Source: UNFCCC
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5A2ordxttw
Date: 30/05/2014
Event: Christiana Figueres: "Every small, simple action helps, especially now"
Attribution: UNFCCC
People:
Christiana Figueres: Hello, everyone. I'm really glad you clicked through to this video, and hope that you enjoy the info-rich newsletter the Secretariat staff have worked so hard to produce. And while the newsletter contains a lot of great information that will keep you up to speed on the latest in the climate talks, one thing it may not show is the buzz emerging around this June session.
Now I know it is hard to believe, as the June session typically takes us incrementally closer to the COP conferences, paving the way for the success seen over recent years. But this June session is different. Not only does it come at a time when every incremental inch towards a stronger draft agreement on the table at COP20 in Lima in December is important, it has exciting potential to turn small steps into sizable strides.
This is because the June session this year will look and feel a lot different from previous years, with three new components that are poised to move the climate talks forward faster.
First, there will be a ministerial-level meeting designed to provide guidance, confidence and further impetus for governments working on their national contributions to the new universal climate change agreement slated for Paris in 2015. Ministers will also meet to advance the implementation of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, as well as accelerate other emission reduction efforts - important steps in building trust among nations.
Second, there will be a forum for cities to weigh in on climate policy that safeguards their future as engines of economic growth. These policies, such as investment in resilient infrastructure and mitigation solutions, help communities adapt to climate impacts and meet growing energy needs, while protecting air quality or water supply,
Third, there will be technical expert meetings on both land use and urbanisation. These meetings will focus both on curbing emissions in forests and agriculture outside the city limits and on tapping the huge emission reduction potential inside the city limits. These follow the technical expert meetings on renewable energy and energy efficiency held in March. Together they represent actionable options, to curb emissions and build resilience, that are available to governments today. They are a policy menu that can move pre-2020 ambition forward.
These three new elements offer real solutions to the challenges many countries face, as they look to enable social and economic growth that is also low-carbon and sustainable. The fact that these new elements are mandated by parties also demonstrates willingness to work towards a new universal climate change agreement that is, above all else, meaningful.
While the details of what will make the new agreement meaningful are still being settled within the talks themselves, from a broad perspective the agreement will be meaningful if it is an enabling force in putting the world squarely on course to meet the internationally-agreed goal of limiting warming to less than 2 degrees Centrigrade, which means bending the global emissions curve this decade and taking us to a carbon-neutral global economy in the second half of this century.
The June session is exciting because it is a step closer to turning these aspirations into achievements. The June session opens the door for bold announcements by heads of state and leaders of industry at the Secretary-General's climate summit in New York, and it prepares the ground for a strong draft agreement in Lima.
But this session, like the new agreement itself, can only be meaningful if we make it meaningful. So I ask all of you who are coming to Bonn to make it meaningful. Come with open minds and an eagerness to roll up your sleeves and get to work. And I ask those of you who cannot attend to make one meaningful action on climate change. If you can't put a solar panel on your roof, choose another responsible action you can take. Every small, simple action helps, especially now.
That's why we're making it really easy to get involved, by putting great information on the unfccc.int website and Twitter and Facebook for World Environment Day on June 5th, and throughout the June session.
Friends and colleagues, this June session comes with a bit of a buzz and excitement in the air, as governments are doing things a bit differently this time. Let's make the most of this opportunity and take the world one step closer to a brighter future for everyone. Thank you.