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Climate Change
Since 2009, Small Island Developing States and many others have been calling for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels to prevent the worst of climate change impacts. The inclusion of a 1.5°C temperature limit in the 2015 Paris Agreement was a major victory for vulnerable countries.
Since 2015, #1point5toStayAlive is a Panos Caribbean initiative to help make the Caribbean's case for 1.5°C. |
#1point5toStayAlive Frontpage News
AFP/Yahoo! News: "Latest climate plans worlds away from 1.5C target: UN"
26 october 2021
Countries' latest climate plans will deliver just a tiny percentage of the emissions cuts needed to limit global heating to 1.5C, the United Nations said on Tuesday in a damning assessment ahead of the COP26 climate summit. Just days before the Glasgow meeting, which is being billed as crucial for the long-term viability of the Paris climate deal, the UN's Environment Programme said that national plans to reduce carbon pollution amounted to "weak promises, not yet delivered".
- Category: 1.5°C Press
BBC Podcast: "The Black and the Green"
19 October 2021
'Seriously' podcast series
British-Jamaican audio artist and DJ Weyland McKenzie-Witter explores the sometimes uneasy relationship between the Black and the Green, as political movements and ideas: "As the climate catastrophe becomes worse, the effect it is having on our homelands is something affecting Black people uniquely. With the face of climate activism being so predominantly white, and with Black political attention elsewhere, which voices will be heard?"
- Category: 1.5°C Press
2021 / COP26 : Bringing the fight for climate justice where it really matters for the Caribbean
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Will this be a true landmark moment? COP 26, the next Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been billed as a landmark moment in humanity’s struggle against the impending climate disaster. The disaster is at our doorstep, and this year it has been inside the flooded homes of hundreds of people in Germany and the United Kingdom, inside the burnt houses in Australia’s Blue Mountains, deep into the Californian sequoia forests that succumbed to flames, and has swept across the villages and farms devastated by fire in many countries of southern Europe. For small islands, the disasters have become far too common, with stronger hurricanes, floods, unusually long and extreme droughts, and sea-level rise threatening shorelines.
Climate justice? Should we fight the injustice?
It is largely thanks to Mary Robinson and a few other visionaries around the world, including the Caribbean’s own Dessima Williams, that the linkages between social justice and climate change were first articulated. But nowadays it seems that almost every action, every position, every statement must come under the label of “climate justice”. This is potentially dangerous. It is potentially dangerous because we run the risk of losing the focus on social justice and of diluting the meaning of climate justice. Of course, it always sounds good to talk about justice, it sounds right and progressive; but one cannot fight for justice without fighting against injustice, and we can see many climate-related policies, programmes, projects and investments in the region that do little, if anything, for social justice. So, where is the injustice? It is, first of all, in the fact that it is the poorest and the most vulnerable in our societies who are the most directly and severely affected by climate change. It is in the injustice of poverty and exclusion, including the exclusion of large sectors of society from decision-making. It is in the disproportionate impact of climate change, especially extreme climate events, on women and girls. It is in histories of neglect and racism that have marginalised communities and made them more vulnerable. It is also in the unequal power relations between large and rich countries and those in the Global South that suffer the most from climate change. As we approach COP 26, and in the coming years, we should perhaps be a little more rigorous in our use and understanding of the concept of climate justice, and spend more time and more energy in understanding, denouncing and fighting climate-related injustice. We should avoid sticking the “climate justice” label on any statement, action or project, as if this were enough to give us good conscience and secure funding.
Climate finance, how much and for who?
