TWN Update No. 23: SBI: Parties express disappointment and call for impasse to be resolved

7/28/2019 TWN Update No. 23: SBI: Parties express disappointment and call for impasse to be resolved

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SBI: Parties express disappointment and call forimpasse to be resolved

Geneva, 17 June (Zhenyan Zhu and MeenaRaman) Parties, at the closing plenary of the38th session of the UNFCCCs Subsidiary Bodyon Implementation (SBI), expressed deepdisappointment and concerns that its work could

not be carried out due to the failure to adopt itsagenda. They wanted the impasse to be resolvedprior to the next meeting in Warsaw, Poland inNovember this year.

The final plenary was held on the afternoon ofFriday, 14 June.

Both developed and developing countriesindicated key issues where work did notprogress, which covered loss and damage,adaptation, mitigation, finance, and capacity

building. Developed countries were alsoconcerned that no decision was taken as regardsthe proposal by the UNFCCCs ExecutiveSecretary over the programme budget for theperiod 20142015.

Tuvalu made a strong appeal for egos to beput aside in Warsaw, saying that it was ofsupreme irony that those who were concernedabout procedures made use of procedures tomake the process worse, likening it to a situation

where one crashes the car to show that the seatbelts do not work.

Japan warned that if no solution is found toresolve the impasse before Warsaw, thecredibility of the UNFCCC would be at stake.

The SBI could not conduct any substantive workduring the two weeks of meeting in Bonn, as theRussian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine (RBU)had objected to the adoption of the agenda asproposed by the SBI Chair. The agenda couldnot be adopted due to wrangling over a proposalby the RBU to include a new agenda item.

The loss of two weeks of its work, with manyhundreds of delegates and observers gathered inBonn in frustration, is a blow to the globalclimate negotiations. This has thrown the SBIand the UNFCCC into a crisis of procedure and

possibly of credibility. The SBI is a vitalcomponent of the UNFCCC structure, as itmakes decisions on a wide range of importantissues on implementing the Conventionsprovisions and objectives, and is thus seen as akey action arm of the UNFCCC.

At the beginning of the 14 June session, the SBIChair, Thomasz Chruszczow (Poland), said thebody unfortunately was not able to start its workbecause there was no consensus among Parties

to adopt the agenda. He said that an agenda isthe basis of any work and the objective of thesession was to make significant progress for the19th meeting of the Conference of Parties(COP19) in Warsaw.

He said that in spite of this disappointment, hecalled on Parties to move forward to Warsaw,and not look back. He said since the processbelonged to the Parties, it was only they whocould bring the solution. He noted thatalthough consensus could not be reached on the

SBI agenda, judging by what had been said, heexpressed hope that Parties "will come to

Warsaw with a new spirit of compromise, trust,openness and understanding."

Parties and observers made their closingstatements where they expressed their concernsand disappointment with the failure to start the

work and hoped for a way forward beforeconvening next in Warsaw. (See TWN BonnClimate News Update No.17: SBI process in

crisis; unable to launch work.)Fiji on behalf of G77 and China was deeplyconcerned and disappointed that the session of


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TWN Bonn Update No. 23 17 June 2013

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SBI was not able to commence its work due tothe inability of Parties to agree on the agenda. It

was anxious about the impact of thisdevelopment on the work of SBI and on otherrelevant bodies under the Convention, as well ason the work in Warsaw. It said now is not timefor reprobation and Parties must resist finger

pointing. Instead, said Fiji, we must collectivelyreflect on the methods of our work, especiallythe decision-making processes and the need forgreat consistency and clarity on the interpretationof the Rules of Procedure. The G77 and China

was willing to play its part in contributing tobetter decision making in the UNFCCC processand called on the SBI Chair and other relevantbodies under the Convention and Parties toresolve this impasse, prior to the start of the 39 thsession of the SBI.

The European Union acknowledged thesignificance of the work of SBI for theimplementation of the Convention and its KyotoProtocol (KP). The work in the subsidiary bodies

will be crucial to underpin the progress of the AdHoc Working Group on the Durban Platform(ADP), it said. The SBI continues to have animportant role to support the implementation ofthe current climate regime and underpinsprogress for the future. It said it came to Bonn

hoping to make progress across the SBI agendaespecially the approach to address loss anddamage, improving understanding of mitigationactions through the work programme on thediversity of nationally appropriate mitigationactions of developing countries (NAMAs) andthe 2013-2015 review, etc. In addition, the factthat the budget for the 2014-2015 period has notbeen agreed to presents a major challenge to theSecretariat and has to be addressed as a matter ofurgency at COP 19. It called for a positive work

environment in Warsaw and is ready to discussthe important legal and procedural issues relatedto the decision making (raised by the RBU). Itstressed the importance of looking for a wayforward so we can get straight to work at COP19.

