Marrakech Climate Conference: Key Outcomes and its Implications to ASEAN

The 22nd session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties to Kyoto Protocol was held in Marrakech in November 2016. The summit was the first meeting conducted to discuss the path ahead and rules for the implementation of Paris Agreement. Despite being overshadowed by the result of the United States’ Presidential election, negotiators had critically managed to agree on several key issues below:

Adaptation

The Marrakech talks had emphasized the significance of providing support for developing countries to enhance their resilience to the impacts of climate change. One of the main instruments that will serve this purpose is the Adaptation Fund. Supported by the pledged from Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Italy, the fund gathered around $81 Million financial commitment. The developed countries’ contribution is far from the pre-agreed pledges of “$100 Billion a year by 2020”. Contrary to the expectation of poor and developing countries, negotiation on the priorities and scope of works of the long awaited Adaptation Fund was deferred with countries agreeing to submit their views by March 2017.

Mitigation: Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)

Paris Agreement is built on the foundation of countries’ voluntary pledges – known as NDC – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Marrakech convention was substantial in developing a road map for negotiators to agree on the “rules of the game” of assessing countries’ achievement. The roadmap lays out series of negotiations until 2018 that will dwell on the technical aspects of the “rulebook”. In 2018, a “facilitative dialogue” will be held to conduct the first global stock takes of carbon emissions. The exercise will inform the next round of countries pledges review in 2023. Emphasis on transparency was critically voiced in Courtesy of Flickr account of Asian Development Bank and used under a creative commons license. 2 Marrakech with the establishment of a new fund to support developing countries’ capacity to monitor, report and verify its NDC attainment.

Outside Negotiation Rooms

Diverse initiatives committed by cities, the private sector, NGOs and other actors have moved the agenda of tackling climate change forward. A new South-South cooperation has formed among 47 of the world’s poorest states under the umbrella of Climate Vulnerable Forum. The Forum jointly expressed their intention of generating 100% of their energy from renewable sources in the future. Another initiative is 2050 Pathways Platform, which was established to assist countries, the private sectors, and local governments to develop long term plans for carbon emissions reduction. According to World Resources Institute report, during the two weeks negotiation 200 companies representing $4.8 trillion worth of businesses have put forward their pledge in reducing carbon emissions by relying on new science and technology.

Implications to ASEAN Priority on Agriculture

Significantly reliant on agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors for the livelihood of millions, Southeast Asian region is vulnerable to impacts of climate change. ASEAN Member States (AMS) were jointly expressed their concerns on the implication of climate change on agriculture. Submitted ahead of the Marrakech talks, the joint statements highlighted the AMS priorities in developing climate smart agriculture methods that will be more resilience to climate impacts. The region has established the ASEAN Climate Resilience Network to foster greater regional collaboration through information exchange and expertise. To mobilize greater funding and support, the network can quickly tap into the proposed Adaptation Fund when the Fund is up and running. Conversely, the UNFCCC and developed countries can help by prioritising agriculture in the climate negotiations, financing and technology transfers programmes and projects. Stronger partnerships with the private sector, NGOs, and local governments have to be fostered by AMS to support them in developing efficient, effective and equitable frameworks and tools for climate smart agriculture. One of the principles of equitability will be in the hard work of mainstreaming gender and socio environmental justice.