9 June 2015: Participants at the Bonn Climate Conference highlighted ways that action on climate change can support the post-2015 development agenda, including through the linking of agreed targets, and undertaking mitigation actions that have co-benefits for sustainable development.
At a side event on ‘Quantifying and Monetizing Sustainable Development Co-benefits of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs),’ organized by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 9 June, speakers presented a paper on valuing the sustainable development co-benefits of mitigation actions in the waste sector. They estimated that the socio-economic benefits of recovering organic waste from municipal waste to use as fertilizer include job creation, savings, and increased crop yields, to the value of around US$94 for each tonne of CO2 reduced. Some participants expressed concern, however, that the monetization of co-benefits may create a perverse incentive for donors to only finance “high-yield NAMAs.”
At another side event on 3 June, CARE International, ActionAid, and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) discussed ‘Twin Tracks for Ambitious Action: Post-2015 Development and the Paris Deal.’ Speakers said that negotiators have become more aware of the need to address the climate and post-2015 tracks concurrently, and stressed that a successful Financing for Development (FfD) conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July will allow governments to raise the level of ambition for the Paris climate talks. They also called for the SDGs to have “a strong and visible climate narrative,” and suggested that follow-up and review processes could allow for cross-pollination to take place between the climate and sustainable development tracks.
Ronny Jumeau, Ambassador for Climate Change and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Issues, called on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to make firm links between climate impacts and the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and related indicators.
Mariama Williams, South Centre, suggested that response measures could connect action on climate change with sustainable development, noting that mitigation requirements could encourage developing countries to diversify their economies. [IISD RS Coverage of Bonn Climate Conference] [UNFCCC Website]