Aprodev and CIDSE respond to the EC Climate Finance Communication, September 2009

No Sign of Leadership: ‘Historical Responsibility’ absent from EC Communication

29 September 2009
The European Commission Communication on Climate Finance, adopted September 10 2009, provides an important step forward for advancing the EU position on climate finance in the UNFCCC negotiations. Industrialized countries’ previous unwillingness to put money on the table or even comment on other parties’ financial proposals has contributed to a sense of stalemate in the climate talks, which must urgently be broken in order for progress towards Copenhagen to be made. The fact that the EU is, for the first time, putting a figure on the table and preparing a climate finance offer to developing countries provides important momentum for the negotiations in the months ahead.

However, the European Commission’s complete failure to acknowledge the EU’s historical
responsibility for climate change throughout its analysis risks turning the EU finance offer from
being a potential deal-maker into becoming a trust-defying deal-breaker.
Industrialized countries have created the climate problem, the consequences of which are now
being born primarily by developing countries. Further, decades of unlimited emissions in industrialized countries have given rise to a constrained atmospheric space, with little room for developing countries to grow and develop their economies.

Without an acknowledgement of industrialized countries’ historical responsibility, as enshrined
in the UNFCCC principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities (Art 3.1), translated into ambitious reduction targets and financial obligations for Annex 1 countries, there is little chance of any agreement in Copenhagen, let alone an agreement that would be able to steer away from a climate emergency and prevent dangerous climate change.

An EU finance offer which does not take equity and climate justice concerns into account will not be the positive signal for the UNFCCC negotiations many had hoped for, but rather reenforce the sense of distrust between developing and industrialized gap currently causing the current deadlock. Aprodev and CIDSE urge EU Member States and the European Commission to reconsider the assumptions underlying the EC Communication and ensure that the EU historical responsibility for climate change is reflected in all aspects of the EU position on climate finance.

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