Climate

Bilateral Indo-German cooperation has proven to build mutual understanding and trust in finding solutions in international negotiations. Bilateral cooperation experience has provided learning and confidence for various negotiation items at UNFCCC. A fruitful implementation of the Indo-German Solar Partnership would build further evidence for healthy bilateral cooperation and would support implementing the Paris Agreement jointly.

Representing RWE, the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has filed its first response to a civil suit filed by the Peruvian small-scale farmer and mountain guide Saúl Luciano Lliuya. The german firm denies responsibility for climate change impacts in the Peruvian Andes. In the written statement, the lawyers claim that RWE has no liability under German civil law. The claimant Saúl Luciano Lliuya expected such a reaction and is determined to pursue his case at the Essen Regional Court (Germany) in a hearing this autumn with his Hamburg lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen: “RWE needs to take responsibility for its emissions. We in Peru have hardly made any contribution to climate change, but we live with the worst consequences.”

In this blog Lisa Junghans, Policy Advisor for Climate Change, Adaptation & Urban Transformation, discusses the opportunities for cities under the GCF, and how achieving a paradigm shift needs bundled power from all sides.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are a centrepiece of the new global climate regime which was agreed at COP21 in Paris and form the foundation for the pathway towards a low-carbon and climate resilient development. This paper analyses specifically the financial aspects included in the INDCs and aims to contribute towards a definition of comprehensive financing strategies for implementing NDCs. It provides an analytical overview of the financial aspects that have been included in the INDCs submitted so far and provides a discussion of options for financing NDC implementation.

Reliable energy supply is vitally important to meet the growing electricity demand and hence to sustain the socio-economic progress of Morocco. With the kingdom's electricity consumption projected to double by 2025 and to increase more than five times by 2050, substantial investments in additional power generation capacities are required. Faced by the dual challenge of importing 96% of its energy supplies as fossil fuels from abroad, and being highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, Morocco has, therefore, explicitly set low-carbon and climate change resilient development as its strategic development priority.

Within two generations our entire energy system needs to be carbon free for the world to avoid dangerous impacts of climate change. This transformation needs to happen first in developed countries then in all countries soon afterwards. With the majority of the world’s population residing in urban areas releasing more than 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the necessity for cities to take centre stage in addressing climate change is without doubt. Cities are often hotspots of climate vulnerability, hosting masses of marginalised and poor people that have little to resist floods, cyclones, and storms. Experts often talk about the need for an urban transformation towards low carbon and climate resilient development. In practical terms, such a transformation requires a significant makeover and adjustment of urban structures, its organisation, and its residents’ lifestyles.

With its mandate to promote a paradigm shift towards low-emissions and climate-resilient development pathways the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has reached full operationalisation in 2015 and is resourced with over US$ 6bn (with more than 10bn pledged). According to its initial results management framework the GCF aims to achieve a "reduction of emissions from buildings and cities" while at the same time "increasing the resilience of infrastructure and the built environment to climate change threats" (GCF, 2014). However, clear operationalisation pathways for the GCF to reach the subnational level are still lacking to date. This publication offers some suggestions on how to shape the GCF so that its finance flows better suit the needs of cities.

After the adoption of the Paris Agreement all eyes move towards implementing climate action. The Adaptation Fund provides an important function to assist developing countries in measures against climate impacts. Following a civil society perspective this briefing outlines selected talking points on agenda issues of the 27th meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board scheduled for March 2016 in Bonn, Germany.

This is the Climate Finance Advisory Service (CFAS) Daily Briefing.

This is the Climate Finance Advisory Service (CFAS) Daily Briefing. Produced at key meetings and negotiations by the CFAS expert team, the Daily Briefings try to provide a concise, informative update on key discussions that have taken place at each day of the meeting and give an overview of substantive points of action or progress.