Civil Society Expresses Climate Woes at COP 18

Doha, November 26 (QNA) - A panel of civil society experts presented Monday UN Climate Negotiations in their national and international context, highlighting the key challenges facing the talks at the UN 18th Conference on Climate Change (COP 18), taking place in Doha from 26 November to 7 December. Meena Raman from Third World Network highlighted the significance of the COP 18 where "decisions" and "amendments" are agreed in order to set the international legal framework for responding to climate change. "This is a historic moment in terms of where we are heading. It is a critical timeframe as the duration for the first commitment period expires on January 1st 2013," Raman said. The negotiations will be undertaken in "three streams", she explained. A negotiation of a "second commitment period" of targets under the Kyoto Protocol from now until 2017 or 2020, "long-term cooperative action" between now and 2020, such as on finance goals and the comparability of targets between industrialized countries not in Kyoto, and the "Durban Platform" for a new legal agreement to take effect post-2020. "The position of most developed countries is not clear which is worrying for civil society organizations," she added. She explained that Canada opted out of the Kyoto Protocol and the US has chosen not to take part. Raman also noted the issue of EU emission reductions. "The EU is already meeting its 20% reduction rate so a new percentage needs to be set," she indicated, adding that there is a need to see whether developed country Parties will agree to efforts. Raman listed the most important outcomes expected to follow the COP 18 including a financial roadmap, the need to address loss and damage at developing countries, and intellectual property rights. "There is a need for technological capacity in developing countries and the COP 18 in Doha pushes for space to discuss this," Raman posited. International Forum on Globalization delegate Dale Wen addressed China s stance on climate change. "China is taking climate very seriously," Wen said. "Most of our graduates are from science-related backgrounds hence the focus on anything related to this field," she added. Wen explained that China has invested over $30 billion on energy. "In addition to investing in renewable energy, the Chinese government invested in rural works and irrigation systems last year drawing a plan for the upcoming 10 years," she said. Speaking about the US s position following Hurricane Sandy, Brandon Wu from Action Aid US focused on three main topics of discussion. "President Obama openly talked about climate change after the elections," Wu said. "The cost of climate change is getting higher. The longer we delay it, the worse it becomes," he said. "Developed countries have a responsibility," he added. Concluding the civil society-centered discussion, What Next Forum delegate Niclas Hallstrom stressed the EU s role: "This is a critical decade to reduce emissions," he suggested. Third World Network (TWN) is an independent non-profit international network of organizations and individuals involved in issues relating to development, developing countries and North-South affairs. ActionAid USA is a non-profit organization which educates policymakers about issues that impact global poverty. The What Next Forum seeks to convene informal dialogues, roundtable discussions, exploratory seminars, strategy workshops, as well as public debates, and to facilitate dedicated people meeting each other. (QNA)