The Paris Rulebook must be inclusive

The guidelines for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change must be “transparent and inclusive”, civil society organisations from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have said. The so-called “Paris Rulebook” is being drafted during the COP 23 conference currently being held in Bonn, Germany. Speaking at a press conference in Bonn on Thursday, Aminul Hoque from EquityBd said a ration rulebook is necessary in order to limit global warming to a 2 degrees Celsius rise by 2100 - the cornerstone of the 2015 Paris Agreement. “Because of the inaction of global leaders on climate change issues, global warming has already reached more than 0.85 degree Celsius and that is already disrupting the weather patterns and the livelihood of vulnerable LDCs,” he said. A group of civil society organisations from different countries including Bangladesh and India were present at the programme. “We are worried about the preparation of the rulebook and its process, because many development agencies and countries have been developing their own rulebooks that benefit their own interests,” said Md Jahangir Hossen Masum from Coastal Development Partnership. “So we urge the Paris Rulebook to be for the people (and) not just a guideline on mitigation.” Hemantha Withanage from the Center for Environmental Justice, Sri Lanka, spoke at the press conference about how to mobilise finance for global warming. “It is necessary to repeatedly remind the developed countries that they have an obligation to put adequate resource into climate financing,” he said. Data says that to reduce the impacts of global warming, the world needs US$50 billion by 2020, and US$100 billion by 2030, annually. “Unfortunately, this money is not coming and people have been suffering. That’s why the big emission countries have to make a big budget for disaster management which undermine real development,” Hemantha Withanage said. “The developed countries should be accountable to ensure adequate finance to mitigate climate risk.”