4 tools to make a Climate Commitment

Have you ever wondered what it must be like to write a Climate Change policy for an entire country?

It must be exhausting. You might start with your electricity grid, but then you have to think about your forests, agriculture and big industrial pollution. Add in all your cars and transport, and then multiply that with a good dose of Adaptation.

No wonder so many countries are so shy to do so.

But I found out there are actually a host of great resources available online to help. With the more than 150 countries - like Australia, Canada, Japan and Trinidad and Tobago - still needing to write their long term Climate Commitments, I thought these 4 lessons to write an INDC or Climate Commitment might help ease the pain…

Get some expert advice

The geographically savvy MAPS team are also on hand to help you out. They have worked with developing countries like South Africa and Chile to create their mitigation plans, and it seems they have been offering some pretty good advice lately.

Their latest webinar included some “on-the-ground” reflections from Chile’s Andres “pretty dishy” Pirazzoli that other negotiators might find especially interesting. Not only does he talk about how Chile has worked with the MAPS team to develop mitigation plans in the past, but how it has affected their post-2020 plans as well.

One of my favourite things about Chile’s planning process has been the way it opened up its process to include ideas from the public. They were one of the first countries to do this, and I have to say, What a great idea. I mean, if you’re going to decide what your country is doing to fight climate change over the next 15 years, why not ask some people about it first.

Though I have heard from our very own Antionieta Dayne that even their process wasn’t without its flaws…

Get your People involved

If you’re going to ask people what they think about your climate commitments, you might need to do some work telling them what that actually means.

Here at Adopt a Negotiator, we have been doing our best. But I think we only hit about 6.5 billion readers this month, so there are still some people who may not know what the INDCs mean.

That’s why the people-oriented-people at PACJA have developed a great guide for non-government people to better understand what exactly is going on. While it’s aimed at Africans, they smartly asked the team at Jubilee South and the Asian Pacific Movement on Debt and Development to help them write it. So it does have some universal lessons to learn.

They have some good info for campaigners, and even include sections specifically on Loss and Damage, Intellectual property, and Capacity Building. It might be pretty standard stuff for those who have been involved all along, but since most people still don’t have a clue what intellectual property rights have to do with cutting down greenhouse gas emissions, its a good reminder.

Saying that…I think I might need a reminder right now.

Use a template

You ready for a headache? Try collecting climate commitments from 192 countries, each with their own baselines and objectives, and then figure out how they can match up.

Well, that’s what’s bound to happen this year. It’s not a bad thing individually. Each country needs their chance to express what they think is important. But I don’t envy the job of Christiana Figueres and the rest of the UNFCCC who will have to figure out a way to use all this information. In case you didn’t see it already, Christina’s in Australia right now having to explain to Tony Abbott’s advisory team that the climate change isn’t a UN conspiracy.

So let’s make her job a little easier.

The team behind the Climate and Development Knowledge Network have made it too easy. They released their Guide to the INDCs that is really like one of those “Dummies guidebooks” to the INDCs. It’s so easy, I’m almost ready to write one myself.

Click on the picture to see just how easy it is…

They have a section on adaptation and long-term goals which is great. They even take some time to highlight the co-benefits between adaptation and mitigation, which is a direction I really think we should be moving closer towards.

They also do something that is great for developing countries looking for financial support - they think you should make all your commitments “action-based”, and they think that you should list both “action-based” projects you are definitely going to do, and include a few more that come with a price tag. So you can say - if you give us the money, this is exactly what we’ll do with it.

They even hosted a great Webinar on how Least Developed Countries can write an INDC in case you don’t feel like reading anymore.

Get Clear on the Issues

The team at World Resources International have been one of the most vocal supporters of the post-2020 climate commitments, and have since been keeping a pretty up-to-date register of their progress. Even their homepage is dedicated to them.

Like me, they think UN jargon can get a little hard to understand. For those who don’t, its pretty easy to get lost in a loophole. Though sometimes its the ones who know the loopholes that you have to watch out for. That’s why they have gone and published an OPEN BOOK on the post-2020 climate commitments.

It’s definitely not a “thrilling read”, but as Mick Jagger described it recently;

“You can’t always get the INDC information you want, but from WRI, you can get what you need.”

They describe the book as “enhancing the transparency of countries’ pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” I think that’s a pretty good idea whoever you are.

Resources

If you want to find CDKN’s guide to the INDCs for Least Developed Countries, you can check it out here. They also hosted a great Webinar on how Least Developed Countries can write an INDC. If you’re looking for the PACJA Handbook on the INDC instead, it’s also available here.

The team at MAPS has also hosted some great Webinars with Latin American negotiators talking about their experience.

The OPEN BOOK on the post-2020 climate commitments from WRI is also a good place to stop in before finishing your post-2020 climate commitment.