![The Phase Out of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and the Paris Climate Deal]()
by admin | Dec 5, 2015 | Blog, MYD2015, UNFCCC
Start funding climate action and stop funding climate chaos!
While working hard on Paris agreement, there are massive struggles on resolving Fossil Fuel Subsidies. According to Shelagh Whitley, a research fellow of Overseas Development Institute (ODI) who works on private climate finance state that G20 countries current fossil fuel subsidies (USD 452 billion) are 4 times more than global subsidies for renewable energy (USD 121 billion).
Based on the recent report “Empty Promises – G20 Subsidies to Oil, Gas and Coal Production”, Russia, US and UK have contributed high national fossil fuel subsidies. While Japan, China and Korea have large contribution in Public Finance. Saudi, Russia and Brazil’s contribution via State-Owned Enterprise sum up to USD 135.9 million per year. In general, state-owned Fossil Fuels (FF) subsidy is the highest, USD 286 billion, where 70% of FF subsidies are government owned which may, or may not be listed on the stock exchange.
As quoted by Christiana Figueres ”Fossil Fuel subsidies is negative support of climate finance” Despite the pledges made by developed countries to scale up new and additional climate finance, many countries are failing to meet their commitment. As based on the OCI report, over USD 78 billion was spent by developed countries to support fossil fuel production in 2013 and 2014.
On the other hand, each year, G20 countries contributed FF subsidizes of USD 77 billion. Notably, these figures triumphs the current Green Climate Fund accumulation of USD 10.2 billion and developing countries receive just USD 4 billion to USD 5 billion to adapt to impacts of climate change. Many developed countries are failing to meet their commitment and much of the climate finance is not new and sadly, there is little clarity of how these money are mobilized for mitigation and adaptation.
But, this can change. There are some key recommendations for financing future climate action. For instance, more actions should be done at the national level. Government need to honour their pledges to phase out FF subsidies especially via public finance institutions. This includes the provision of grants, equity, loans, guarantees and insurance by majority government owned financial institutions for domestic and international fossil fuel production.Hence, there is the importance of finalizing the Paris agreement as well in achieving low emission and climate-resilient societies and economies development. In the latest Draft Agreement, Article 6, Paragraph 1 & 10 show clear language on reducing financial support for high emission investments.
In conclusion, “we need to ensure this commitment stays building on and strengthening previous commitments made through sustainable development goals (SDGs) and G20s commitments.” – Maeve McLynn, Climate and Development Policy Coordinator, CAN Europe
Written by: Jolene Journe T.
Edited by: Merryn
![Heart of Borneo Initiative- A solution for Climate Change and Low Carbon Development]()
by admin | Dec 5, 2015 | Blog, MYD2015
“Our lost has been too significant, and those that left have been too insignificant.” – Dr. Efransjah
Is palm oil and timber industry jeopardizing the orangutan’s survival and the forest coverage in Borneo? The answer is, it depends.
In the “A Solution for Climate Change and Low Carbon” COP parallel event, Dr. Efransjah, CEO of WWF-Indonesia, has addressed the idea on how Borneo states economy can develop without further exacerbating the deforestation issues.
“They can do it, but they have to do in the right way”, said Dr. Efransjah. Good management from the government in protecting natural resources and protected areas are vital in the effort to safeguard the lives of orangutans. In states like Borneo, where intact forests are border-crossing; trans-boundary collaboration on management is extremely challenging, yet significant. According to Dr. Efransjah, palm oil plantation is highly welcome for the growth of economy. The thing that most businesses often neglect or ignore, is to do it in the right and sustainable manner. The logging industry is one of the business sectors that faces this challenge due to the nature of their operations, yet it should not be an excuse for them to ignore the impact of their actions towards nature.
The high quality management and standards of the firm is crucial to promote a true green economy. Financial support too, is a mandatory and crucial element in sustainable development of the palm oil and timber industries in Borneo.
Payment of ecosystem and conservation levy is important to enhance the value of nature capital. “We have good projects, but we lack funds,” said Encik Haji Sapuan Bin Ahmad, the Director of the Forest Department Sarawak. Transforming the policy framework will hopefully encourage the development of good business behaviors and build the natural capital of Borneo. Therefore, national decision is still the utmost important factor in protecting the Heart of Borneo.
