Accountability of European Climate Financing to Asia

Sub-regional Conference of Asian-Europe People’s ForumJakarta, June 28-29, 2012

Titi SoentoroAksi – for gender, social and ecological justice

titi.soentoro@gmail.com

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Some facts of climate financing for Asian developing countries

• Asia and Pacific receive the most international climate finance, largely for mitigation

• 2004-2011: USD 1.73 billion for Asian countries• Almost 3,000 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects

in Asia and the Pacific, representing 82% of CDM project portfolio, primarily for hydropower, wind, and biomass energy.

• Most CDM projects and more than half of the climate finance targeting Asia and the Pacific: India and China; far smaller for Bangladesh (USD 18 million) and Sri Lanka (USD 5.7 million), and to the small island states of the Pacific (total nine countries: USD 46 million)

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Main Climate change financiers in Asia

Multilateral financing:• World Bank• Asian Development Bank:• implements projects financed by the CIF and the GEF.• Asia Pacific Carbon Fund (APCF) - advance payments for

carbon credit projects to help co-finance the upfront capital costs of CDM projects

• Lending for energy efficiency and renewable energy• GCCA (Global Climate Change Alliance) of EU: disbursed a

total of USD 32 million

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Bilateral Financing:2010: USD 5.4 billion

Top funding recipients • China (USD 1.09 billion), • India (USD 1.517billion), • Turkey (USD 914 million), and • Indonesia (USD 880 million).

Top financiers: Australia, Germany, the United States, Japan, and Norway

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Source: Climate Funds Update, April 2012 5

Source: Climate Funds Update, April 2012 6

• EU fast start contribution to date: euro 4.68 billion in 2011

• Commitments Euro 7.2 billion for 2010-2012.

Source: European Commission, Climate Actions, 28 November 2011

European Union Commitments

Fast start finance supports immediate action by developing countries to strengthen their resilience to climate change and mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions, including those from deforestation.

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Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)

• Nearly 20% global greenhouse gas emission from deforestation and forest degradation, through agricultural expansion, conversion to pastureland, infrastructure development, destructive logging, fires etc.

• an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.

• “REDD+” goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

• financial flows for REDD+ could reach up to USD 30 billion a year.• a meaningful reduction of carbon emissions, support new, pro-poor

development, help conserve biodiversity and secure vital ecosystem services.

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Strengthening of gender, social and ecological injustices

• Rights to information• Rights to have access to decision making and

control on decision made• Land conflicts and violence: state,

conservation NGOs, paramilitary

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Protest actions by IP Communities and CSOs during the Governors Climate Forum, Palangkaraya, Kalimantan, Indonesia

September 20-22, 2011 10

People’s Demands to Governors Climate Forum in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, September 20-22,

2011 – signed by Indigenous Peoples Communities from Kalimantan, Sumatra and Sulawesi

• Guarantee people’s full involvement and participation in every process and stage of decision making

• Ensure that people’s rights are treated the same as other parties• Respect people’s decision to approve or disapprove• Ensure people’s rights to information• Provide complete and comprehensive information in languages that

they understand without reducing the real meaning• Information provided should cover among others; program,

impacts, finance, implementation plan, monitoring and evaluation

Ignorance to militarization of climate changes projects that potentially increase state violence and human rights violations

• Military and policy presence in village and public consultations particularly in areas of land conflicts

• In contradiction with FPIC (free, prior and informed consent) principles

• Human rights violations during military operations in potential REDD+ areas

• Maintain and Increase power of military in controlling forest, particularly in REDD+ areas

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• No lesson learnt from conflicts areas triggered by conservations through Ecosystem Restoration Concessions

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The Green and Green Alliance

Increasing interventions of Indonesian Military (TNI) into conservation and climate projects

1. Law 34/2004:•Allows military operations beyond war •Optimalization to support relevance ministries to achieve government’s goals, •Integration to village governance in all Indonesian regions that do conservation

 

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2. Cooperation agreement between Indonesian Military (TNI) and Office of Environment Ministry - June 3, 2010:

• Synergy of program Environment Ministry and TNI to boost implementation of sustainable development in protection and management of environment in regard to respective roles and duties.

3. Agreement between Forestry Minister and TNI about forest rehabilitation in conservation forest - March 24, 2011

• A basis for forest rehabilitation in conservation forests and forest protection

• Planning, pre-condition, field preparation, provision of sapling, maintenance, security, monitoring and evaluation

• Forest ministry will provide all neccessary operational costs.

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Accountability for decisions, and policies to finance climate change in Asian developing countries

• Contribution to national development? • Contributes to resolve e.g. land conflicts, illegal logging,

land use changes for extractive industries and plantations, corruption, state violence and human and women’s rights violations?

• Contributes to reduce GGH emissions though changes of live style and industrial pattern in Europe?

• Reduce or eliminate state violence in developing countries against its own people, and improve the fulfillment and protection to human and women’s human rights?

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References:

• Jessica Brown and Leo Pesket, Climate Finance in Indonesia: Lessons for the Future of Public Finance for Climate Change Mitigation, February 2011, at: http://www.edc2020.eu/fileadmin/publications/EDC_2020_-_Working_Paper_No_11_-_Climate_Finance_in_Indonesia.pdf

• Climate Finance Updates at: http://www.climatefundsupdate.org/• European Commission, Climate Actions, 28 November 2011 at:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/clima/mission/index_en.htm • UN-REDD Programme, at:

http://www.un-redd.org/AboutREDD/tabid/582/Default.aspx

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