Financing
75. Financing is central to achieving an agreement at Copenhagen and requires mobilisation of significant financial resources, both public and private. Given its capacity to innovate, the private sector should play a pivotal role in financing investments in new technologies. Public resources should therefore seek to leverage private-sector financing, to support research, development and demonstration of low carbon technologies in order to accelerate the development and deployment of early stage technologies, and to aid implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies in developing countries. To promote concerted efforts on technology and financing, we:
a) strive for greater predictability of international support and affirm our intention to contribute our fair share, in the context of an ambitious deal in Copenhagen;
b) affirm that all countries, except Least Developed Countries (LDCs), should participate in the financial effort to tackle climate change, according to criteria to be agreed, and we support consideration of the proposal by Mexico;
c) call for the elaboration and implementation of an effective financial arrangement to support the post-2012 regime. We underline that mobilizing financing for developing countries, through a broad range of financial sources, including financial assistance, is required for adaptation and mitigation, and to facilitate the transition to low-carbon economies. Financial support needs to be efficient, effective and equitable and therefore linked to results in terms of emission reductions and adaptation actions;
d) will work to ensure that the governance of mechanisms disbursing funds is transparent, fair, effective, efficient, and of balanced representation among developed and developing countries. We stress the importance of building on existing instruments and institutions, such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), multilateral development banks, adaptation funds and bilateral assistance agencies and the Climate Investment Funds (Strategic Climate Fund and Clean Technology Fund);
e) promote public-private partnerships, in order to facilitate targeted and efficient investments in research, development, deployment and diffusion of clean technologies, while mobilising additional resources from the private sector.
Adaptation
76. Recognising that even implementing ambitious mitigation steps will not avoid further climate impacts, we will define and implement effective adaptation and capacity building policies. We are deeply concerned about the consequences of climate change on development, ecosystem services, water and food security, agricultural output, forests, health and sanitation, particularly for LDCs and SIDS, but also for the poor and most vulnerable in all countries. We underline the possible security implications of the adverse impact of climate change and the potential for increased conflicts over scarcer resources. We will address these issues in a spirit of partnership between developed and developing countries and confirm our commitment to effectively address adaptation in the Copenhagen agreement. We will, in addition:
a) mainstream effective adaptation strategies and risk assessments into international cooperation programmes and assist developing States in integrating adaptation efforts into national development plans and policies;
b) significantly increase consideration of the role of ecosystems in adaptation measures, with a view to improving resilience of ecosystems, reducing vulnerability and underpinning new and sustainable growth models;
c) strengthen knowledge networks for adaptation and support for research and capacity building related to vulnerability and impact assessments as well as planning and implementation of adaptation measures;
d) address the need for financing for adaptation through appropriate bilateral and multilateral mechanisms.
Natural disasters
77. To address the increased threats of natural disasters and extreme weather phenomena caused by climate change, such as increased flooding, storm surges, droughts and forest fires, we will act to improve risk preparedness, prevention, monitoring and response times, particularly in developing countries, by:
a) defining common guidelines for disaster prevention and management to be used in developing national plans, in collaboration with the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), building on the Hyogo Framework for Action and on national experiences, as well as improving management of risks, awareness raising and training of the population and civil protection real-time response, such as logistical support for emergency situations;
b) supporting the ongoing work on the development of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).
Forests and land degradation
78. Aware that deforestation accounts for approximately 20% of annual CO2 emissions, and that forests are an essential repository of biological diversity and key to the livelihoods and rights of many people, we remain engaged in seeking the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and in further promoting sustainable forest management globally. We will:
a) support the development of positive incentives in particular for developing countries to promote emission reductions through actions to reduce deforestation and forest degradation. Considering that these measures will provide tangible results only in the medium term, it is also crucial to undertake early action initiatives to urgently tackle drivers of deforestation, and we will cooperate to identify innovative instruments in this respect, including through initiatives such as UN programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and the Informal Working Group on Interim Finance for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (IWG-IFR);
b) continue to support efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks, as set out in the Bali Action Plan. We continue to support REDD and will consider the inclusion of financial mechanisms within the future global agreement on climate change;
c) encourage cooperation and the use of synergies between the UNFCCC and other international forest-related processes, and promote national strategies developed in collaboration with relevant players, including governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, civil society groups and the private sector;
d) enhance cooperation with partner countries to combat illegal logging and trade in illegally-harvested timber, in accordance with our obligations under international agreements and building on our previous commitments and actions, including those under the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) processes. We reaffirm our intention to promote transparent timber markets and trade in legal and sustainably produced timber. In that regard, we will follow up, where appropriate, with concrete actions on the preliminary list of options presented in 2008 by the G8 Forest Experts Report on Illegal Logging;
e) reinforce international cooperation and information sharing for sustainable forest management, including use of forest resources, prevention and management of forest fires and monitoring of pests and diseases.
79. We are deeply concerned about desertification and land degradation in drylands, as both causes and consequences of climate change. Acknowledging the substantial impacts of these phenomena on human well-being, poverty, food security and the environment, we recognise the efforts of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and call upon the Parties and existing funding mechanisms to strengthen synergies among the Rio Conventions in the implementation of selected projects. Furthermore, we will work with developing country partners to integrate effective Sustainable Land Management (SLM) into relevant cooperation programmes and assist them in integrating SLM into national development plans policies and national climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
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