There is a saying from the Cree prophecy, when all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money. Protecting the survival of orangutans and forest coverage is an effort that should be shouldered by all. When the day we lost these precious creations of God, it will be to late to discover that money cannot buy them back.
Written by: Elaine
Edited by: Merryn
![Emily’s Diary on 3rd December 2015]()
by admin | Dec 5, 2015 | Blog, MYD2015
Today I have decided to settle my personal stuffs and rest to recover from my sickness. Let’s just provide a personal space for myself to reflect. Good news, I have purchased a new phone …it was like FINALLY, after all sorts of up and down.
photo taken at metro station, place where i lost my phone.
Great to be back in the MYD team whatsapp group again and able to communicate properly with Malaysian Negotiator, Dr Gary. Honestly, I feels good to return in the virtual chats. Even though it was only two days without a phone, I felt like a bit behind. Guess everyone was just too caught up and did not managed to notice my struggle without a phone. At the end of the day, I decided to solve it by myself and make a great return!
I talked to myself (sounds weird but that’s how I reflect). I have been blindly following an unfamiliar negotiations for two days and learnt very little. Firstly, I am not familiar with the text. Secondly, I am totally new to this negotiation process. Thirdly, every spin-offs or closed meetings seems very exclusive but I was unable to keep track. I was literally just the note-taker and would not want to miss out important points from speaker. At the same time, owning a privilege to pink badge, which has access to close door meeting gave me a pressure to fulfil my task. The badge should be in good use and not wasted. These reasons have caused me unable to interpret well the meaning of the text within time limit. Besides, our team do not expect to receive a pink badge within short period of time and the initial plan was to attend parallel summits/events. This gave me insufficient time to think and make full use of the badges.
I am thinking about another approach for the coming 10 days in COP21. Daily tck and CAN meetings sound like a good platform to get daily updates and highlights. It would be very suitable for newbie like me.
Conversation with some other Asian youths during Asian Youth meet up dinner and Melissa from Singapore yesterday made me realised that following negotiations process is an uneasy task and it takes years to understand. Furthermore, Jolene mentioned visiting other NGO and countries pavilion opened up my mind. Thomas also shared his experience on attending side events such as forums sounds more informative than tracking negotiations. There are many things worthwhile to explore in COP21. Therefore, I decided not to stay in the meeting rooms anymore.
Great day spent! Hope it is not too late to restart my journey in COP21 🙂
Written by : Emily
Edited by : Ginger
![New Direction and SBI Informal Consultation]()
by admin | Dec 5, 2015 | Blog, Knowledge, MYD2015, UNFCCC
Today is a brand new experience for me as I have accompanied Emily to lodge a police report on her lost phone instead of attending Conference of Parties (COP21). Might as well grab this opportunity to have a short city-visit.
When we arrived at Police Station near Gare Du Nord, it took us quite a while to communicate effectively with the police officer due to language barrier. The reporting process took longer than we have expected. Therefore, we have decided to pay a second visit in the evening. While rushing back to COP21 venue, I stopped by a vendor booth to buy a doughnut bun filled with custard cream. Even though it looked common, I will never forget the taste of my first bite. It was simply delightful and delicious! This makes me start wondering whether every Parisian is an expert baker.
We managed to rush back to COP21 venue and attended the Subsidiary Body of Implementation (SBI), informal consultation for national adaptation plan (NAP). As a yellow badge holder, I am grateful to attend this particular session. It was opened to both observers and parties. The session started with an opening speech by the co-chair. This was followed by other formalities whereby countries’ negotiators will agree to cooperate with co-chair to ensure every decision making process reflects honesty and straightforwardness.
The negotiation started to become intense when ‘Para 4’ Green Climate Fund was discussed. Based on the first version of draft decision, Green Climate Fund is only accessible to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (AOSIS) and African states. On the other hand, other developing countries which are moving towards sustainable development are not eligible for this funding. Countries from Global South and working group such as “G77 and China” raised their concerns about this paragraph and demanded for text revision. However, this issue has been postponed to the next meeting due to time constraint.
