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.
Half the world lacks social protection amid climate crisis, ILO warns
- UN News
Social protection is essential to safeguard people from shocks, but half the world is without any coverage, including over 90 per cent of people living in climate-vulnerable countries, according to a new report released on Thursday by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Investing in clean air can saves lives and combat climate change
- UN News
The UN Secretary-General is marking ‘Clean Air Day’ with a call for global investment in solutions that tackle climate change and the increasing public health, environmental, and economic harm caused by air pollution.
Climate Change Exacerbated Flash Floods in Bangladesh
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 06 (IPS) - Since late August, severe flash floods and monsoons plaguing Bangladesh have affected nearly 6 million people. Bangladeshi officials have declared the floods to be the country's worst climate disaster in recent memory. These recent floods follow the wake of Cyclone Remal, which devastated Bangladesh and West Bengal earlier this year.
UN leads search for synergy on climate and development
- UN News
Governments, experts and civil society representatives met in Brazil this week for a UN-backed conference to examine solutions that address the interlinked challenges of the climate emergency and the sustainable development crisis.
Climate Action Greatest Economic Opportunity of this Century, Says UN Climate Chief
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Sep 05 (IPS) - With fewer than 100 days to go to COP29, the highest decision-making body on climate issues under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is getting shorter and the need for creative and innovative solutions to protect lives and livelihoods is extremely urgent.
Tackling Climate Change Will Be a Pyrrhic Victory If We Lose Sight of the Poor
- Inter Press Service
ROME, Sep 03 (IPS) - Urgent climate action is key to eradicating hunger and poverty, but climate mitigation policies can inadvertently exacerbate these issues in rural areas. Countries must design climate strategies that account for the impacts on the rural poor and that include social protection measures.
Venezuela: UN rights office describes pervasive ‘climate of fear’
- UN News
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, reiterated deep concerns on Tuesday over the continuing “climate of fear” in Venezuela, after an arrest warrant was issued for the opposition’s presidential candidate in the country’s recent election.
In Tonga the UN Secretary-General Declares a Global Climate Emergency
- Inter Press Service
SYDNEY & NUKU'ALOFA, Aug 30 (IPS) - Three months ahead of the COP29 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has called for an emergency response from the international community as new data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reveals a critical deterioration in the state of the climate.
Climate Assemblies Seek Citizen Participation in Latin American Solutions
- Inter Press Service
MEXICO CITY, Aug 29 (IPS) - Danilo Barbosa had never taken part in political processes until his name was drawn in a lottery to join the climate assembly of the municipality of Bujaru, in the Amazon region of Brazil.
Signs of Progress on Peace-Positive Climate Adaptation
- Inter Press Service
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug 29 (IPS) - The consequences of climate change are disproportionately impacting fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCS). Climate shocks can exacerbate security risks in FCS, conflict and instability compromise a region's ability to adapt to climate change, leaving its population ever more vulnerable to future climate shocks.
Struggling at Sea: The Plight of Indian Fishworkers Amid Climate Change and Government Policies
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, Aug 28 (IPS) - Warming seas from climate change means that Indian fisherworkers often travel illegally into international territorial waters in search of a good catch and find themselves jailed and their boats confiscated, driving their families into poverty.Climate change forces millions of India's fishworkers to venture beyond the country's exclusive economic zone into the perilous high seas.
UN Secretary General Warns of 'Brutal' Impacts of Climate Change for Pacific Islands
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 27 (IPS) - UN General Secretary General António Guterres warned of the wide-ranging impacts of climate change on a visit to the Pacific islands of Samoa and Tonga.
Climate Activists Target Culture Greenwashing
- Inter Press Service
LONDON, Aug 27 (IPS) - Civil society is working on all fronts to tackle the climate crisis. Activists are protesting in numbers to pressure governments and corporations to cut greenhouse gas emissions. They're using non-violent direct action and high-profile stunts, paying a heavy price as numerous states criminalise climate protest.
UN chief urges climate justice for Pacific nations beset by rising oceans
- UN News
Pacific island nations threatened by rising oceans, debt and geopolitical tensions can only fight back if international lenders agree to fairer terms for vital development funding and the world’s biggest polluters make a “massive increase” in contributions to address “climate chaos”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday.
Gender Equality Has Everything To Do with Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Aug 16 (IPS) - After years of reporting on the frontlines of climate change, I have witnessed the devastating impact extreme weather events have on women and girls. In Kenya's pastoralist communities in far-flung areas of Northern Kenya, West Pokot, Samburu and Narok counties, droughts mean a resurgence in harmful cultural practices such as outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM), beading and child marriages.
