Global IssuesCOP19—Warsaw Climate Conference
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Introduction
November 11 – 23, 2013, Warsaw, Poland was the venue for the 19th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the 19th Conference of the Parties — or COP 19.
The purpose of this conference was to create a loss and damage pillar of a new climate treaty to be finalized in 2015. The other two pillars discussed in previous meetings are mitigation (emission reductions) and adaptation pillars.
Meeting outcome
The main outcome of the meeting was the establishment of an international mechanism for a loss and damage associated with climate change impacts .
Predictably, the loss and damage aspect of climate negotiations brought out the worst in some countries. Some developing countries were going to resist the idea of financing adaptation to climate change, while others appeared to hate the idea of climate reparations for poor countries. A few years earlier, industrialized nations had made a legal commitment to a global climate fund. Unsurprisingly, not much came of it, as Inter Press Service summarized,
In 2009 at the semi-infamous Copenhagen talks, the rich countries made a deal with developing countries, saying in effect:
We’ll give you billions of dollars for adaptation, ramping up to 100 billion dollars a year by 2020, in exchange for our mitigation amounting to small CO2 cuts instead of making the big cuts that we should do.The money to help poor countries adapt flowed for the first three years but has largely dried up. Warsaw was supposed to be the
Finance COPto bring the promised money. That didn't happen.Countries like Germany, Switzerland and others in Europe only managed to scrape together promises of 110 million dollars into the Green Climate Fund. Developing countries wanted a guarantee of 70 billion a year by 2016 but were blocked by the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan and others.
It got to the point that hundreds of representatives from various NGOs walked out of the negotiating rooms to protest against developed countries’ reluctance to commit to a loss and damage mechanism. And this was a day after the G77+China group of 133 developing countries walked out of negotiations over the same thing.
Looking through the briefing reports from the respected NGO, the Third World Network, It seems that on the surface, while an outcome was eventually thrashed out, there are many areas of weakness of sufficient vagueness to satisfy everyone that contentious issues that are seemingly resolved can still be challenged and changed in the future.
In context: common but differentiated responsibilities
Many years ago all nations agreed that climate change was largely the result of actions from today’s industrialized nations, as carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — stays in the atmosphere for decades. Yet, the poorest would end up suffering the most for a problem they largely did not cause. The approaches to mitigation (emissions reduction) would therefore be different for those groups of countries — the common but differentiated responsibilities principle.
It is in this context that the discussion for loss and damage has come about. And it is something that rich countries are keen to get rid of .
The years of resistance on this issue (and many others) means each time it is discussed again the reactions seem to get even more hostile. Combined with the lack of detailed context in the mainstream media coverage of this aspect, it then becomes easier each time to see culprits as China and India given their enormous greenhouse emissions in recent years, compared to the far greater amount by the industrialized nations over the longer period. See this site’s section on climate justice for more detailed background.
In context: Typhoon Haiyan
The meeting came at the time when the devastating Typhoon Haiyan had just killed thousands in the Philippines and affected millions more. It was an ominous warning of what could be more frequent as climate change continues to take hold.
It was also an example of how poorer nations could be affected by a problem they have largely not been responsible for and that while all the international outpouring of aid and assistance was incredibly welcome, that support for preventing and adapting to such events is paramount and efforts are urgently needed to curb emission increases.
In an emotional speech the Philippines lead negotiator for the conference, Naderev Saño, received a standing ovation for announcing that he will go on a hunger strike until a meaningful outcome is in sight.
Lack of urgency
Inter Press Service (IPS) noted the seeming lack of urgency given the years and years of delay and watering down of meaningful action:
To have a good chance at staying under two degrees C, industrialised countries need to crash their CO2 emissions 10 percent per year starting in 2014, said Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester.
We can still do two C but not the way we're going,Anderson said on the sidelines of COP 19 in Warsaw. He wondered why negotiators on the inside are not reacting to the reality that it is too late for incremental changes.
I’m really stunned there is no sense of urgency here,he told IPS.
More information
As the conference is still underway as this page is written, more information will be added here after the event is over.
For more about the issues from other organizations, here are some starting points:
News stories from IPS
Below is a list of stories from Inter Press Service related to the Warsaw climate conference and its aftermath.
Indigenous Kalinago lead the way towards making Dominica ‘climate resilient’
- UN News
Dominica aims to become the world’s first “climate-resilient nation, and the indigenous Kalinago people are playing a leading role in developing the country and helping its people to thrive in the face of the climate emergency.