In my opinion,‘Para 4’ can be described as a deliciously sweet yet poisonous apple. The reason behind is if LDCs accept this temptful offer, it may weaken the bond and trust of ‘G77 and China’ working group. G77 and China was established in 1964 by 133 members (majority are LDCs) which aims to establish a common negotiation positions to promote their collective economic interest. It is undeniable that LDCs required great amount of fundings. However, without a strong coalition between developing countries, developed countries will WIN the battle as self-differentiation is less likely their main concern.
I think “Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR)” is one of the most crucial cornerstones of universal agreement. Developing countries would be able to achieve sustainable development with the receive of technology, finance and capacity building. In conclusion, I hope that all participated countries which fall under the convention are able to fulfil their obligations. Climate change is a global issue that need to be solved globally.
Written by : Thomas
Edited by : Ginger
![Observers Conversation with Christinana Figures]()
by admin | Dec 5, 2015 | Blog, MYD2015, UNFCCC
“Don’t ever think words that are not exist in the agreement is not part of the solution, solution for climate change is broad”. – Christiana Figueres
Christinana Figures
I have decided to attend this session as I am very curious about the major concerns of different Civil Society Organisation (CSO) which attended COP21. Before the session started, I met with a person from Mediators Beyond Borders, who is doing mediation for negotiations. This is my first encounter and it sounds really cool to be part of the conflict management and dispute resolution for negotiations. Never thought there will be a language-based organisation for this matter.
The session started with voices from the floor. Climate Action Network (CAN) raised up the accessibility issue for observers to enter closed meetings once again. The Executive Secretary (ES) responded that currently spin-off meetings have been webcasted and overflow rooms were opened for contact groups meeting.
In addition, observers have access to the documents. I just can’t help wondering why the document isn’t open to public. Are they treating observers just like public in terms of document accessibility? When President Fabius repeatedly mentioned negotiation process should be transparent, inclusive, openness, and trust in several plenary, it created a conflict with the present situation. Fortunately, President Fabius is planning to engage with observers. Let’s hope for a better engagement between both sides.
Executive Secretary (ES) mentioned that the recent contact group meeting was suspended. This is to allow adequate time for negotiators and observers to read through latest release of text.
On behalf of YOUNGO, Lastrina raised question on how can youth & other NGO help to speed up the process in the next 24 hours. She asked if there is any possibility of arranging any meet up with negotiators to seek for inputs. Executive Secretary (ES) replied that conversation with negotiators is normally done during coffee session and casual meet ups. There are only a few delegations who have included youth in their national delegation this year. YOUNGO can lobby further regarding this issue.
She announced that Paris agreement will be adopted in Paris on next FRIDAY (11/12/15) and signed at NY next year. Therefore, Friday should be recognised as a “stay tuned” element by everyone on the floor.
In regards to this matter, I have personally met with a few youths from different countries especially those from developing and least developed countries. They were facing difficulties engaging or even contacting their home negotiation team. I felt unfair for them. I believe YOUNGO and UNFCCC secretariat could push harder in solving this problem.
Lastly, Executive Secretary (ES) explained that the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform (ADP) hasn’t reach a solution yet. Some issues are moving forward quicker than before. However, the speed needs to be moderated in order to achieve a comprehensive agreement.
Once again, Christiana emphasized that “Don’t ever think words that are not exist in the agreement is not part of the solution, solution for climate change is broad”.
Written by: Emily
Edited by: Ginger
![The Epic Wen Zhou Discovery in Paris]()
by admin | Dec 4, 2015 | Blog, MYD2015
The #COP21 Asian Youths Meet Up was held at Wen Zhou Restaurant. Interestingly (and weird), there are so many different Wen Zhou Restaurants around Paris. So here’s what happened:
While trying to organise this dinner I had decided with a few others that we should hold it at an affordable restaurant as we did not want to burden everyone with the cost of eating at an expensive restaurant which might not fit everyone’s budget. After doing some research we found a quaint little restaurant called Wen Zhou located at the edge of Chinatown in Rue du Maire. We then proceeded to book the place and coordinated everyone to this location. However, when we checked online, we got confused with its location. It showed us a different location in Rue de Bellville – about 15 minutes train ride away from Ru de Maire. So we changed the venue address to the new one.
