Climate change affects the least developed countries the most The nearly 200 countries that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meet every December at the annual Conference of Parties (COP) to review progress and decide new actions. The COP moves from continent to continent each year with last year (COP24), being Eastern Europe’s turn, the …
Graduating out of LDC status – What Bangladesh should keep in mind
The Least Developed Countries (LDC) group constitutes 47 countries, mostly in Africa and some in Asia (including Bangladesh), officially recognised by the United Nations (UN). Countries belonging to the group are entitled to duty-free access to developed country markets for their goods and are recognised under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the most vulnerable countries …
How Least Developed Countries can become leaders in tackling climate change
The group of Least Developed Countries (LDC) has been negotiating under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for many years and has continuously taken leadership roles at key points. For example, the push for and successful inclusion (against great odds) of the long-term global temperature goal of 1.5 degrees Centigrade in the Paris Agreement in 2015. As …
Low-Carbon Futures in Least Developed Countries
The Paris Agreement emerged at the same time as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which also chart a future of more environmentally friendly development. What separates the Paris Agreement and SDGs from previous climate and development efforts is that they are universal and required of every signatory country. For developing nations, including the 47 least developed countries (LDCs), the Paris …
Understanding the art of negotiation at COP24
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) all the countries meet each year at the annual Conference of Parties (COP) held in December—moving from continent to continent each year to review progress and agree on any new decisions. It is a two-week-long event with the first week dedicated to technical negotiators and the second week to high-level …