COP 20: We must prepare to count the cost Of delay - IPCC

“The window of opportunity to act on climate change is soon closing. Science offers clear

Rajendra Pachauri

rationale for climate action now” says Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri the chairperson of the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) during the opening ceremony of the twentieth Conference of Parties, also known as COP20 in Lima, the capital of Peru this morning.

According to Rajendra, any further delay will make response to Climate Change too late and too expensive for humanity. He stressed that nearly a quadrupling of low-carbon energy is required by 2050, to address the impact of Climate Change. So, what do we really need to reverse the rising warming of the globe observed in 2014, the hottest year according to IPCC?

Act now. Act with urgency. Failure will condemn developing countries and the extremely poor African peasant farmers to another unchecked generation of suffering extreme weather, frequent floods, droughts and crop failures. Already, little actions taken after COP19 has been greeted with widespread deaths brought about by typhoons and increasing floods on the African continent. According to Oxfam International, 6,000 people were killed and another 4.1 million displaced.
 

COP 20: Opening Ceremony in Pictures

Chair of the African Group of Negotiators addressing the plenary

COP 20 President & Peruvian Environment Minister: Manuel Pulgar-Vidal

Rajendra K Pachauri, IPCC Chair

Africa eyes comprehensive 2015 draft as Lima climate talks begin

By PAMACC team in Lima, Peru

The United Nations Climate Conference opening today in Lima, Peru carries the prospects of putting the world on the pathway to a comprehensive climate agreement in 2015, experts say. 

Amidst cautious optimism, African civil society groups under the umbrella of the Pan-African Climate Justice (PACJA) have called for a draft text to be adopted in Paris next year that will commit countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking at the Pre-UNFCCC COP 20 Consultative Consultative workshop in Lima, Sam Ogallah stated that PACJA’s strength is embedded on the preparedness of the African civil society at all levels to ensure that the New Climate Change Agreement to be concluded in Paris in 2015 is responsive to African aspirations and realities.

Africa to “name and shame” at Lima climate change talks

By Arison TAMFU

In South American country, Peru where delegates around the globe are meeting to negotiate a new blueprint for the world to follow in order to combat climate change, African civil society is categorical on its prime goal.

“We are here to name and shame and also to remind the world that the needs of the African people must be met. Lima should deliver a text that most be agreed on in Paris” declared Samson Ogalla of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), a continental coalition of Civil Society Organizations defending the position of Africa in climate change talks.

“Here in Lima, the call to action on world leaders, delegates, governments, negotiators across the divide have to be louder by Civil Society Organisations. To this course, PACJA remains committed” added Mithika Mwenda, Secretary General of PACJA.

UN Emissions Gap report: World falling short on climate

Pollution

The world still isn't even close to preventing what scientists consider a dangerous level of man-made emissions, a new United Nations report says. Scientists predict that 2014 will rank among the warmest years on record.

Climate change action: Peru or Paris?

By Busani Bafana

Harjeet Singh

The influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC - this week published its Synthesis Report for the Fifth Assessment on the science of climate change, confirming the phenomenon is real and here to stay.

The 40-page synthesis report released in Copenhagen on Nov. 1 is a poser for the climate change negotiations towards a binding agreement expected to be ready in Peru for signing in Paris.

But are policy makers listening who what scientists are saying, one question and others that Busani Bafana put to Harjeet Singh, Actionaid's International Coordinator for Climate change and Disaster Reduction.

Negotiators could be Africa's financial leapfrog in Lima

By Busani Bafana

Yawu Osafu

A united African position and tack could be Africa's decisive cards in unlocking finance for climate change adaptation in Lima, researchers and negotiators say.

Africa is one of the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change which touch food security and economic development. According to the Fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), projections are that under medium scenarios many areas in Africa will exceed a 2 degree Celsius increase by the last two decades of this century which will have big ramifications for agriculture and farmer livelihoods.

Being prepared and forging strategic alliances could help Africa make some gains in Lima where a draft text of a global climate treaty is expected to be shaped in time for the signing, hopefully, of a binding agreement in Paris 2015.