• The Honourable Arnold Foote, President of the World Federation of Consuls;
• Honourable Aykut Eken, Secretary General FICAC;
• H.E. Ambassador Paul Robotham, Jamaica
• Directors of FICAC – Latin America & Caribbean Region
• Members of the Diplomatic and Consular Community;
• Distinguished delegates; Ladies and Gentlemen. A very good afternoon to all of you.
It is my privilege to be here with you all at your regional conference on Latin America and Caribbean Cooperation. I would like to congratulate the World Federation of Consuls and its global network on its laudable efforts to share experiences and co-ordinate efforts to enhance effectiveness of the Consul – the oldest institution serving International bilateral relations. That is quite a distinction! I congratulate FICAC on the very important conference initiative – Latin America and Caribbean Cooperation. It is also worth noting that FICAC has enjoyed the status of a United Nations NGO (ECOSOC Observer) since 1993.
I am grateful to your President, the Honourable Arnold Foote for providing me an opportunity to contribute to your discussions. I plan to share my thoughts on a colossal threat to human development viz.: climate change, and how to tackle it. Addressing climate change confronts governments with difficult choices as it involves complex issues of ethics, distributional equity across nations and generations, economics, technology and personal behaviour.
And, it requires global cooperation – in fact cooperation amongst all and at all levels. While the humanity is a part of an interdependent ecosphere, we live in a deeply divided world.
UNDP’s 2007/2008 Human Development Report described Climate Change as the defining human development issue of our generation. Since its first report in 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has continued to provide compelling scientific evidence of clear human influence on the climate system. The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide (known as greenhouse gases (GHGs) have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years mostly because of human activity. This, in turn has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.
Recently, the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released last year reported that the climate is already changing and the impacts are already being felt. And, further climate change is inevitable in the coming decades. The scientists have reported, and I quote “Climate change – once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present”. And, commenting on the same Report the New York Times wrote in a front page story [in May 6, 2014]: “the effects of human-induced climate change are being felt in every corner of the United States with water growing scarcer in dry regions, torrential rains increasing in wet regions, heat waves becoming more common and more severe, wildfires growing worse, and forests dying under assault from heat-loving insects.”
The physical effects of climate change have serious consequences for people across the world and it poses an existential threat to some of the small island developing states (SIDS). Business as usual is not an option as shocking signs are already visible of what may be in store. The adverse impacts of climate change will lead to massive upheavals, increased frequency and severity of floods, water shortages and droughts, more unpredictable weather patterns; frequent storms and weather related disasters, more intense heat waves, decreased agricultural productivity and rising food insecurity.
By affecting livelihoods, coastal settlements, infrastructure, ecosystems, and quality and incidence of vector bone diseases, climate change will progressively threaten economic growth and economic security in complex ways in Latin America, SIDS and across the world.
In Jamaica we can relate to the above sentiments evidenced by for example, hotter summers, intense drought and reduced water levels in the reservoirs. While such changes have been attributed to an average warming of less than 2 degrees F in the past century, we can well imagine the scenario of the temperatures exceeding 10 degrees F by the end of the century, if carbon dioxide and methane continue to escalate at a rapid pace. And, that is indeed a conceivable situation.
Climate change is an unparalleled threat. While no country is immune to the impacts of climate change, the distribution of impacts will be unequal, with the poorest and most vulnerable people and countries facing the gravest consequences.
Aptly the debate on climate change has shifted from whether or not the world is warming or whether or not human induced climate change is responsible for how to tackle the problem. The principle of cross-generational equity is the core of the concept of sustainability and climate change is an integral element of the foundation of sustainable development.
As the Nobel Prize winning economist and philosopher Amartya Sen has argued, human development does not differentiate between the present and the future. There is no long term trade-off between climate change mitigation and the development of human capabilities. Combating climate change with well defined policies will reflect a commitment to expand the substantive freedoms that people enjoy today without compromising the ability of future generations to build on those freedoms.
The moral imperative to tackle climate change is imbedded in global and local interdependence and therefore on stewardship, social justice and ethical responsibility. For instance, all the energy I use in my condominium in Brooklyn – be it lighting, heating or air conditioning is linked through the global climate system to some of the world’s most vulnerable people as well as to their and my own children and grand-children. Accordingly, as the HDR highlighted “allowing the world’s poor to bear the brunt of a climate change problem that they did not create would point to a high level of tolerance for inequality and injustice.”
Nearly 15% of the global population continues to live in extreme poverty (less than $1.25/day) with a majority of them reliant on climate sensitive livelihoods and environments. Increasingly, extreme and costly natural disasters are wiping out the hard fought gains of poor households and communities thereby aggravating inequalities. As per the World Bank, more than 18,000 natural disasters worth nearly $3800b in economic loss and claiming 1.4m lives were reported between 1980 and 2012. And, as you know, nearly 70% of the poor people globally live in Middle Income Countries that have a greater inequality compared to low income countries and high income countries.
The Caribbean islands are small in size; frequently geographically dispersed and isolated from the markets and have limited resources. While these islands are economically disadvantaged and face environmental problems and challenges of coastal zones, they are increasingly being classified as MICs and Upper MICs.
In fact, most of the countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region are MICs with the exception of Haiti. The more we disrupt our climate, the greater is the risk for severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts. We still have the possibility to stay within the internationally agreed ceiling of a less the 2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise – a window of opportunity that will close fast under a business-as-usual scenario and no action.
