cop16

Guest blog: "Loss & damage" and adaptation at COP16

Sandeep Chamling Rai, WWF-International, lead climate adaptation negotiator for WWF
Even with ambitious mitigation and adaptation efforts take us off business-as-usual trajectory with 4+ degrees Celsius there will still be residual loss and damage resulting from climate change impacts due to existing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Impacts such as sea level rise, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, land and forest degradation in many or all cases cannot be prevented. An international mechanism on “Loss and Damage” would address the question of how to compensate for climate impacts that simply cannot be avoided and those that are irrevocable.
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Guest blog: Bridging the water & climate divide

Hannah Stoddart, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Stakeholder Forum
The closing plenary of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) on Saturday 4th December represented a major breakthrough for water in relation to the UNFCCC. Six countries, from across three continents, proposed that water be addressed as an agenda item under the next session of the SBSTA in June 2011.
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The proposal was put forward by Ecuador and Sudan, and supported by Chile, El Salvador, Sierra Leone and Syria. This is the first time that countries have called for water to put on the global climate agenda, and should be seen as a major achievement.

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COP16: Minsterial-presidential high-level panel on water & climate

Program of the High-Level Panel on Water and Climate Change
Mexican Pavilion, Cancunmesse, Cancun, Mexico Wednesday December 8, 9:00 – 11:00
Aims and objectives:
Present the key messages coming from the first week of the Dialogs for Water and Climate (D4WCC), for them to be debated between a select group of decision-makers made up of representatives of national governments, intergovernmental organizations, IFIs and NGOs.
Reinforce the political commitment needed for water-based adaptation to climate change to be formally recognized as a necessary measure to face the growing consequences of climate change, which will further help the climate change adaptation debate.
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COP16: A little progress on water

On Saturday night, a Chilean negotiator saw me at a party and ran over and gave me a huge, celebratory hug. I handed him a huge margarita. We toasted in the name of el Agua. Why would this happen? I can promise it was not my svelte, smooth sense of fashion and style.

The reason is that on Saturday, after long lobbying, Ecuador moved that water be added to the SBSTA under the UN climate group (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC). Six nations stood up with Ecuador. About 10 others were prepared to follow up with that. And, tacitly, many others supported the motion too.

Why does that matter?
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Guest blog: Water begins to enter the UN climate negotiations

Countries Call for Water to be Addressed in the Climate Negotiations
by
Lovisa Selander, SIWI

Over the weekend, six countries from around the world at COP16, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, called for water to be put on the climate agenda. The countries highlighted the fact that climate change stands to have a significant impact on water resources, and stressed the need for further discussions on how this issue can be addressed within the climate framework. Read More...
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COP16: GWP climate-water session

COP 16 Side Event 6 Dec_logos_1000

Side Event at COP16, Cancun, Mexico on 6 December 2010
 
Water, Climate and Development: Linking up Development Agendas and Putting Water Security First
 
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COP16: Dialogs for Water & Climate Change in Cancun

Please accept an invitation to take part in the Dialogs for Water and Climate Change (D4WCC) on the occasion of the COP 16, a series of events organized between December 1st and 6th by a group of partners, led by the National Water Commission of Mexico (CONAGUA), and including specific segments organized by the Mexican Federal Government, the World Bank, UN Water, IDB, and other partners. You will find more information on the events on www.d4wcc.org.mx.
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COP16: Water & Climate Coalition events

Welcome to the Water and Climate Coalition’s Events at COP-16, Cancun Coalition session as part of CONAGUA Dialogues on Water and Climate Change Time: Friday 3rd December, 2.15pm Place: Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Hotel This session, hosted by the Water and Climate Coalition, will make concrete proposals on how the issues raised and addressed in the CONAGUA Water and Climate Dialogues can be translated into political commitments under the UNFCCC. Speakers include: •    Hannah Stoddart/Karin Lexen – Water and Climate Coalition Secretariat •    Hugo Von Meijenfelt, Climate Envoy, Netherlands •    Adrián Fernández, Mexico’s National Ecological Institute •    South Africa Delegation Representative (tbc) •    Civil Society representative (Progressio) Read More...
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COP16 and Global Adaptation Policy: Feliz Navidad for Opportunties in 2010?

The global climate change policy landscape is littered with acronyms and insider language that’s not friendly to newcomers. Additionality, technology transfer, COPs, REDD versus REDD+ (and REDD++)… the terminology is messy and has a steep learning curve that often obscures the actual issues at stake. But these issues are quite important to understand for interested citizens. Here, I’d like to focus on an upcoming opportunity around the international climate change policy meetings scheduled for December in Mexico. This is a long entry, but the issues are complex and non-intuitive. I beg for patience. For those new to climate change policies at a global level, I have provided a simple background paragraph to frame some of the necessary terms.
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An invitation: A dialog on Water and Climate Change in Cancun

Please find attached an invitation to take part in the Dialogs for Water and Climate Change (D4WCC) on the occasion of the COP 16, a series of events organized between December 1st and 6th by a group of partners, led by the National Water Commission of Mexico, and including specific segments organized by the Mexican Federal Government, the World Bank, UN Water, IDB and other partners. You will find more information on the events on   www.d4wcc.org.mx.
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Briefing paper: the road to COP16

WWF-International and GermanWatch have put together a briefing paper assessing the state of global adaptation discussions and the road forward to COP16:
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