Late into the night on the final day of COP 15 in Copenhagen, in 2009, 30 countries signed an agreement to provide developing countries USD 100 billion a year by 2020. This commitment was reaffirmed the following year at COP 16 in Cancun, Mexico, through decision 1/CP.16. This decision stated that developed country Parties committed to a goal of jointly mobilising USD 100 billion per year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries. It further stated that the USD 100 billion might come from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources, and that a significant share of new multilateral funding for adaptation should flow through the Green Climate Fund. This commitment was renewed in the Paris Agreement of 2015, but we are now in 2021, and the financing target has not been reached, amid a growing consensus that the proposed amount would in any case be insufficient to support developing countries in meeting their mitigation and adaptation commitments and needs. In recent weeks, many Caribbean and other SIDS voices have therefore reminded the richer countries of these commitments, including a call by CARICOM Ministers for “drastically scaling up and targeting climate finance beyond the 100 billion agreed to in the Paris Agreement to mitigate against and adapt to the impacts of climate change”. For countries and regions that have contributed and are contributing so little to climate change, but are among the main victims of its impact, it is entirely legitimate to claim financing, but some questions remain. How can finance really achieve its purpose? As several organisations, such as the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), have argued and demonstrated with concrete actions and innovative partnerships, finance must reach the local level, as this is how it can have a tangible impact on people's lives. This means that community organisations, national civil society organisations and other non-State actors must be directly involved in defining the financing needs and priorities, in managing funds and in implementing actions. For the Caribbean, this means that the target for climate finance is not simply a question of numbers. It is, perhaps more importantly, a qualitative question, because if finance does not bring tangible benefits to the poorest and the most vulnerable and if it does not empower those who are in the position to facilitate a fair transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient and sustainable economy, we can forget about climate justice.
Financing adaptation, why and what?
The region certainly needs support to assist vulnerable communities and groups in building their resilience to and adapting to climate change, and it deserves compensation for the burden and additional costs accrued from the loss and damage due to the activities of other countries. This means that there is a need for new and dedicated finance to address Loss and Damage, in addition to financing for adaptation. With respect to adaptation, if the objective is to reduce and, if possible, eliminate vulnerabilities, we must ask ourselves what the origins of those vulnerabilities are. Again, it is certainly legitimate for us to claim funding to manage and repair impacts that we are not responsible for, but are we certain that our vulnerabilities only come from the climate change caused by global emissions? Do we have land-use policies and plans that protect our watersheds? And when we have such policies, do we implement them? Do we effectively control the erosion that brings sediments on to our coral reefs and make coastal settlements more vulnerable to sea-level rise and extreme weather events? Do we manage and treat wastewater and avoid the pollution of our coastal waters? Do we have and do we apply adequate building codes and practices, especially in our tourism infrastructure? Do we effectively clamp down on and stop sand mining on our beaches and in our rivers? In our fight for climate justice and in our claims for climate finance, we must demonstrate our own commitments and accept our own responsibilities for the impacts that we now need to cope with. As we approach Glasgow, our messages should not all be outward looking: we must also look at ourselves, and bring the fight for climate justice in our own policies, behaviours, attitudes and actions. If we seriously want to bring the fight for climate justice where it really matters, we must place it at the core of two essential struggles. One is a sustained campaign for international climate justice, recognising that the causes of climate change are global, that only global action can eliminate the causes of that impact, that the special conditions and needs of SIDS must be considered in negotiations, in agreements and commitments, and that all countries must honour the commitments they made, including with respect to financing. The second struggle is the fight for social justice, against poverty and social exclusion; it includes the demand for the recognition of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right, and concerted efforts at national and community levels, in all our countries, to ensure that development policies, programmes, investments and actions do not exacerbate our vulnerability to climate change, and empower us to adapt to and cope with change. - - - Panos Caribbean, 25 October 2021 |
For the powerful countries in the Global North, those that have the largest carbon footprint, the climate disaster is no longer the reality of distant islands and continents or that of a distant future. It is real, and it is now. It would be a shame if the G20 and the COP26 do not reaffirm the fundamental commitments of achieving a carbon-neutral world by mid-century and ensure that temperature increase is capped at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. As stated by Prof. Michael Taylor of the University of the West Indies, “heading to 2°C is too much for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Even at 1.5°C, we are only guaranteed half a chance of a liveable future”.- Category: The Case for 1.5°C
- Read in: FR ES
WORLD INEQUALITY LAB: "CLIMATE CHANGE & THE GLOBAL INEQUALITY OF CARBON EMISSIONS, 1990-2020"
21 OCTOBER 2021
The data shows that the richest 10% of the global population emits nearly 48% of global emissions in 2019, the top 1% emits 17% of the total, whereas the poorest half of the global population emits 12% of global emissions.
