The Group 77 and China staged a three-hour walk out at the negotiations table on loss and damage mechanism at the Conference of Parties (COP19) early Wednesday. But Bangladesh, a member of the group, is still hopeful that there will be a concrete decision on the issue during this conference that ends tomorrow.
In parallel with the negotiations, the group members are now holding bilateral meetings with the developed nations and blocs who are “sympathetic” about the sufferings of the climate vulnerable countries, most of who are poor.
At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, the Bangladesh delegation gave mixed reaction about the first week negotiations and possible outcomes of the summit, saying that a lot to be done in the last two days and a sense of urgency was needed.
Some countries like Australia are opposing the formulation of the loss and damage mechanism, some say it should be brought under the adaptation fund while the US favours giving aid only. This is a stark shift in stance by the countries even though they had agreed in Doha conference last year about the new mechanism to help the poor and vulnerable countries.
The G77 and China staged the walk out as there was no progress in the talks and the language proposed by some countries which were not acceptable. They were suggesting that the mechanism be kept under the purview of disaster risk reduction mechanism, said Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, a key negotiator of the government delegation.
“Last night [Tuesday], we all agreed that there will be a mechanism and it will deal with adaptation and beyond that. But later they [several developed nations] took a new stance and tried to insert some texts which were not in line with the position of the G77 and China, the LDCs and Bangladesh. So the walk out was staged.
“But later behind the scene talks were on and we returned to the negotiation table,” said Kamrul, who is the president of Bangladesh Environment Journalists' Forum. “Now we are discussing about the functions and modalities of the mechanism,” he added.
On the reservations of Australia and Canada, Asaduzzaman, professorial fellow at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said: “Climate change is an issue in which every country had its stake. If a country thinks when a catastrophe strikes they will not be affected, then they are mistaken totally. I am sure that they will learn the lessons soon.”
Md Shafiqul Islam Patowary, the head of Bangladesh delegation, in his written speech said: “Given the state of changing climate and catastrophic future, adaptation is the immediate and urgent target for Bangladesh.”
On less and damage, he said Bangladesh came to Warsaw with a high expectation that we shall be able to agree on it. Some parties want to see it as part of adaptation. But to address the issues outside adaptation like cyclones, which may displace millions of people for long, the loss and damage mechanism was needed.
He also spoke for the immediate operationalisation of the Green Climate Fund, and before 2020, disbursement of money by the developed countries in the LDC Fund, special climate change fund and the adaptation fund.
Patowary, who is the secretary of environment and forest ministry, also expressed concern over the deferral of talks on agriculture and technology mechanisms.
Opposition against adopting the mechanism was raised after the text was placed at the COP19 on November 12. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the LDCs held a coordination meeting with the African Group and Group 77 and China, and urged the developed countries to disburse $70bn for the climate vulnerable countries between 2014 and 2017 as a fast-track fund.
Munjurul Hannan Khan, spokesperson of the LDCs, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Later in 2017, we’ll tell them how much to give us before 2020 after which the developed nations are pledged-bound to disburse $100bn every year.”
He expressed concern over the impacts of possible disasters to come by 2020 if the funds were not made available for the poor countries.
“The poor countries actually need more than $70bn, but we have been conservative about the amount. We hope that the developed countries will consider our demand because they have historical responsibility, and also common or differentiated responsibility – which is the principle of the UNFCCC,” Munjurul said.