Pacific Community Photographic Winners Bring Impacts of Climate Change to Life
- Inter Press Service
PACIFIC ISLANDS, Aug 08 (IPS) - The Pacific Community's photographic competition winners reflect the devastating climate impacts on beautiful and sensitive environments, documenting the most pressing issues the communities who live on the islands face today.
Explainer: Why Kenya is Considered a High Climate Risk for Development Banks
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Aug 07 (IPS) - Climate change-related extreme weather jeopardizes Kenya's development agenda; even though it contributes very little to global warming, it is marked as a high-risk country by development banks.Kenya contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions every year, yet development banks have flagged the East African nation as a high climate risk. This is due to extreme weather changes that are increasingly threatening the country's development agenda, widening socio-economic inequalities, and deepening rural poverty and hunger.
Belém Improving to Host 2025 Climate Summit in Brazil
- Inter Press Service
BELÉM, Brazil, Jul 25 (IPS) - Hotels and other amenities may be lacking for participants at the 30th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP30), in this northern Brazilian city in late 2025, but the bottom line is they will have a unique experience in the Amazon.
Forests face increasing risk of wildfires and pests due to climate change
- UN News
The world’s forests are becoming increasingly susceptible to wildfires and pests due to climate change, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), released Monday.
Silenced: Women's Many Layered Struggles for Climate Justice in Nepal
- Inter Press Service
KATHMANDU, Jul 18 (IPS) - Silenced and sidelined, women politicians in Nepal fight for their voices to be heard, especially as they represent a population most impacted by climate change.
How Climate-Smart Strategies Revitalized Tanzania's Livestock Sector
- Inter Press Service
IRINGA, Tanzania, Jul 16 (IPS) - In a quest for survival, farmers and pastoralists living in Oldonyo Sambu, Tanzania’s northern Maasai Steppe, used to fight over every drop of water. However, 12 villages have now adopted climate-smart bylaws after months of negotiations, putting an end to hostilities.As the sun sets, its golden hues piece through the dusty haze, creating a dazzling display when a herd of livestock lazily roams on the arid landscape as they return home from grazing.
Kenya’s Cash-Strapped, Ambitious Climate Change Goals
- Inter Press Service
NAIROBI, Jul 05 (IPS) - Kenya’s need for climate finance is great—the country has been battered by climate change-related disasters for years—but as this analysis shows, the arrangements remain opaque, leaving the affected communities vulnerable.Climate-related disasters have battered Kenya for years.
UN Climate Talks: Setting Sail to Plunder the Ocean
- Inter Press Service
BONN, Germany, Jun 28 (IPS) - Despite the evident and increasing urgency of the climate crisis, the June intersessional meeting of the UNFCCC closed with little to show for two full weeks of negotiation.
Germanys Climate Envoy Talks Partnerships with SIDS; Urges G20 Nations to Step Up Emissions Reductions
- Inter Press Service
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA, Jun 25 (IPS) - Germany’s State Secretary and Special Envoy on International Climate Action, Jennifer Morgan, has emphasized the need for urgent climate action and called on G20 nations to do more to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Peoples' Climate Vote Shows Global Support for Stronger Climate Action
- Inter Press Service
KATHMANDU, Jun 20 (IPS) - The global public opinion research on climate change reveals that 80 percent, or four out of five, of people globally want their governments to take stronger action to tackle the climate crisis.
Global survey reveals ‘truly astonishing’ consensus for stronger climate action
- UN News
The overwhelming majority of people around the world want an end to geopolitical differences when it comes to fighting climate change, the results of a landmark public opinion poll conducted by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has shown.
Fake Climate Solutions Spread Across Latin America
- Inter Press Service
CARACAS, Jun 14 (IPS) - Government and private initiatives and programmes to address the climate crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean are in fact a vast array of fake solutions, according to a new regional map made by environmental organisations in several of its countries.
African Activists Call on the West to Finance Climate Action
- Inter Press Service
BONN, Jun 13 (IPS) - As the technical session of the global climate negotiations enters the final stretch in Bonn, Germany, climate activists from Africa have expressed fears that negotiators from the developed world are dragging their feet in a way to avoid paying their fair share to tackle the climate crisis.
Explainer: What You Need to Know About Climate Change and Blue Carbon
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, Jun 08 (IPS) - The area where land meets the sea, known as coastal ecosystems, could be the key to reducing the effects of climate change.
World Environment Day: UN Secretary-General Reckons with ‘A Moment of Truth’ on Climate Action
- Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, Jun 05 (IPS) - Coming at a time of record-breaking global temperatures over the last twelve months, the UN chief calls on world leaders, including the G20 and G7 members, to commit to their climate action goals as laid out in the Paris Agreement. Experts across multiple industries are also encouraged to do their part to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis.
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