- Category: 1.5°C Facts
BBC: "COP26: Document leak reveals nations lobbying to change key climate report"
21 OCTOBER 2021
A huge leak of documents seen by BBC News shows how countries are trying to change a crucial scientific report on how to tackle climate change. The leak reveals Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia are among countries asking the UN to play down the need to move rapidly away from fossil fuels. It also shows some wealthy nations are questioning paying more to poorer states to move to greener technologies. This "lobbying" raises questions for the COP26 climate summit in November.
- Category: 1.5°C Press
THE LANCET: The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future
20 OCTOBER 2021
The Lancet is an independent, international weekly general medical journal
The health impacts of #ClimateChange are worsening in all world regions and exacerbating inequities. At #COP26, decision-makers must show leadership and deliver an equitable, green recovery from COVID-19.
The Lancet Countdown is an international collaboration that independently monitors the health consequences of a changing climate. Publishing updated, new, and improved indicators each year, the Lancet Countdown represents the consensus of leading researchers from 43 academic institutions and UN agencies. The 44 indicators of this report expose an unabated rise in the health impacts of climate change and the current health consequences of the delayed and inconsistent response of countries around the globe—providing a clear imperative for accelerated action that puts the health of people and planet above all else.
→ READ MORE ON THE LANCET'S WEBSITE
- Category: 1.5°C Facts
CARICOM Crystallises its Priorities and Positions for COP 26
17 October 2021
CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY CLIMATE CHANGE CENTRE (CCCCC)
The Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP26) takes place during what the region describes as a historic time with multiple crises and a rapidly closing window of opportunity for an effective global response.
→ READ MORE ON CCCCC'S WEBSITE
- Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies
iDERA: "Survival of Small Islands: Will COP26 Deliver?"
With only a few days left before the start of COP26, the International Development Empowerment and Representation Agency (iDERA) has released a very useful and comprehensive briefing note that presents the main positions and expectations of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in forthcoming negotiations. On 14 October, iDERA and the University of York’s Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI) hosted a webinar during which this note was presented and discussed.
In the invitation to the webinar, the organisers wrote that “there have been many ‘pre-COP’ events, but this one will be different and meaningful. It will not be experts lecturing; nor will it entail the rehashing of national positions; rather it will offer the opportunity for Representatives, Officials, scholars and experts to jointly explore new thinking and approaches that hopefully will contribute to positive outcomes for SIDS, and by extension, the rest of the world”.
This was actually the case, as the discussion chaired by iDERA’s Edwin Laurent produced very concrete and relevant ideas. We are pleased to share and recommend the briefing note, as it is indeed different and meaningful, at a time when too many of the ‘pre-COP’ events and position papers appear satisfied with very general statements and recommendations that are not directly linked to what will be on the negotiating table in Glasgow.
→ DOWNLOAD IDERA'S BRIEFING NOTE, "SURVIVAL OF SMALL ISLANDS: WILL COP26 DELIVER?" (PDF DOCUMENT)
- Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies
The Guardian/Australia Podcast: "An impossible choice: leave your island or fight to stay?"
15 October 2021
THE GUARDIAN'S FULL STORY PODCAST SERIES
In the second part of our special podcast series, we travel across the Pacific to islands in Papua New Guinea where people are being forced to leave due to rising sea levels, and to the tiny nation of Tuvalu where people are fighting to remain. We speak to islanders who have been forced to make devastating decisions due to a climate crisis not of their making
→ LISTEN TO THE PODCAST ON THE GUARDIAN'S WEBSITE
- Category: 1.5°C Press
The Commonwealth: "Inaction at COP26 will cost lives and livelihoods"
12 October 2021
Blog by Gladys Habu, youth climate advocate from the Solomon Islands
I have been advocating for climate action for over half my life and I still do not believe we are doing enough. Instead, what I am seeing is political division.
