CVF Climate Survival Leadership Group Statement at the Glasgow Pre-COP in Milan

CVF Climate Survival Leadership Group Statement at the Glasgow Pre-COP in Milan

2 October 2021

In conjunction with the UN Climate Change Preconference 2021, the following statement was released by the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Climate Survival Leadership Group for COP26, itself created with the CVF’s Climate Vulnerables’ Manifesto for COP26 of 7 September 2021:

1. We thank Italy and the UK for providing an in-person forum for governments to take stock of convergence and build momentum for a robust outcome to COP26 in Glasgow. The survival of the 1.2 billion people living in member countries of the CVF, and the safety of people worldwide, depends upon the success of COP26 and its alignment with the achievement of the 1. 5° C goal. Glasgow remains the most important meeting for the future of the planet. Given the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report confirmed the world is locked onto 1.5ºC, which will be reached by 2030, drastic, urgent pre-2030 action is needed to ensure warming is capped there. Climate effects will only grow as 1.5ºC is approached, with some impacts nearly doubling in scale by then, underscoring huge urgency to accelerate adaptation and support for that.
2. With 1.5ºC around the corner, Glasgow must focus on the short term and its success will be measured by whether or not international agreement is reached to place the world firmly on a pathway to 1.5ºC, accelerate adaptation to match with the increasingly dire consequences of a worsening global climate crisis, and rebuild confidence that climate finance and action promises will be firmly delivered on, and are coherent with the mid-century carbon neutrality objective.
3. Following the release of the UNFCCC’s second synthesis report on NDCs, highlighting the major shortfall between the commitments to reduce emissions and a pathway towards 1.5ºC, and the misalignment of virtually all major emitting countries and the G20 from a 1.5ºC pathway, we reiterate at the Precop for Glasgow the need for ambition-raising to become an annual exercise with Annual 2030 Ambition Raising platforms mandated for every single COP yearly until 2025. Especially the major emitting countries, should be urged to come forward at each COP with new 2030 ambition on adaptation and mitigation, over and above their current NDCs.
4. Following new commitments to climate finance from developed countries through the UN General Assembly opening of 2021, we also remain alarmed at the non-delivery of the promised $100 billion in annual, additional climate finance from 2020, which should also be evenly balanced with 50:50 funding for adaptation and mitigation whereas financial support for adaptation continues to be extremely weak. We again urge developed countries to come forward for COP26 with a realistic and urgent Delivery Plan for the $100 billion for the period 2020-2024, for its independent annual monitoring of implementation involving the IMF, and for the COP26 Presidency of the United Kingdom to take full responsibility for the ultimate fulfillment of the 100 billion commitment.
5. These two components of annual 2030 ambition raising and a clear-cut Delivery Plan on the $100 billion from 2020 should form a “Climate Emergency Pact” that COP26 can and should adopt in its outcome, enabling the Glasgow conference to reaffirm confidence in the Paris regime, to keep 1.5ºC alive, accelerate adaptation, and ensure ambitious action enabled through a transformation and strengthening of the climate finance landscape.
6. In addition, we further urge for COP26 to achieve substantial progress on loss and damage including by fully operationalizing the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage in addition to executing existing commitments to the Warsaw International Mechanism, and mandating work that translates to an increase in the level of support to loss and damage. We also reiterate the importance of concluding robust carbon market mechanisms at COP26 consistent with 1.5ºC and providing at least 5% of proceeds for financing the urgent adaptation needs of the most vulnerable nations. Nature-based solutions should also be highlighted, seeing as they can help reduce vulnerabilities and to stabilize the climate. Furthermore, even full and complete delivery on the 100 billion commitment is totally insufficient compared with financing needs of climate action, and we call for urgent efforts towards the mobilization of the necessary trillions and the urgent commencement of a regular process of review of the adequacy of climate finance volumes.
7. We expanded membership in our Leadership Group to include the following further members: HE Shahab Uddin, MP, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of Bangladesh, and H.E. Dr. Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, Minister of Environment of Rwanda.

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CVF CSLG Statement 2 Oct. 2021