Oxfam response to Bonn Intercessionals climate negotiations

Published: 23rd October 2015

Following the last round of climate negotiations in Bonn before the UN climate talks in Paris, Oxfam’s senior policy adviser Romain Benicchio said:

“Negotiators have given themselves the tools to build a stronger deal in Paris, but governments must now put them to good use.

“Rich country negotiators need to go back to their Prime Ministers and Presidents and explain that new commitments of climate funding, especially to help poor communities cope with climate change, will be needed to broker the strongest deal.

“Oxfam will continue to press for a climate deal for the world’s poorest people. Exclusion of civil society from the process that has characterized the meeting in Bonn must not be a precedent for Paris.”

Notes to editors

Background:

The text at the end of a week’s negotiations in Bonn is an improvement to the one that co-chairs presented at the beginning of the month. The text is the basis for the long-awaited climate deal in Paris. It now includes the different options that countries want to see in the deal, meaning that the debate can be based on real issues that matter to different countries and blocs. Had this not happened, the text would have ignored a number of key issues, making for a weaker climate deal at the end of the year.

Key elements of securing a fair and ambitious deal for poor people now feature in the text. This includes commitments on climate finance, adaptation and loss and damage.  In some instances, such as climate finance and loss and damage, there are polarized views. Oxfam is calling for world leaders and ministers to take advantage of the Pre-COP meeting (8-10 November), the G20 (15-16 November) and when world leaders meet in Paris on the opening day of the talks (30 November) to bridge these differences. Their political weight is needed to get the best climate deal for everyone.

Negotiations at Bonn happened behind closed doors, despite developing countries arguing for civil society to be included as usual to ensure that the process was transparent. The matter was brought to the attention of country delegations and the UNFCCC. Civil Society is sometimes excluded when it is felt that the process can be carried out more effectively, but it is unusual for this to be the case during a whole intercessional.

There is still a lot to play for in Paris. Oxfam will be calling for all countries to do their fair share in tackling climate change. Oxfam will be pushing for a mechanism to ratchet up emissions reductions every five years, starting before 2020, and for rich countries to both deliver on their $100bn a year in climate finance by 2020 and commit to providing more as part of the Paris deal. It is crucial that at least half of all climate finance goes to adaptation to address the woeful shortage in funds to help poor communities protect themselves from the gathering pace of climate change and develop in a low carbon way.

Contact information

For more information contact

Lucy Brinicombe lbrinicombe@oxfam.org.uk / +44 (0)7786 110054 or

Sarah Rousselsrousell@oxfamfrance.org / +33 (0)6 51 15 54 38

For updates, please follow @Oxfam.