Pioneering Digital Initiative Empowers Pacific Islands to Tackle Climate Disasters
- Inter Press Service
Apr 15 (IPS) - Winning a battle for survival requires understanding the opponent. And, for the peoples of 22 island nations and territories scattered across more than 155 million square kilometres of Pacific Ocean, the volatility and wrath of the climate are their greatest threats.
Fishers in Madagascar adapt to deadly seas due to climate change
- UN News
Fishing communities in the south of Madagascar are facing sometimes deadly sea conditions due to climate change, but with the help of the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) are finding ways to adapt to the new circumstances they face.
The Climate Alarm Is Ringing – It’s Time to Stop Silencing It
- Inter Press Service
LONDON, Apr 12 (IPS) - The heat records keep tumbling – 2023 was the hottest year in recorded history. Extreme weather events keep mounting up. And yet the voices most strongly calling for action to prevent climate catastrophe are increasingly being silenced.
Women Affected by Gender-Biased Climate Change Deserve Justice
- Inter Press Service
BULAWAYO, Apr 11 (IPS) - While research into the unequal impacts of climate change on women is growing, more is needed to enable them to realize their rights to climate justice.
The US Must Address More Than LNG To Mitigate Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON DC, Apr 10 (IPS) - Earlier this year, the Biden administration paused action on pending approvals for U.S. liquefied natural gas exports to countries without a U.S. free-trade agreement, with President Biden citing ”the urgency of the climate crisis.” The decision was hailed by climate activists and criticized by oil and gas industry representatives.
To Mitigate Climate Change Associated Disasters That Impact the Agricultural Sector - Launch Multipronged Efforts
- Inter Press Service
URBANA, Illinois, US, Apr 10 (IPS) - Recently, the United Nations in collaboration and the World Meteorological Organization released a report that highlighted the impacts of climate change including on agriculture.
Social Protection, a Key Solution for Directing Climate Finance To Poor Small-Scale Farmers
- Inter Press Service
ROME, Apr 05 (IPS) - Climate change is exacerbating inequalities between and within countries, disproportionately affecting poor households in rural areas. In fact, we know that more than half of the resources of the poor – a large part of whom are small-scale farmers - are lost due to climatic hazards. This has negative impacts on the incomes of these people and their ability to meet their essential needs, including food.
Taking Charge: Three Actions to Help Combat Climate Change and Save Amazonia
- Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, Apr 04 (IPS) - Climate change is the defining crisis of our time––it is the ultimate equalizer from which no one is immune. The Earth's ecosystems are on the brink of collapsethreatening biodiversity and human societies in unprecedented ways at a global scale.
Climate Change: the Partnership with Asian & Pacific Small Island Developing States
- Inter Press Service
BANGKOK, Thailand, Apr 02 (IPS) - Stories of growing vulnerability make regular headlines across all Asian and Pacific small island developing States (SIDS). With tens of thousands of people displaced every year due to climate and disaster-related events, there are continued concerns about the costs of climate-related hazards.
The Impact of Climate Change on a Biodiversity Hot Spot
- Inter Press Service
KATHMANDU, Nepal, Mar 29 (IPS) - If there is a place where the interlinkages and dependencies between the effects of climate warming and biodiversity loss are clearly at display, it’s Nepal. There is clear evidence on the impact of climate change on the country’s ecosystem considering the fact that Nepal is an important biodiversity hotspot.
Stories from the UN Archive: A seminal moment for youth climate action
- UN News
“What you do makes me cry at night,” 13-year-old Severn Cullis-Suzuki told the 1992 Earth Summit in Brazil in a message that resonates today as the world grapples with climate change.
Parents Harness Pedal and Wind Power To Demand Climate Action
- Inter Press Service
ROME, Mar 26 (IPS) - Extreme sports are not just for young people. Climate activism isn’t either. Yamandù Pagliano is proof.
Earth Hour: Lights off, climate action on
- UN News
The largest global environment movement is happening on Saturday, when the UN invites people around the world to shut the lights to remember the planetary crisis during Earth Hour as young partners find new ways to drive climate action.
How Women in Ahmedabad Slums Are Beating Back Climate’s Deadly Heat
- Inter Press Service
AHMEDABAD, India, Mar 18 (IPS) - Women in Ahmedabad slums work from home at tailoring, embroidery, kite-making, snack-making, or running grocery shops, micro-retailing vegetables and flowers, with little respite from the brutal heat waves that have been steadily worsening. Until now…Seema Mali is desperate. She has no defences against this changing climate’s brutal heat. Mali makes fresh flower garland the whole year, but her summer income has been plummeting by 30 percent over the last 8–10 years due to the extreme heat.