We then proceed to coordinate all the Asian Youth that we had met over the past week. I sought help from Juliana, a Singaporean staying in Paris, to make the booking at Wen Zhou because they couldn’t speak English, making booking over the phone was difficult. So with Juliana’s help, we booked the Wen Zhou Restaurant. Based on the blog I discovered about Wen Zhou, the affordable Chinese Restaurant was in fact at Rue du Maire. but after some confusion we thought we had the wrong address as Google indicated that Wen Zhou was at Rue de Beleville. We went with the latter. We posted on the Asian emailing list that I had compiled from Conference of Youth 11 (#COY11) the previous week. I felt quite happy with that. We had received good response – dates and times were decided and the final booking at Wen Zhou was made.
The day of the Asian Youth Meet Up arrived, and this Wen Zhou at Rue de Belleville turned out to be a 15-minutes walk from where we, the MYDs, were staying in Paris. The meet up was at 7 P.M. so I decided to head out earlier at 6.15 P.M. to confirm booking and coordinate the space. As I got out to the street, I forgot to mention this was in the heart of Chinatown, I found a Wen Zhou Restaurant – with a blue sign (take note of this). I went in and asked them but they could hardly speak English, only Mandarin and French. They said no booking were made and that I probably meant another Wen Zhou down the road. So I went along, kept walking and couldn‘t find it.
One of the many Wen Zhou Restaurants.
Irritated and slightly angry, I thought they had sent me on a wild goose chase. I proceeded back to the blue-signed Wen Zhou to give the person a piece of my mind. As I was about 5 shops away, I stumbled onto the address 24,Rue de Belleville which was the location based on good ol’ Google I had shared with everyone on the email thread, and lo and behold it was THE WEN ZHOU Restaurant! (Or so I thought) And it was CLOSED! I was shocked – it looked like there were more than one Wen Zhou. Literally within 5 shops apart there were two restaurants with the same name. I panicked, not knowing what to do as the restaurant I booked was closed! So I ran back to blue-signed Wen Zhou, noticed that there was a lot of space and proceeded back to Wen Zhou 24 to redirect people to the blue-signed one. A girl named Nicole from Singapore came by and I told her about the situation and she agreed to help me welcoming our guests at the blue-signed Wen Zhou. I had my note pad with me so I wrote a sign to redirect people to blue-signed Wen Zhou but with no tape or any means to stick it on the door, I waited. More and more people arrived and I redirected them to the new venue. At about 7.30 P.M. Thomas from MYD arrived and helped me to look for tape at nearby stores. He found it and we put up the sign and we went to have dinner with the rest.
During the gathering of 24 Asians, there was a lot of networking going on. Our topics of discussions ranged from what we should do to move forward to how we should focus on generating collaborative efforts instead of focusing on problems. It was at this exact moment I found out that Lastrina from Singapore was at another Wen Zhou with about 13 people. They were at Rue du Maire! The ACTUAL Wen Zhou we had made our booking at! I was in panic mode once again. I announced this to the group and they, who were by now energetic from the all those optimistic chats, said “Let’s go to them!” and so we did. We lost some members on the way because they were too tired and decided to head back. The ORIGINAL When Zhou was only 15 minutes by train and the station was nearby the blue-signed When Zhou we were at.
At the actual Wen Zhou Restaurant we planned, we met up with the other 13 delegates but by then it was way too crowded so we decided to head to a nearby bistro.
At the bistro I found out that Juliana had realised that the Wen Zhou she had booked is not the one with the Googled address I found but instead it was at Rue de Maire and had emailed us at 7.10 P.M of the actual location. So those that ended up at Rue de Maire were actually those who left COP21 after 7.10 P.M. They had seen the email and went to the right venue.
It was an interesting experience organising this Asian Meet Up. It was nice hearing the sounds of Asian languages after a while. The meet up really did boost my spirit to make myself be more useful and more involved in COP21, even though there were some confusions. We still managed to get together, talked about a lot of different topics and most importantly, we had fun being connected in a foreign land.
The other group of the Asian Youth Meet Up
The Asian Youth Meet Up turned out to be successful despite everything that could go wrong, as we managed to bring together a lot of people from different countries.
Thus, the Discovery of Wen Zhou in Paris came to an end.
Written by: Amalen
Edited by: Aisyah
