Today, Monday 31 May, governments from around the world are resuming the climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany. This includes Ambassador Louise Hand and members of the Australian government negotiating team, many of whom you will be familiar with from our blogs in 2009!
A lot has been written about last December’s Copenhagen climate summit, frustration has been expressed at the lack of progress. Against the disappointment and the frustration of these negotiations you and I know that climate impacts continue to have devastating affects on people’s lives around the world.
While Copenhagen clearly didn’t deliver the global deal our world needs, 2010 does offer us some opportunities to ensure that the limited progress and commitments that were made do reach fruition.
One key area for progress, which will help re-build trust in the international process to fight climate change, is climate finance. At the Copenhagen Climate Summit, world governments pledged to create a ‘Climate Fund’ worth $100Bn per year by 2020 to help developing countries act. This money could help the most vulnerable communities avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
But at the moment this Fund is little more than a name and number. UN negotiators must now agree where the cash is going to come from, how those who need it most will access it, and that the money delivered is above and beyond existing aid commitments.
Just this morning, aid agency Oxfam International released a report “The $100billion questions” which details how this large sum of money can be generated without squeezing extra cash from taxpayers. It also addresses how this money should be spent in order to ensure that it reaches those communities most vulnerable to climate impacts. The solutions are there, what we need now is government action. Read Oxfam Australia’s media release.
This time around neither Phil nor I are on the ground at the meetings. Instead, we will be tracking the negotiations remotely, getting information from our key contacts as well as talking with the Australian government. We’ll be updating you as news comes to hand. And we’ve secured some on ground reporting from guest bloggers who are in Bonn; Georgina Woods (Climate Action Network of Australia) and Rachel Coghlan (World Vision Australia). And of course you can stay up to date here on Adopt A Negotiator.
While it may seem to some that the climate movement has lost some momentum, we know that climate change wont wait while the world negotiates. It’s our role to get back on the horse and let our the government and our negotiators know that Australians still want to see action. Write you ask for action below and we’ll make sure it gets to the Australian negotiating team.
Tracking for you,
Cara (and Phil)
PS. Check out our sister project UN Climate Trackers on A Climate for Change.
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