Hi, in response to your first question, Climate change is already undermining current gains in poverty reduction and threatens future development progress. The post 2015 framework must support urgent action on climate change. The High Level Panel report has a strong narrative on climate change but is weak in the goals and proposed targets and indicadaptation to climate change hardly gets a mention. Nor does the report recognise the differing responsibilities that countries have in causing climate change and the need for financing and technology transfer packages to account for this historic responsibility.
Here are some suggestions about what can be done:
How big a problem is lack of joined-up thinking on dealing with all the problems - food security, disaster risk reduction, climate change, poverty reduction - together?
• increase the focus on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people especially women and vulnerable girls
• increase awareness about the global north’s responsibility and liability for causing climate change, both currently and in the past
• reiterate the need for the global north to show bold leadership on tackling climate change and take early action to do so
• fully recognise that tackling climate change is integral to delivering effective, lasting and sustainable development
• fully recognise that global poverty will never be eradicated unless we begin the rapid transition towards a low-carbon and climate resilient economy, right now.
Hi Stella, great question - yes, climate justice must be the foundation of any equitable response to climate change that seeks to eradicate poverty
One thing that plenty of people think would address climate as well as other development goals: Making sure women who want to plan their families have access to contraception.....
There is also quite a lot of talk in the High Level Panel Report about changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, but this is a monumental task. How we do even begin with this when our economies are largely premised on consuming more?
Yes, we have to stop unsustainable patterns of consumption, and still have a good quality of life. We need greater efficiency and less waste, particularly food waste. New habits have to start early, particularly in schools and colleges, to prepare a new generation for sustainable habits.
On the consumption question ... I think this is one of the most important issues a post 2015 framework needs to addrses. The HLP report claims that ‘business as usual’ is not an option, but when it comes to economic growth, its narrative is contradictory. The welcome messages on sustainable consumption and production are at odds with the prominence placed on growth as the solution to poverty, and the report fails to address high-impact, high-consumption lifestyles and the issue of redistribution of wealth and resources. The report asks developed countries to urgently ‘re-imagine their growth models’, but falls far short of calling for the current model of international trade, business regulation and foreign direct investment to be realigned in the interests of people and planet instead of profit and growth. I think this is where a lot of energy needs to be focused in the next steps of the post 2015 process.
Hi Laurie - I agree, but would also bring out gender dimensions, both of climate change and of development. MRFCJ helped UN Women and others to get the principle of gender balance into the climate conference at COP18, in Doha. We must also ensure that the SDGs reflect the need for full equality, and the High level Panel propose a separate goal: Empower Girls and Women and Achieve Gender Equality.
I think climate change needs much more political attention across all fora and in all parts of the world.
The way we are negotiating and doing business now will not be enough to avoid dangerous climate change. We need to raise climate change up the political agenda and keep it there. Climate change is not just about climate – it is about how we live and how future generations will live.
How do you get climate action to "catch fire", Mary?
@MaryRobinson: Yes, many people felt encouraged by the High Level Panel report, but is there much that this post-2015 process can achieve in practice when the main responsibility for tackling climate change lies with the UNFCCC?
From a CARE perspective it's critical that we increase accountability to deliver on development and climate goals, without this accountability, we will fail.
Jamie, I fully agree with the importance of communicatuing issues of climate change and develeopment in a way that really brings home the links between them. We have to bring out the injustice of how climate change is affecting poor communities and poor countries most severly, even though they are least responsible. For some people the way to communicate this may be to bring out the intergenerational justice: that as climate shocks increase in richer countries, our childrena and grandchildren will be ,most affected, and will wonder why we didn't do more on our watch.
@kvaughan How do you build that accountability?
@perkinseleanor, I totally agree, and wich this was clear to member States discussing post 2015, and negotiators in ADP climate conference.
@Laurie - any new development framework needs a goal on accountability and governments must sign up to delivering on their commitments and be held accountable
One good way to get action on climate change, I think, is to have people other than climate activists talking about it. We need mothers worried about rising asthma and allergies in their kids, homeowners worried about higher insurance bills, and so on. Maybe we need doctors speaking out....
@msiskas You're right about the need for political will!
