Friday, September 2, 2011

Joint Statement of the Eighth BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change

The eighth BASIC Ministerial Meeting  on climate change took  place in Inhotim, Minas Gerais, on the 26th and 27th of August 2011. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Minister of External Relations of Brazil,  Izabella Teixeira, Minister for the Environment of Brazil, Maite Nkoana- Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa as  incoming COP President, Edna Molewa, Minister of Water and  Environmental Affairs of South Africa, Xie Zhenhua, Vice-Chairman of  the National Development and Reform Commission of China, and J.M.  Mauskar, Special Secretary  for  Environment and Forests of India attended the meeting. In line with the “BASIC-plus” approach, Argentina  as chair of the G77 and China was invited.

Durban outcome
Ministers reiterated the importance of achieving a comprehensive,  balanced and ambitious result in Durban in the context of sustainable  development and in accordance with the provisions and principles of the  Convention, in particular the principles of equity and common but  differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and the Bali  Road Map. This result must fully cover negotiations under the two tracks  of the UNFCCC:  the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments  for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto  Protocol (AWG-KP) and  the Ad  Hoc Working Group on Long Term  Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA).  They emphasized that Durban must advance all aspects of the  negotiations, including the establishment of Annex I commitments for the  second commitment period of the  Kyoto Protocol and comparable commitments by non-Kyoto Protocol Annex I parties, the  operationalization of Cancun decisions and  resolving pending issues not  concluded in Cancun. Ministers emphasized the centrality of adaptation  and means of implementation as part of a balanced and comprehensive  outcome. These are elements needed to ensure balance in the completion  of the Bali Road Map and Bali Action Plan. Ministers underlined that
agreeing on the second commitment period is the central priority for  Durban, as failure in this regard  would generate a challenge to  multilateralism and would undermine  the rules based multilateral  response to climate change under the UNFCCC. Ministers reiterated their  support for a transparent and inclusive preparatory process to ensure that  Durban takes a major step forward in working towards the perspective of  a comprehensive, ambitious, fair and effective outcome, ensuring the full,  effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto  Protocol.

Kyoto Protocol 
Ministers reaffirmed that the Kyoto Protocol is a cornerstone of the  climate change regime. They underscored the role of the Kyoto Protocol  in ensuring deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from developed  countries  commensurate with the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate  Change (IPCC) \ assessments and the 2°C goal recognized in Cancun.  They stressed that the continuation of the flexibility mechanisms of the  Kyoto Protocol, in particular the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM),  is contingent upon the establishment of quantified emission reduction  commitments  by Annex I Parties under the second commitment period.  They urged Parties to the Kyoto Protocol to work constructively to ensure  that there is no gap between the first and second commitment periods.  Ministers emphasized that the perspective of Annex I Parties leaving the  Kyoto Protocol to present their mitigation contribution under the AWG- LCA can only be the reflection of reduced political will to cut their  greenhouse gas emissions. It is hardly conceivable that a country would  leave the Kyoto Protocol to do more.  

Pending issues to be concluded
Taking note of India´s submission  of items to be added to the  provisional agenda of the COP, Ministers underlined the importance of  addressing pending issues which  must be advanced in Durban. This is  essential to generate the necessary balance in the climate change  negotiations.

Cancun operationalization
Ministers also called for the early operationalization of all the  institutions agreed to in Cancun, including the registry for  nationally  appropriate mitigation actions and international  support; the Adaptation
Committee; the Technology Executive Committee, Centre and Network; and the Green Climate Fund, which must provide significant means of  implementation for immediate action  to tackle climate change. They
highlighted that the extent to which developing countries can implement  their actions is dependent on the extent to which developed countries  fulfill their commitment to provide  sufficient financing, technological  support and capacity building for both mitigation and adaptation.

Green Climate Fund
Ministers stressed the importance of ensuring appropriate overview  of the Green Climate Fund by the Conference of the Parties, in order to  ensure its adequate management and timely disbursements to developing  countries. They emphasized that  the Transitional Committee should  interact with, and be guided by the AWG-LCA.

Financing
Ministers considered work by BASIC experts on a common  reporting format for rigorous, robust and transparent accounting of finance by Annex I Parties. A common reporting format for finance is a  priority for Durban to enable accounting of performance against the  delivery of the quantified finance target of US$ 100 billion per year by  2020. Ministers also underlined the importance of ensuring the scaling up  of financing up to and beyond 2020. They  reiterated the need to ensure  that accounting of finance by all developed countries be consistent,  complete, comparable, transparent and accurate. Ministers also stressed
the importance of detailed and comprehensive information on fast start  financial flows provided by developed countries, which should be made  available officially. They reaffirmed their view that the UNFCCC
Secretariat should publish information on funding already disbursed  under fast start financing, as this relates to a multilateral commitment.
 
MRV
Ministers also reflected on BASIC expert discussions on  measuring, reporting and verifying Annex I mitigation. They underscored  the need for stringent common accounting rules, with a view to ensuring transparency and comparability of mitigation commitments by all  developed countries. They stressed that the rules of the Kyoto Protocol  are the reference for the efforts undertaken by all developed countries in this area. They expressed the  importance of operationalizing the  transparency arrangements by developing countries, based on existing  provisions under the Convention. They pointed out the robust  contribution already offered by developing countries in emission  reductions, which demonstrates a higher  level of effort in comparison to  mitigation by developed country Parties.

 Equitable access to sustainable development
Ministers welcomed the work undertaken by BASIC experts on “a  framework for equitable access to sustainable development”, as requested  at the 6th BASIC Ministerial Meeting. This work will serve as a valuable  contribution to the body of scientific knowledge informing policy  development.

 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+)
 Ministers recognized the importance of enhancing action to reduce  emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, enhance removals  by forests and sustainable forestry management practices, on the basis of
scaled up international financing and technology transfer. They also  underlined important additional benefits that REDD+ can offer to  sustainable development in areas such as biodiversity protection.

 Dangers of unilateralism
 Ministers expressed their concern with unilateral climate change  measures, planned or implemented, which generate negative impacts on  other countries. They expressed their strong concern with the decision of  the European Union to include the aviation sector in the EU Emission  Trading System, including flights to and from its territory by non- european companies
  
 G77 and China
Ministers emphasized the importance of G77 and China unity and  its key role in climate change  negotiations. They noted the clear  demonstrations by the G77 and China of leadership  and willingness to contribute to a strong global effort. They decided to maintain the  “BASIC-plus” approach, in order to enhance the transparency of its  meetings. They also praised the  role played by the South African  incoming COP Presidency and its efforts to organize inclusive, high-level  consultations on climate change, which will contribute to a successful and  ambitious outcome in Durban.

Rio +20
The Ministers also had an opportunity to discuss the perspective  for the Rio+20 Conference in 2012. In this regard, they stressed the  important role of BASIC countries in ensuring success of Rio+20, as well  as the Durban Conference on Climate Change and the New Delhi  Conference on Biodiversity. This is a clear sign of their firm commitment  to advance multilateral solutions to global problems.
 
Ninth Meeting of Ministers
Ministers welcomed the offer  of China to host the Ninth BASIC  Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change on the 31st  of October and the 1st of November. A meeting of experts will be held alongside this Ministerial meeting.

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