RE: SB48, April 30 – May 10, 2018, Bonn, Germany

Preamble

2018 is an important year for Canada’s climate legacy. About 15 months before next year’s elections in Canada, there is an opportunity for the Canadian government to show leadership that ensures climate change priorities remain high on the global agenda and that successes achieved at the UNFCCC level are not watered down. The G7 President should use the upcoming SB as a way to encourage countries to raise ambition and continue to link current climate plans to future decarbonization pathways.

While we can acknowledge some advances were achieved, COP23 did not deliver sufficient progress for ongoing negotiations. 2018 represents the year where developed countries are expected to demonstrate progress on different priorities such as finance and pre-2020 action. Also, at the May UN climate conference in Bonn, countries will discuss key milestones that need to be achieved at SB48 and by COP24: the adoption of the rule book for the Paris Agreement “including the Transparency Framework”, the Talanoa Dialogue, just to name a few. Countries, especially developed countries, will be encouraged to tell the world how they intend to increase the ambition of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement by 2020.

Context

Building on Canada’s international climate outcomes since 2015, such as the increase of international climate finance contribution, positive contributions on gender and Indigenous rights at the UNFCCC, diplomatic success in ensuring all countries agree on the importance of recognizing the 1.5°C target, and continued commitment to support Fiji and Poland presidencies in the completion of the work programme of the negotiations under the Paris Agreement and the Talanoa Dialogue, the next SB will be an opportunity for Canada to tell the world how they intend to create the right linkages between the work to be completed at the UNFCCC and the G7. Canada must also begin to think about the enhancements of their NDC.

While outcomes related to climate change policy are still uncertain at the G7 level, the next SB will be a test for Canada to see how they use this moment to tell the world the G7 intends to deliver on expected outcomes related to the international climate regime. It is expected that Canada’s outcomes at SB48 will reflect Canada’s G7 leadership and legacy.

CAN-Rac Expectations for Canada at SB48

1. Canada should work to enhance the ambition of the first discussions under the Talanoa Dialogue to take place in Bonn to ensure countries use this moment to articulate how they intend to scale-up their National Determined Contributions. The first Talanoa Dialogue must be ambitious and transformational. Canada should use this moment to announce how it intends to enhance the ambition of its current NDC, and could also share how it plans to prepare its next round of its contributions in a inclusive and transparent way that allows for the participation of stakeholders from all sectors of society. Following the decision at COP23 to consider pre-2020 ambition in the context of the Talanoa Dialogue, as well as in separate stocktakes at COP24 and COP25, this would be a good opportunity to explore how Canada’s own pre-2020 ambition could be strengthened, for example through increased international cooperation and support in areas identified as opportunities for greater ambition during the Talanoa Dialogue discussions.
2. Canada must play a constructive role in securing measurable progress towards completing the work on the Paris rule book. At the SB48, countries must complete all necessary work to ensure the work programme of the Ad-Hoc Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) is completed and adopted by COP24. Canada’s role should be to ensure negotiations are not slowed down, as it could have a negative impact on the final desired outcome for the adoption of the rulebook by COP24.
3. Canada must contribute to building trust in the regime by ensuring discussions on finance result on real progress at this upcoming SB. Climate finance has the potential to exacerbate tensions between Parties but can also – if substantial progress is achieved – enhance trust in the new climate regime and unlock ambition, given its linkages with many of the discussions taking place at the UNFCCC, including: the transparency framework of the convention, pre-2020 action and support, the Talanoa Dialogue and the Global Stocktake. In order to build trust, Canada should say how it will demonstrate progress on its commitment to deliver CA$2.65bn by 2020. Canada should scale-up efforts to ensure its climate finance contribution is gender-responsive. Canada should also play a positive role by informing in advance how it intends to provide predictable quantitative and qualitative information to show how it intends to fulfill its commitments to provide support to developing countries to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. We encourage Canada to submit as soon as possible their Biennial submission on its Strategies and Approaches as a way to encourage all developed countries to do so.

4. Canada must play a constructive role in moving towards outcomes on loss and damage finance as we move forwards towards the Suva Dialogue in Bonn. Canada’s role should be to ensure that there is legitimate space for discussing loss and damage finance in the next coming years and progress on the definition and operationalisation of a finance arm for the WIM. More specifically, the Suva Dialogue this year should be inclusive and interactive, involving various stakeholders and building on good participatory practice. Vulnerable developing countries should be given a strong voice as the WIM is primarily about addressing those countries’ Beyond insurance mechanisms, this dialogue should also pay attention to identified gaps, such as the lack of additional finance available.

Prepared by:

Eddy Pérez, International Policy Analyst, CAN-Rac; Christian Holz, Senior Research Associate, Climate Equity Reference Project; Catherine Abreu, Executive Director, CAN-Rac

Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth