Guest essay by Eric Worrall

Listed amongst this year’s achievements is the climate gender action plan and an initiative for technology sharing.

UN Climate Change Secretariat Releases First Ever Annual Report

May 2nd, 2018
by Joshua S Hill

The United Nations Climate Change Secretariat released its first ever annual report this week, outlining key achievements made by the Secretariat in 2017 and highlighting the work needed in 2018.

“Climate Change is the single biggest threat to life, security and prosperity on Earth,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa in response to the release of the annual report. “This annual report shows how UN Climate Change is doing everything it can to support, encourage and build on the global response to climate change.” Espinosa also explained in the opening of the annual report that “UN Climate Change’s mandate is to lead and support the global community in this international response, with the Paris Agreement and the Convention being the long-term vehicles for united global climate action.”

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Following the work done at COP23, UN Climate Change helped governments make key decisions including the signing of the Talanoa Dialogue which is being billed as a collaborative process intended to review progress toward the global goals of the Paris Climate Agreement ahead of COP24 at the end of this year, set to be held in Katowice, Poland.

“The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, build empathy and to make wise decisions for the collective good,” explains the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. “The process of Talanoa involves the sharing of ideas, skills and experience through storytelling.”

In addition, governments signed the first ever Gender Action Plan, which will aim to increase the participation of women in climate change responses, as well as the first-ever agreement on agriculture and climate and a first-ever platform for indigenous peoples and local communities.

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Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2018/05/02/un-climate-change-secretariat-releases-first-ever-annual-report/

Some highlights from the report;

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UN Climate Change’s mandate is to lead and support the global community in this international response, with the Paris Agreement and the Convention being the long-term vehicles for united global climate action .

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Building on the negotiations over the years, we saw key decisions made by governments, many of which broke new ground. The Talanoa Dialogue, which will inform and inspire Parties as they review their commitments and revise them upwards. The first ever Gender Action Plan, which will increase the participation of women in climate change responses. The first-ever agreement on agriculture and climate, which will address both vulnerabilities and emissions in this key sector. The first-ever platform for indigenous peoples and local communities, who can now share their valuable perspectives on climate change.

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There is much to do in 2018. We need to support Parties to increase pre-2020 action. Those Parties that have not yet done so should ratify the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol.

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The focus in 2017 was both on scaling up action, delivery on commitments before 2020 and on making progress to allow for the adoption of the outcomes of the Paris Agreement work programme at COP 24 in Katowice. By supporting the transfer of climate technology under the Convention based on the right science, tools and knowledge, UN Climate Change supported an increase in the ability of developing countries to adapt to the changing climate.

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The City of Bonn welcomed almost 30,000 people to COP 23, including 25 Heads of State, over 11,000 delegates from Parties and an observer State, and over 9,000 observers from civil society, business and other fields. In a further sign of global commitment, 650 volunteers from more than 80 countries contributed their time. As well as producing decisions and new initiatives, COP 23 witnessed almost USD 1 billion being committed to climate action.

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Accelerating the diffusion of technology

Deploying appropriate climate technology to reduce emissions and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change will have an immense effect on the ability of developing countries to combat climate change, which is why COP 16 established the Technology Mechanism. This Mechanism supports enhanced action on technology development and transfer to support mitigation and adaptation action by developing countries. The early success of the Technology Mechanism has led to a further mandate that it should serve the Paris Agreement.

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To demonstrate what kinds of technology can be included in action plans, the Technology Executive Committee in 2017 launched three publications (see the box) and organized two major events .The special event on innovation and climate change looked at how to stimulate innovation through green finance, policies, regulations and incentives, while the thematic dialogue on industrial energy efficiency and material substitution explored partnerships and programmes on technology solutions for industrial energy efficiency.

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Read more: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/UNClimateChange_annualreport2017_final.pdf

The most toxic component of this effort in my opinion is the push for technology sharing. The UN climate bureaucrats already have your money, now they want your government to gift your intellectual property to the United Nations – though they accept they might have to wait until after 2020 for rich nations to comply with their global community “leadership”.