World News in Brief: Climate change in the countryside, Yemen polio drive success, development and peace
- UN News
Climate change is disproportionately affecting the incomes of rural women, the poor and older populations, who also have the least capacity to adapt to extreme weather events, a new report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed on Tuesday.
UN chief appeals for greater support for small islands fighting climate change
- UN News
More funding is needed to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on the frontlines of climate change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Saturday in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Drawing a line in the sand as communities adapt to climate change
- UN News
Communities in some of the most climate-change-affected areas in southern Madagascar are finding ways to thrive in increasingly challenging environments by becoming more resilient and adapting to unpredictable weather patterns.
Climate and conflict collide on the high seas: UN warns of soaring costs and delays
- UN News
Attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea coupled with wider geopolitical and climate-related crises, are upending international trade, inflating costs and causing major delays, the UN’s trade and development body said on Thursday.
Phasing out from Fossil Fuels: An Imperative for Climate Justice
- Inter Press Service
YAOUNDE, Feb 20 (IPS) - Climate change made 2023 the warmest year on record. As urgency mounts to address this worldwide crisis, phasing out the use of fossil fuels is a necessary step that all nations must take. This is because fossil fuels—coal, oil and gas -- are the primary drivers of the climate crisis accounting for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.
Climate-affected Madagascar adapts to new reality: A Resident Coordinator blog
- UN News
People living in Madagascar are learning to adapt to rapidly altering climatic conditions in what is said to be the fourth most climate change affected country worldwide; that’s according to the UN Resident Coordinatorthe most senior UN official in the Indian Ocean island nation.
Grassroots Voices Unite to Call for Climate Justice
- Inter Press Service
KATHMANDU, Feb 16 (IPS) - Kiprotich Peter from the East African country of Kenya is trying to convey his climate crisis message using the platform of the World Social Forum (WSF) taking place in the mountain nation of Nepal, which has also been battered by the impacts of climate change.
Rising hunger: UN chief identifies wars, climate chaos as aggravating factors
- UN News
Countries must act now to break the deadly links between conflict, climate and food insecurity, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, addressing a Security Council meeting focused on these challenges.
Climate Change Is Amplifying Household’s Food Insecurity, Putting More Pressure on Women’s Mental Health
- Inter Press Service
KATHMANDU, Feb 12 (IPS) - Studies have long shown that some women’s lower status in Nepali households could mean that they eat last and less and as a result lack nutrition. Experts are now looking into how this could affect their mental health, and if the growing impacts of climate change might amplify the process.
Hit by Climate Change, Authorities Seek to Improve Saffron Yields in Kashmir
- Inter Press Service
SRINAGAR, India, Feb 07 (IPS) - Saffron, the expensive spice from the Kashmir Himalayas, has been facing challenges for years, mostly related to yields and inadequate irrigation compounded by the climate crisis.
Road to COP29: Highest Climate Ambitions Needed to Decarbonize World
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Feb 05 (IPS) - The road to COP29 has begun in earnest in the backdrop of a global climate report indicating that not only was 2023 the warmest year in a 174-year climate record, it was the warmest by far. Record-breaking temperatures, combined with El Niño, pushed vulnerable and poor nations in the Global South to the frontlines of extreme and severe weather events.
How Asia Can Unlock $800 Billion of Climate Financing
- Inter Press Service
WASHINGTON DC, Jan 31 (IPS) - Countries in the Asia-Pacific region face a shortfall of at least $800 billion in climate financing. With public finances depleted by the pandemic, policymakers must unlock the vast potential of private capital to join the fight more effectively against global warming.
Snow Tales: Too Little, Too Late, Say Climate Experts
- Inter Press Service
KARACHI, Jan 29 (IPS) - Whether the late snow in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region is an anomaly or an indication of the impacts of climate change, which brings erratic and at times devastating weather patterns, experts in the region believe not enough is being invested in the development of capacities, systems, and infrastructure to improve resilience.
Under the Scorching Sun Kenyan Farmers Find New Ways to Beat Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
KOTIANG, KENYA, Jan 26 (IPS) - Rural Kenyans are forging a path toward a more sustainable future and protecting their lives and livelihoods from climate change through regenerative agriculture, nurturing hope for their communities and the environment.
IPS Offers Climate Change Justice Fellowship
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 24 (IPS) - IPS is offering an exceptional opportunity for two journalists to develop their understanding of climate change justice.
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