And, importantly the time for this transformational change is now as we have the means to limit climate change and build a more inclusive, prosperous and sustainable future. It would be necessary to ensure coherence through an integrated approach across poverty eradication, disaster reduction, and climate agendas. This includes low emission and climate resilient development to build inclusive, resilient, equitable and healthier societies. Achieving that coherence is a necessary condition for sustainable development.
Equally importantly this has to be a collective action that should include all of society and all countries. In the words of our Secretary General, Mr. Ban ki-Moon, “Climate change affects us all. It is an issue for all people, all businesses, all governments”. And, nationally in Jamaica, Minster Robert Pickersgill, Minster for Water, Land, Climate Change and Environment has a fitting message that “with climate change we must change”.
We are already witnessing the growing awareness for the need for action against climate change among the general public globally. On September 21 hundreds of thousands of people crowded the streets for the People’s Climate March in New York City and we witnessed a similar commitment for the eco-social movement from Mumbai to Melbourne.
2014 was a crucial year for climate change issues at the global level. The SIDS ACCELERATED MODALITIES OF ACTION [S.A.M.O.A.] Pathway arising out of the recent UN Conference on SIDS (1-4 Sept.) reaffirmed the importance of freedom, peace and security, right to development, and the right to an adequate standard of living for all, reducing inequalities and the special vulnerabilities and challenges of Small Island States in relation to Climate Change.
23 September 2014 was indeed a historic day – when UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon hosted the 2014 climate Summit to catalyze climate action by raising political momentum for a meaningful universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015. It represented one of the largest gatherings of world’s leaders from Governments, business, finance and civil society committed to crystallize a global vision for low-carbon economic growth and galvanize transformative action in all countries to reduce emissions and build resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change.
While recognizing that building resilience – both climate and financial – is a smart and essential investment, the Summit delivered on their mandate for bold announcements in 5 key areas, viz; cutting emissions; mobilizing money and markets; pricing carbon; strengthening resilience ; and mobilizing new coalitions. The outputs highlight several valuable and constructive steps forward.
In addition to commitments by several countries to take national actions consistent with a less than 2 degree pathway, leaders of the oil and gas industry, along with national Governments and civil society organisations have pledged to identify and reduce methane emissions by 2020.
New coalitions were announced in the areas of forestry, energy efficiency and transportation and a new alliance of governments, business, finance, multilateral development banks and civil society leaders have pledged to mobilize upwards of $200 billion to finance low-carbon and climate-resilient development.
The leaders strongly support the Green Climate Fund calling for the Fund’s initial capitalization at an amount no less than $10 billion with $2.3 billion pledged at the Summit and additional committed contributions by November 2014.
Private banks announced that they would issue $20 b of Green Bonds and double the market to $50 b by 2015. The insurance industry committed to double its green investments to $82 billion by the same date in 2015. And, a coalition of institutional investors committed to decarbonize $100 b by December 2015 and to measure and disclose the carbon footprint of at least $500 b in investments by 2015. Additionally, leaders from pension funds committed to decarbonising investments worth $100 billion and disclosing the carbon footprint of investments worth $500 billion.
International support was recognized for the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States that are most at risk, have escalating adaptation needs and need most international support. The Leaders agreed to strengthen and scale up the risk financing mechanisms for Africa and the Caribbean.
The SG’s climate Summit while successfully demonstrating climate change as a top priority for the global leaders, also tried to define the way forward to Lima, Paris and beyond. Even though The Lima Call for Climate Action adopted at the 20th Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change does enough to keep the negotiations on track and heading in the desirable direction, it is generally felt that it fell short of what many had hoped it would deliver.
The effort that will be required to arrive at a meaningful universal climate agreement in Paris is undoubtedly greater now than it could have been. And, these efforts will need to go beyond the Conference of the Parties negotiations and must include strong civil society voices including those from the private sector and those of the people who took to streets at the time of New York summit and in Lima. On December 10, 2014 Lima was the site of the largest climate demonstration ever in Latin America with over 20,000 participants from all parts of society.
2015 is therefore a crucial year for advancing climate action and sustainable development. The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March in Japan to determine the succession to the Hyogo Framework on DRR will be followed by the Third UN Conference on Financing for Development that will be held in Addis Ababa. Its success is vital to arrive at an agreement to an ambitious post-2015 development agenda. And, as we all recognize climate finance cannot be separated from development finance. At the September UN General Assembly, world leaders are expected to agree on the universal post-2015 agenda and sustainable development goals that are inclusive and provide opportunities of progress and a life of dignity for all. All these global endeavors provide us an effective contextual and solution-based framework to finalize a new global climate agreement in Paris at the end of this year.
Development choices impact disaster risk – positively or negatively, depending in large part on the kind of development preferences. Given that the inclusiveness of a development pathway determines the intensity and magnitude of the damages caused by disasters and hazards on people and economies, an unambiguous move towards managing risk, building resilience and strengthening preparedness is not a coincidence; it is a thoughtful choice manifested in the selected development pathway.
In its absence, the scientific evidence confirms that the adverse impacts of climate change will grow and have a devastating effect on inclusive and equitable development.
It would also be important that the new climate agreement builds upon rights based approaches that focus on all people achieving at least the minimum conditions for living with dignity, through the realization of their human rights.
Such solutions will require strong partnerships across the public and private sectors and civil society including those that facilitate South-South and Triangular cooperation. Progressively more experiences are available to tackle climate change through South-South cooperation.
In the words of the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon “Our mission is to build a better world. To leave no one behind. To stand for the poorest and the most vulnerable in the name of global peace and social justice.” And, future generations will judge our action on the issue of climate change. We now have the chance to step over to the right side of history. Let’s seize that opportunity together to shape and advance a meaningful, universal agreement in Paris this December.
