scope is the most difficult area for adaptation negotiation as it contain two difficult issues:

• Definition of Vulnerability and

• Issue of Response measures

The two issues were considered of high political nature that require political decision

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Adaptation framework,

o In Copenhagen Parties generally agreed to frame the adaptation work with framework order to enhance the implementation of adaptation under the Convention.

o While Developing countries wanted the framework for the implementation, as they don’t want to end up with an empty programme/Framework

o Developed countries gave lot of emphasis to role of the international cooperation for support of urgent implementation of adaptation action.

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Institutional arrangement

• Strengthening of existing institutions vs. establishment of new institutions (at different levels)

• During this year most of the time allocated for adaptation was given to institutional arrangement (mainly to Adaptation Committee)

• Adaptation Committee under the Convention in order to provide coherence in the implementation of enhanced action under the Convention

• Equitable geographical representation in Adaptation Committee !

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Adaptation ActionsThere was agreement among Parties that enhanced

action on adaptation should follow:• a country driven, • gender sensitive,• participatory approach and be base and guided by

the best available science.

Large agreements on most of the actions (disagreement only on actions related to response measures)

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Means of implementation• Finance

• Technology transfer

• Capacity building

What to be financed? How to be financed?

Many issues in adaptation are still depending on agreements to be made by finance group

It has been agreed that:

• Sources, scale and institutional arrangement were to be determined by finance Group

• While priorities for support and specific modalities for provision of finance for adaptation, to be determined by the adaptation group

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Con..• Developing countries claim that they shall be provided with

long-term scaled up, adequate, new and additional to ODA commitments and predictable grant based finance, mainly from public sources of developed countries for the whole range of implementation of urgent, short-, medium- and long-term adaptation actions,

• Amount of support for adaptation (1.5% of GDP by LDCs)

• Priority: Developing countries stated that the allocation of finance shall be expeditious and directly accessed and the priority given to particularly vulnerable developing countries.

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Monitoring and Reviewing

• It has been clearly stated that the COP should assess the delivery of the means of implementation by developed country parties in line with article 12.3 of the Convention with the aim of indentifying insufficiencies and discrepancies between support provided and received recommending further action when needed

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LDCs’ ProposalDecides to establish a process to provide financial and

technical support in accordance with article 4 paragraph 9 of the Convention for least developed country Parties to formulate and implement national adaptation plans, with the technical advice from the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) that build upon the experience of the national adaptation programmes of action, as a means of identifying medium- and long term adaptation needs and developing and implementing strategies and programmes to address those needs; and for other vulnerable developing country Parties that have set up national adaptation plans, programmes, or activities to be provided with financial and technical support to implement them,

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Para 7 of the Chair’s new text

Decides to establish a process to enable least developed country Parties and other interested developing country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change to formulate and implement national adaptation plans, building upon the experience of the least developed country Parties in preparing and implementing national adaptation programmes of action, as a means of identifying medium and long-term adaptation needs and developing and implementing strategies and programmes to address those needs;

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EU option

Invite parties to strengthen the efforts of Least Developed Country Parties to formulate and implement national adaptation plans building on the experience of the national adaptation programmes of action, and to enhance their capacities to identify medium- and long term adaptation needs and develop strategies and programmes to address those needs

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Current Status of adaptation in negotiation

Text s are on the table:• Text from Tianjin

very limited progress was achieved, will be very challenging to get agreement with that text

• New chair text on adaptation

- includes most of the elements

- did not mention anything about the adaptation committee

- elements of mechanism of loss and damage

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Thank You