Page 21 - Respond 2014 | RTCC Publications

blocked agenda at the June meeting in Bonn has prevented discussion
on this topic in 2013 - and it could be a messy set of talks in November.

Majuro Declaration: In September 2013, Pacifc
leaders signed the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership to call
on the international community to step up its climate ambition. The
declaration was agreed at a meeting in Majuro, capital of the Marshall YoUNgo at the UN. Photo: © UNFCCC.
Islands, which was submerged in fooding in June. The US, EU,
Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia subsequently joined
Pacifc Island Forum members to express support for the declaration.
NAPAs: National Adaptation Programmes of Action are plans to
support the Least Developed Countries adapt to the impacts of climate
change. They look at current grassroots actions and build on them to Verifable: The USA has suggested that all mitigation targets
produce regional and national policies. made by countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions should
be checked independently to see if they are Measurable, Reportable
Observers: Observers are the actors involved in the UNFCCC and Verifable (MRV). Other countries including China have resisted this
who are not countries but are permitted to attend UN meetings, receive interference with their way of accounting for emissions.
updates and support from the Secretariat, and make submissions in the
UN meetings. They include intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) like Warsaw: Warsaw in Poland is hosting the 19th Conference
UNEP and the IPCC, and the constituencies of environmental NGOs, of the Parties (COP19) on behalf of the Eastern European Group from
business representatives, trade unions, youth and indigenous people. 11-22 November. The President for the summit will be the Polish
environment minister Marcin Korolec. Doubts have been raised over
Pathway to Peru and Paris: The next COPs to Poland’s climate ambition following vetoes to EU climate action and the
prepare and sign the global climate deal will be in Lima, Peru in 2014 country’s dependence on coal as a power source.
(with a pre-COP promised to radically shake up the talks with greater civil
society involvement in Caracas, Venezuela beforehand) and Paris, France AnneXes: To recap the different categories countries are placed
in 2015. The Polish presidency of COP19 has said that establishing a in within the Convention, countries that were industrialised in 1992 are
pathway to the Paris deal is its priority for this year’s conference. Annex I countries; the Annex I countries that should provide fnance
are Annex II (Western world, minus post-Soviet nations); the Annex I
QELROs: Quantifed Emission Limitation and Reduction countries who signed up to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 are called Annex
Objectives are the pledges made by Annex B countries under the Kyoto B and countries considered to be ‘developing’ in 1992 are known as
Protocol to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. At COP18 in Doha, non-Annex I.
Australia’s QELRO to reduce its emissions by 0.5% by 2020 compared
to 1990 levels was ridiculed by civil society. yOUNGO: The constituency of youth NGOs was established
in 2009 to give young people a voice in the talks. YOUNGO is the only
Russia: After the Russian delegation was prevented from raising constituency within the UNFCCC that has permission to perform creative
an objection and was gavelled over as the Qatari presidency brought actions within the conference centre, and youth climate campaigners
last year’s conference to an end after overunning in discussions on also interact with policy-makers through policy submissions and
the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, Russia blocked speeches (called interventions) to negotiators in plenary meetings.
progress in the June intersessional meeting in Bonn, where an agenda YOUNGO members organise a Youth and Future Generations day at
could not be agreed for the Subsidiary Body for Implementation every COP as a reminder of the moral impetus for governments to
(SBI) talks. take urgent and ambitious climate action, and have put on a 3-day
Conference of Youth directly preceding the COP since 2005 to organise
Subsidies: Raised by Connie Hedegaard last year, the push to
phase out Fossil Fuel Subsidies (FFS) as a way of freeing up funds for and skill-up the international youth climate movement (IYCM).
investment into clean energy and developed country fnance pledges is 2015 deal: While fnance may dominate this year’s summit,
being discussed as part of the ADP negotiations. progress on the global climate deal is eagerly awaited by civil society.

Taxes: In order to make up the climate fnance pledges that rich In Durban at COP17 it was agreed that a global climate treaty with legal
countries have committed to, innovative forms of fnance are discussed force would be agreed in 2015 and come into effect in 2020. Questions
at the UN climate talks. The Financial Transaction Tax (also known as that need answers surround the architecture of the deal (see B for
the Robin Hood Tax) and taxes on bunker fuels covering international bottom-up vs top-down) and how discussions around equity will be
shipping and aviation are seen as practical and progressive ways to accommodated into the deal.
raise new and additional revenue for climate fnance.
The UK Youth Climate Coalition is run entirely by a team
UNFCCC: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate of highly motivated young volunteers, all of which are
Change was agreed in 1992, and its Secretariat have been holding between the ages of 18-29, working together between other
Conferences of the Parties since 1995 for the 195 countries that have commitments to create a future which is happy, affordable,
ratifed this international treaty. The Convention was established with clean and safe. Every year we train up and send a UK Youth
the aim of stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations “at a level that Delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Talks. We
would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference collaborate with other international youth organisations and
with the climate system.” call for immediate international climate action that is fair and
protects the world’s most vulnerable. www.ukycc.org

19 www.rtcc.org