Nauru for theAlliance of Small Island States(AOSIS) said that it is committed to aconstructive discussion on procedure butprocedural issues must not impede thesubstantive work essential to addressing climate

change conducted by the SBI and the otherbodies of the Convention. It called on Partiesand the SBI Chair to resolve the proceduralimpasse before the next session of the SBI.

The failure of the SBI to commence its work hashuge implications for the work on loss anddamage, which is an issue of fundamentalimportance as its members are put in a positionof having to deal with loss and damage fromclimate change impacts that cannot be adaptedto. It said that the survival of our member

nations is in all our hands and this is a graveresponsibility and we must act with the urgencyit demands and establish an internationalmechanism to address loss and damage in

Warsaw. In addition, the entirely avoidable delayin the SBI has also held up crucial discussions onthe 2013-2015 review and considerable workremains. The joint contact group (under the twoUNFCCC subsidiary bodies, the other being theSubsidiary Body on Science and Technological

Advice) on the review must, with the assistance

of the structured expert dialogue, deliverconclusions that lead to immediateimplementation of the action required to meetthe 1.5 degree C temperature target.

Nauru also requested the SBI Chair to assist insecuring a compilation of Non-Annex 1 NationalCommunications with recommendations andoutcomes. On enhanced measuring, reportingand verification (MRV) of developing countrymitigation actions, it said the continuation of the

Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) with anexpanded mandate to cover technical advice andassistance for biennial update reports and thedevelopment and communication of NAMAs

with sufficient resources will still be essential formembers of AOSIS.

On finance, delivering on the obligation forfinancial support is inextricably connected toitems in this line of discussion as well as meetingthe overall objective of the Convention. Onadaptation, it said no progress can be made on

adaptation without adequate, predictable andaccessible funding. On capacity building underthe Convention, it called for a clear process forenhanced action. This should include a way totake action on the results of the capacity buildingreviews and ensure that the Durban Forum oncapacity building is more than just a platform forsharing experiences but one that translateslessons learnt into action.

Mexico on behalf ofEnvironmental Integrity

Group (EIG) said that Parties missed theopportunity to advance the work on the agendaof SBI, such as the diversity of NAMAs, loss anddamage, technologytransfer, review process andbudget for 2014-2015 etc. It said the events of


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the past days spoke loudly about how decisionsare made. It was ready for substantivediscussions on the RBU proposal, including theproposal by Papua New Guinea (PNG) andMexico on the COP agenda. Discussions couldnot simply be postponed with the risk of notbeing able to produce an outcome. A process

was needed if there was none to respond to thechallenges, it added.

(At the Durban COP in 2011, Mexico and PNGsubmitted a proposal to amend Articles 7 and 18of the UNFCCC which would allow for anexception to the consensus rule and to allowdecisions of the COP to be taken by a three-fourths majority, subject to certain exceptions.No agreement was reached in this regard.)

Nepal for the Least Developed Countries

(LDCs) said time, energy and importantresources were lost and hoped this situation willnot lead to deepened mistrust and negativelyimpact the progress of the negotiations underother bodies of this process and outcomesexpected from COP 19 in Warsaw. It wanted aclear indication of how the SBI Chair intended tomanage the SBI work in Warsaw.

Nepal added that the Durban and Dohadecisions had laid the foundation for

implementation of the agreed outcome pursuantto the Bali Action Plan and the issue of NationalAdaptation Plans (NAPs) was among them forLDCs and other developing countries. NAPs arefundamental and Doha agreed on support to beprovided to the LDCs for this matter and theGlobal Environment Facility (GEF) wasrequested to inform the Parties on the way itintended to do so. Nepal wanted to hear theGEF response and for Parties to give it furtherguidance on this matter. It also said the LDCs

were frustrated that they could not discuss thefinance related issues under the SBI. On lossand damage, Nepal believed that theestablishment of an international mechanism ismore appropriate to address this as existinginstitutions could not do so.

Swaziland for the African Group said it wasdisappointed that Parties were unable to discussissues under the SBI. Any delay in advancingnegotiations means delay in implementation andthe inability to discuss the issues in this session

will greatly affect effectiveness in Warsaw.

Colombia for the Independent Alliance ofLatin America and the Caribbean (AILAC)said that precious time should not be lost in

Warsaw and that the situation needed to besolved as soon as possible so that work canproceed. The precedent in Bonn cannot berepeated, it added.

