Resisting A Warmer World Caused By Others

The LDCs want the other parties to draw lessons from the past negotiations under the convention and implement urgent actions to address climate change At the international negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which began this week in Bonn, Germany, the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) urged parties to show leadership to achieve real and substantial progress on the negotiation of a 2015 treaty and to close the mitigation gap before 2020.

“There is no more time to waste, so we need to stop going rounds in circles,” said the new chair of the LDCs, Prakash Mathema of Nepal. The LDC Group has continuously stressed that they will be most seriously hit by the impacts of climate change.

“At a certain point adaptation will have its limits and in the long-term, mitigation is the best form of adaptation,” said Prakash Mathema. If global emissions are not limited, the LDCs will be confronted with a situation where adaptation requirements will far exceed capacities even if all possible international support is provided.

According to the LDC group, adaptation and climate resilience are the top priorities for the LDCs for which international support for technology, capacity building and finance is still inadequate.

The message from the group regarding the current negotiation is clear. The LDCs state that parties must draw lessons from the past negotiations under this convention, and...