Our islands are sinking. Our people are being displaced. Our children are going hungry. Our communities are becoming unhealthy and dying.
→ READ & WATCH MORE ON THE COMMONWEALTH'S WEBSITE
- Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies
SKY NEWS: "COP26 is 'make or break' moment for dozens of island nations, Grenada minister says"
14 OCTOBER 2021 - HANNAH THOMAS-PETER, CLIMATE CHANGE CORRESPONDENT
Grenada's minister for climate and environment has told Sky News that the COP26 climate summit is a "make or break" moment for the survival of dozens of island nations.
Simon Stiell said: "I think it's make or break. The support of the international community... is absolutely essential for us, and other developing nations... for our survival. And our right to thrive - survival is such a base term. I want more for my children than just to survive. I want more for my people. I want more for myself than just to survive. We need to be able to thrive."
→ READ AND WATCH MORE ON SKY NEWS
- Category: 1.5°C Press
CASA: "A high ambition agenda for COP26: Costa Rica and Marshall Islands speak up"
13 October 2021
CASA - Climate Ambition Support Alliance
Two leading spokeswomen from the High Ambition Coalition of countries, which is advocating for ambitious outcomes from the UNFCCC talks, have today set out their expectations of what COP26 should deliver for the world.
Andrea Meza Murillo, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, and Tina Stege, Climate Envoy of the Republic of Marshall Islands, today held a joint conference where they underscored that:
The highest-emitting countries must strongly enhance their national climate plans, the Nationally Determined Contributions in advance of COP26;
Finance for climate action must be approached in a holistic, whole-of-economy fashion, in every country;
Respect and preservation of human rights through climate-related actions should be a paramount principle.
- Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies
Climate Central: 180 places threatened by rising sea levels
What will the world be like if temperatures rise by 1.5, 2 and 3°C, leading to an inevitable rise in sea level? This is the question that Climate Central, an NGO working on global warming, has tried to answer, which has modeled the rise in sea levels possible with such a rise in temperature in more than 180 places around the globe.
- Category: 1.5°C Press
- Read in: FR ES
CANARI: "Climate justice, gender and COVID-19 in the Caribbean"
12 October 2021
Ayesha Constable, co-founder of GirlsCARE and guest-blogger for CANARI's “Caribbean Voices for Climate Justice” seriesCaribbean Voices for Climate Justice” series
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for accurate and accessible information to inform public decision-making, similar to what is needed for individual climate action. Similarly, the policy measures taken by government are in line with what is required legislatively to bar actions that drive climate change. In addition, the disparity in access to vaccines by rich and poor countries is analogous to the access to climate finance and technology. If the vaccine scenario serves as a blueprint for the climate experience, then we ought to be very concerned. It is safe to say that measured bilateral support or negotiations will not secure the resources required to build Caribbean country’s resilience to climate change. At some point, the esoteric response to the climate crisis, like that of COVID-19, from a standpoint of diplomacy and consensus, must give way to fairness, equity and justice.
- Category: Voices of the 1.5°C Allies
BARBADOS TODAY: "New UWI climate change think-tank hailed as critical"
8 OCTOBER 2021
The University of the West Indies’ Global Institute for Climate-Smart and Resilient Development (GICSRD) has been hailed as a “critical institution” in the region’s fight against climate change.
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“The GICSRD is a critical institution that will fill the climate educational gap as we seek to transform the region into a climate resilient zone…Now we’re seeing more frequent and more ferocious hurricanes and as a consequence we have to continue to prioritize our adaptation to climate events."
- Category: 1.5°C Press