Belarus on behalf of the countries witheconomies in transition including the Russian

Federation, Belarus and Ukraine said that itregretted to note that the result of the SBIsession had not been satisfactory. It explainedthat the RBU made a proposal to introduce anadditional item on the agenda viz. proceduraland legal issues related to decision making by theCOP and CMP, to put an end to the violationsof rules of procedure in the climate talks. It

wanted to ensure there is solid legal footing forParties to work, creating the necessary conditionsfor consistent progress in elaborating a new

comprehensive climate agreement. It claimedthat the three countries have been in aparadoxical situation; this was so as there wasgeneral agreement that the issue they raised isimportant and needed to be discussed but couldnot be included in the agenda. This ran counterto transparency and accountability and as a resultof this unfair approach, an impasse in the work

was reached, said Belarus. It felt that it was rightin making the suggestions. It hoped that time canbe used to find mutually acceptable solutions.

Tuvalu in response to Belarus said that it was ofsupreme irony that those who were concernedabout procedures made use of procedures tomake the process worse, likening it to a situation

where one crashes the car to show that the seatbelts do not work. This, it said, made little senseand added that egos should not be put ahead ofprocess. It hoped that egos do not come to

Warsaw to crash the car again.

The Dominican Republic said Parties are

leaving Bonn with disappointment because therecannot be solidarity if some Parties accumulateriches on the basis of other peoples tragedy. Theonly way to change the current climate crisis hasto be based on brave, wise and timely decisions.It did not want the experience of Bonn to berepeated in Warsaw.

Australia reinforced that the SBI role is criticalthrough the implementation of decisions taken.It said progress is needed in discussions on issuessuch as loss and damage, means of

implementation, review of the CleanDevelopment Mechanism (CDM) and thebudget for the 2014-2015 period. It wasdisappointed that Parties could not collectively


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arrive at a solution to allow SBI to start work. Itsupported an open discussion on the importantissues raised by RBU and urged the Chair duringthe period between now and Warsaw to find asolution.

The United States was dismayed that despite

the efforts made by Parties, the SBI was not ableto begin its work and a number of importantitems could not make progress here. Thesubstance that the RBU Parties raised isimportant, it said. It is important for the Partiesto be recognized and be heard and to also find a

way forward before Warsaw. It hoped for activereflections and conversation between now and

Warsaw among Parties to find the way forwardso that that COP 19 can open smoothly.

Japan expressed its deep concern with the lack

of progress of SBI agenda items such as thebudget, the NAMAs of developing countries,loss and damage, etc. It said the issue raised byRBU was important but there was no consensus.

These matters were hardly understandable tomost of the public in the world and seriousquestions will be raised by the tax payer on whyso much money and time should be spent on thisprocess. It is true that the issue of rules ofprocedure raised by the three countries has longbeen neglected and Parties had shown their

inability to solve the procedural issue. This hascaused damage to reputation of this body. Partieshave a responsibility to find a way out until

Warsaw and if we fail to solve the impasse, thecredibility for the future of the UNFCCC wouldbe damaged.

New Zealand said a good process isfundamental in the UNFCCC and Parties shouldfind the way out before the Warsaw.

Civil society organisations were also invited to

give their views right at the outset of themeeting. The representative of Climate ActionNetwork (CAN) was disappointed that Partieshad not been able to begin reviewing the

adequacy of the global deal in light of the latestscience. He also expected progress towards theestablishment of a mechanism to address lossand damage. He said that politicizing the processin the way some Parties had done was simplyunacceptable. Warsaw will need to put the Iback to this body and deliver on

implementation.

The representative of LDC Watch said thatimportant discussions of consequence for LDCshave been postponed due to procedural blockingof the SBI. In Bonn, Parties missed theopportunity to start the work urged for aredoubling of efforts to work togetherconstructively and substantively to ensure that in

Warsaw, the international mechanism of loss anddamage will be established. The representativeof

the youth constituency, YOUNGO said Partiesneeded to negotiate in good faith, and called forurgent action as nature cannot wait.

The SBI Chair also invited Parties to view avideo with a message from the EnvironmentalMinister of Peru, as host of COP 20. Venezuelaalso made a statement as host of the pre-COPnext year.

The delegate of Venezuela elaborated on theengagement of their late President Hugo Chavez

in environmental issues particularly as regardsclimate change. He said Venezuela could nothost the COP 20 for some reasons but is pleasedto be host for the pre-COP Ministerial and

wanted that event to be one of broad socialinclusion with ministers listening to the voicesand ideas of the common people.

The SBI Chair closed the session, ending with aquote from former South African Archbishop,Desmond Tutu that differences are notintended to separate, to alienate. We are

different precisely in order to realize our need ofone another."

TWN Update No. 23: SBI: Parties express disappointment and call for impasse to be resolved

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