HVGP at the UN Climate Conference: How can countries raise their climate ambitions?
For the first time HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform, after being granted an observer status to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, took part in the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) in its capacity as Secretariat of Climate Transparency.
The main task of the international negotiations that took place in Katowice (Poland) was to set up a Rulebook, needed to make the Paris Agreement operative. With plenty of rules to be discussed and little time, over 20 000 delegates worked hard to reach a consensus.
Parallel to the official negotiation process, representatives of civil society, media and non-governmental organisations played an active role as organisers of side-events, during which issues related to climate change have been discussed.
HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform as the Secretariat of Climate Transparency co-hosted three side events:
- On 4 December in the EU Pavilion the Emissions Gap report and the Brown to Green report have been present. Following the presentation of key findings of the Emissions Gap report, conducted by Anne Ohlhoff from UNEP DTU and of the Brown to Green Report, given by Niklas Höhne from NewClimate Institute, panelists tried to address questions of how to enhance ambition and accelerate action.
- Who are the G20 climate leaders and laggards? This has been discussed on 5 December in the German Pavilion. Experts from Germany, Brazil and South Africa have debated about how to raise ambition through country comparisons, which the Brown to Green Report provides.
- At an event on 6 December it has been discussed how to make finance flows consistent with Paris objectives and in particular, how to operationalise the Article 2.1 c. Panelist talked about financial policies and regulations, fiscal policy levers, public finance and information instruments, which would make finance consistent with climate goals.
HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform conducted at the same time several other bilateral meetings during COP24, while also monitoring the official negotiations process.