11 December 2015
COP 21 Considers Revised Draft Paris Outcome
story highlights

Negotiations continued on the draft outcome of the Paris Climate Change Conference on Thursday, 10 December, with COP 21 President Laurent Fabius introducing a revised draft text in the evening.

Fabius said there are “open options” on the most complex issues of differentiation, finance and ambition, and asked delegates to examine the document with a "new perspective,” keeping the final agreement in mind, suggesting “we are extremely close to the finish line.” Following a second night of negotiations, delegates were told on Friday that the sixth meeting of the Comité de Paris would convene Saturday morning, 12 December, during which a final draft of the proposed Paris Outcome would be presented.

cop21_day1110 December 2015: Negotiations continued on the draft outcome of the Paris Climate Change Conference on Thursday, 10 December, with COP 21 President Laurent Fabius introducing a revised draft text in the evening. Fabius said there are “open options” on the most complex issues of differentiation, finance and ambition, and asked delegates to examine the document with a “new perspective,” keeping the final agreement in mind, suggesting “we are extremely close to the finish line.” Following a second night of negotiations, delegates were told on Friday that the sixth meeting of the Comité de Paris would convene Saturday morning, 12 December, during which a final draft of the proposed Paris Outcome would be presented.

Also on Thursday, the COP plenary considered agenda items and adopted decisions on organizational matters, matters related to finance and the reports of the subsidiary bodies, capacity building, the Adaptation Committee, and the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), among other items. The CMP plenary adopted decisions on: organizational matters; issues related to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI); and the report of the high-level ministerial on increased ambition of Kyoto Protocol commitments.

After the revised draft Paris outcome text was presented in the Comité de Paris on Thursday evening, an “indaba of solutions” was convened throughout the night to address all remaining unresolved items in the text. [IISD RS Coverage of COP 21]

The final day of the Rio Convention Pavilion convened on 10 December under the theme ‘Synergies and Tradeoffs in Land-based Climate Mitigation and Biodiversity.’ Two sessions took place, on synergies and tradeoffs in land-based climate change mitigation and biodiversity, and the contribution of research-action clubs for agriculture and forestry sectors: economic expertise and innovation for climate. Three films were also screened: ‘Youth Climate Report,’ produced and directed by students, which provided an overview of climate change challenges; ‘Moana Rua,’ depicting the urgency of addressing climate change for Pacific Islanders; and ‘Ethiopia Rising,’ showing the story of land restoration projects in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. [IISD RS Coverage of Rio Conventions Pavilion]

The event ‘Advancing Africa’s “Readiness” for Climate Resilient, Low Carbon Development and Green Growth,’ organized by Africa Pavilion, discussed climate finance from both the user and provider perspectives with an emphasis on preparing for accreditation to climate financing mechanisms. Panelists announced that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) received about US$10 billion in pledges and signed up US$6 billion in contribution agreements. Noting that currently just 10% of all climate finance globally goes to adaptation, it was explained that the GCF has set a target of providing 50% of funds for adaptation. During the event ‘Showcasing Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Initiatives,’ participants discussed: whether the mainstreaming approach could miss some cross sectoral opportunities; how fossil fuel subsidy reform makes the project on electrification more profitable; whether the new African Renewable Energy Initiative could help with access to finance for hydropower projects; the cost effectiveness of drip irrigation systems; and the intergenerational aspects of the plans. [IISD RS Coverage of Africa Pavilion]

Many other events took place around the COP 21 venue on 10 December. ‘The Immense Mitigation Potential of Green Buildings’ discussed designing structures and projects with climate change in mind, while underscoring everyone’s responsibility to improve living conditions for future generations. At an event on ‘Energy Efficiency – The Local Authorities’ Visions,’ participants highlighted: collaboration between local government and the private sector; the “hidden resistance” to green technologies in the reduction of emissions; and the place of smart grids in energy efficiency and renewable energy discussions. During an event on ‘Technology Solutions for a 2°C World: Investing in Renewables, Storage, Energy Efficiency and Carbon Capture and Storage,’ participants addressed: small-scale Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration (CCS) applications; micro-grid related technologies; technology adaptation and adoption at the community level; and utilization of captured carbon. At an event on ‘Climate Change and Biodiversity for Sustainable Development,’ participants addressed: the involvement of youth and local communities as active actors of ecosystem protection; Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge as part of the solution; and environmentally harmful activities of private companies in indigenous territories.

During the event ‘Learning from Good Practices of City to City Collaboration: Enhancing Sustainable City Development through the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) City to City Collaboration,’ participants discussed: institutional arrangements to enable direct access to finance by cities, including the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for Sustainable Cities Programme; the need of private and public finance to address climate action in cities; and integration of efforts at different levels of climate governance.

The event titled ‘UNFCCC Momentum for Change Award’ celebrated the winners of the UN Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity Awards. At an event on ‘Mobilizing Ambitious State and Non-State Climate Action in the Paris Agreement and Beyond,’ participants focused on: regulatory frameworks as a hindrance, rather than as a facilitator, of business action; how the additional emissions reduction potential of non-state actors is calculated; and the role of orchestrating institutions.

During the event ‘Scaling Up Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries Financial Capacity and Sustainability,’ participants noted: the need for technical capacity in SIDS to access climate finance; the need for fast-track direct access funding in order to get accreditation for national implementing status; and the Commonwealth climate finance skills hub, which builds capacity of those seeking to access climate finance. [IISD RS Coverage of Side Events] [IISD RS Coverage of Paris Climate Change Conference]


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