Climate Negotiators' Forum
East African climate negotiators share experiences and views about global trade talks and their participation at the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They benefit from country updates providing a snapshot of current realities reported by people on the ground, and are provided with technical papers to support their discussions.
At this meeting, trade and climate negotiators from East Africa reflected on the state of tourism in the region, and discussed how to leverage rules and programs under both the UNFCCC and WTO. They also discussed the effect of climate change on tourism in the region, and considered the challenges faced by tourism service providers.
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At this meeting, climate negotiators from East Africa reflected on the major impacts of climate change in their countries, and how their consequences are addressed by current adaptation strategies such as their National Adaptation Plans, National Adaptation Programmes of Action and Nationally Determined contributions. Based on data, statistics and interviews they reviewed top sectorial climate challenges faced in the region, and considered the effectiveness of current stakeholder participation mechanisms in the context of these strategies.
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After the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change decided last year to advance work in the area of agriculture, Parties under the “Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture” now have two years to work on "bold actions" needed in agriculture before more specific ones are agreed upon in 2020. In this context, East African climate negotiators debated such possible agriculture-related actions in the region, based on the challenges expressed by farmers and agro-processors on the ground.
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Under the UNFCCC convention members are asked to communicate on their priorities, plans and required support to adapt to climate change. As a result of this, EAC member states have published different national documents including national communications (NC), intended nationally determined contributions (INDC), national adaptation plans of actions (NAPA) and national adaptation plans (NAP).
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Fisheries is a critical issue for sustainable development of all EAC countries, whether having access to the ocean or relying on inland fishing. This meeting gathered East African negotiators at both UNFCCC and the WTO, who shared perspectives on the way forward for fisheries in both fora.
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As part of their climate commitments made at COP21 in Paris, UNFCCC members states are implementing so-called Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDCs) which guide their actions in mitigating and adapting to climate change. At this meeting, East African climate negotiators considered feedback from their private sector consituencies about how these intended climate actions should support agro-processing including through transfer of technology. Identified as a key sector for development in this region, agro-processing is vulnerable to climate change.
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Within the UNFCCC process, the Conference of the Parties confirmed the importance of enhancing climate technology development and transfer to developing countries, establishing a Technology Mechanism in 2010. The Paris Agreement commits nations to ‘strengthen cooperative action’ on climate technology, and introduces both a ‘long-term vision’ on technology’s contribution to climate resilience and mitigation and a ‘technology framework’ to guide the work of the Climate Convention’s existing Technology Mechanism.
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The UNFCCC Paris Agreement clearly recognises developing and least developing countries' need for support in coping with climate change, with some mechanisms already in the pipeline to that effect. On the eve of COP22, East African Climate Negotiators met in Marrakesh to discuss their stakeholders' perspectives on such international climate support mechanisms, including climate finance which would be a negotiating priority for developing countries at the COP22.
Even if there is no explicit mention of agriculture in the Paris Agreement, a number of issues related to and affecting agriculture, such as food security and food production, have been consistently mentioned in the document. One of the main points of discussion at UNFCCC remains the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) as well as the agenda and missions of the APA. It is in this context that the 2nd EAC Climate Negotiators’ Forum met to discuss stakeholder perspectives on the INDCs and APA’s role.
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Trade concerns are increasingly discussed within the UNFCCC where for instance, Article 3.5 of the UNFCCC states that climate change measures should not pose a restriction on international trade. While the recent Paris Climate Conference did not explicitly address trade policy measures, the resulting agreement and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) may have several implications on trade that cannot be overlooked. Similarly, WTO negotiations on climate change revolve around eliminating trade barriers in eco-friendly goods and services. At this meeting, climate and trade negotiators met in Kampala, Uganda, in an effort to better coordinate their positions in these two fora.
