The issue of loss and damage from climate change has been a very politically contentious issue in the international negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since its beginning. The reason is that developed countries did not want to acknowledge ‘loss and damage’, as they feared it would lead to claims of liability and compensation. Thus,for …
Vulnerable countries take the lead in commitments
During the first half of the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco, in November, the result of the US presidential elections fell on us like a bombshell, first because it was so unexpected, and more so because of Mr. Trump’s previous statements questioning the existence of human induced …
Finally moving from negotiations to action
The 22nd Conference of Parties (COP22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Marrakech, Morocco, came to an end on November 18 with the adoption of the Marrakech Call for Action to implement the Paris Agreement which was adopted at COP21 a year ago and came into force in Marrakech. This marks a very significant …
Bangladesh’s role in the climate change negotiations
Prime Minister Hasina is now in Marrakech, Morocco, for the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She was invited, along with other heads of government and ministers, by the King of Morocco to attend the opening of the first meeting of Parties to the Paris Agreement here on November 15. In …
Paris Agreement on Climate Change revs up
The morning of last Monday in Marrakech, Laurent Fabius, the Environment Minister of France, who was president of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) since last December, handed over the presidency to Hakima El Haite, the Environment Minister of Morocco. She has now taken over as President of COP22 here in Marrakech. This …
Paris deal execution planning starts
The Paris Agreement to tackle climate change which was achieved at the 21st Conference of Parties in Paris, France last December has been ratified by well over fifty-five countries accounting for over 55% of global emissions (the two thresholds that need to be achieved for the agreement to go into force as international law). It thus went into force on …
Asia-Pacific nations want concrete action at COP22
Delegates from Asia-Pacific nations attending the just-opened 22nd session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakesh plan to push for concrete action to implement the previous session’s Paris Agreement, which formally went into effect on 4 November. “This Conference of the Parties is going to see the Paris Agreement come …
New approach to climate policy
With the activation of the Paris Agreement, the issue of loss and damage becomes a central tenet of international climate governance. The UN climate body is now committed to address the impacts of climate change that go beyond adaptation. These include everything from islands sinking in the Pacific Ocean to infrastructure damage during cyclones. This is somewhat surprising given how …
The Paris Agreement and the challenges for climate change policy regime
The historic Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 entered into force yesterday and is now legally binding. The agreement represents an immense triumph for global diplomacy, since it was ratified by 92 countries in less than a year’s time, including some of the world’s biggest emitters such as China, India, and the US. The Agreement has been hailed “historic” as it …
Role of parliamentarians in tackling climate change
I have just been to Geneva, Switzerland where I was invited to speak at the General Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) on the role of parliamentarians in tackling climate change. The IPU is the oldest and biggest union of parliamentarians from all the world’s parliaments and its current President is Bangladeshi parliamentarian Saber Hossain Choudhury. There are four …