FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2019
Madrid, Spain – UN climate talks ended today, delivering an outcome that falls woefully short of meeting the urgency and ambition needed to confront the climate crisis. The agreement, gaveled through on Sunday, adds to rising frustration that world governments have once again have failed to do what is necessary to address the climate crisis and stands stark contrasts against the rising, urgent demands of millions of people who are demonstrating in the streets around the globe calling for climate action. The outcome of COP25 in Madrid demonstrated again that the climate crisis will not be solved by these negotiations alone.
“In 2015 we were told that governments would compensate for their inadequate commitments and meet the expectations of the Paris Agreement by updating their climate action plans to reflect the highest possible level of ambition every 5 years,” says Sébastien Duyck, Senior Attorney at CIEL. “With 11 months remaining, only some of the most vulnerable countries are showing the leadership and responsibility required to keep global temperature rise below 1.5C. This contrasts with the countries and actors most responsible for the climate crisis that have shown they have no intention of solving it. During COP and with great aplomb, the EU announced its Green Deal with a timeline that fails to meet both the urgency and the level of ambition necessary according to the science, and other polluters have also failed so far to deliver credible information regarding their plans to deliver adequate commitments. We cannot afford to wait another five years. Unconscionable delays have accumulated since 1992, and they are being measured in human lives.”
One of the most anticipated outcomes of COP25 was new rules for carbon markets – also known as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. “Despite the pressure to deliver the only remaining part of the Paris Rulebook at COP25, several Parties refused to trade human rights and environmental integrity for carbon markets in Madrid, instead punting the decision to COP26,” says Erika Lennon, Senior Attorney at CIEL. “Getting the rules right on Article 6, including incorporating human rights and environmental safeguards, guaranteeing public participation, and ensuring access to justice, is worth the wait. This delay allows Parties to learn from past mistakes and avoid knowingly condemning communities around the world to human rights violations and environmental damages in the name of carbon offsets in their decision next year.”
“The growing chasm between the negotiations at the COP and the rapid and radical transformation needed to address the climate emergency raises serious questions about the ability of the UNFCCC to meet the climate challenge and its future relevance in efforts to do so. We are out of time, and excuses no longer matter,” says CIEL President Carroll Muffett. “The world has to move, and it has to move now. That movement is happening everywhere–in the streets, in boardrooms, and in courtrooms around the world.” The outcome of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights inquiry – announced during COP25 – revealed that corporations can and should be held legally responsible for their contributions to the climate crisis. Those findings reflect a rising wave of climate litigation against governments and polluters alike. “The message is clear,” said Muffett. “The continued pursuit and support of fossil fuels is creating widespread devastation and gross violations of human rights. And accountability is coming.”
While little progress was made on delivering urgent loss & damage finance, Parties adopted a new Gender Action Plan and the work plan for the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform. “We welcome this news, which makes steps to deliver on promises to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, recognize the value of traditional knowledge, and work toward gender equality in climate action. Every additional delay on climate ambition makes this focus even more needed and urgent,” says Duyck.