AOSIS Opening Statement

SBSTA 45

AOSIS Opening Statement

November 2016

Marrakech, Morocco

Thank you very much Chair. The Maldives speaks on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States, a group of 44 small island and coastal countries that are highly vulnerable to climate change. We look forward to working with you and I assure you of our support moving forward. In the interest of expediency, I will quickly list our priorities for SBSTA45:

In the past year alone we have seen that the impacts from less than one degree of warming are far worse than we anticipated. Limiting warming to the 1.5 degree goal agreed in Paris is absolutely critical, and we hope to see the Special Report on 1.5 degrees as early in 2018 as possible so that it can be properly considered in time for the Facilitative Dialogue later that year.

It is also extremely important that that our work continues to be informed by the best available science, and therefore AOSIS supports aligning IPCC reporting cycles with the timing of the global stocktake.

In terms of climate finance, we are looking forward to the in-session workshop on accounting modalities and expect to be able to identify parameters for the accounting of financial resources provided and mobilized to developing country parties that can then form the basis of a technical paper to be considered in SBSTA46. The timeline for completion of these modalities must be accelerated in order that they can feed into the discussion on transparency of support.

It is also extremely important that our work continues to be informed by the best available science, and in this regard we take note of the proposed implementation plan of the GCOS Committee to address the data and research gaps critical for climate observing systems and networks in SIDS. Additionally, AOSIS supports aligning IPCC reporting cycles with the timing of the global stocktake.

With respect Articles 6.2 and 6.4 under SBSTA Agenda item 12, the Guidance we provide on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, will have to ensure environmental integrity, sustainable development and the avoidance of double counting. This will require, among other things,

·  A common international accounting framework, applicable to all Parties and

·  Centralized institutions to facilitate tracking and transparency, including an international transactions log and registries.

Importantly, in the new context of the Paris Agreement, Article 6 should accomplish three key goals.

·  First, it should be operationalized to contribute to overall mitigation in global emissions – by which we mean that transfers that go beyond offsetting to deliver global emission reductions that the atmosphere sees.

·  Second, it should create incentives for all Parties to move towards quantified economy-wide emission reduction and limitation targets.

·  Third, it should generate a share of proceeds for adaptation that is substantial, moving to a 5% share, from the 2% now in place under the Kyoto Protocol.

Work on Article 6 in our view should be timebound, to provide certainty to Parties and to the private sector.

Intersessional work will be needed, given the complexity of the issues involved. This technical work could address

·  environmental integrity, transparency, governance and incentives in the context of generation, acquisition and transfers

·  lessons learned from CDM and JI on environmental integrity and governance, recognizing the progress and discussions in recent years on the reform of the rules and guidelines for these mechanisms

·  options for approaches to deliver new elements (e.g., overall mitigation in global emissions), drawing out these options to enable a technical discussion

·  options for transition.

The Article 6.8 work programme on non-market approaches also has an important role to play. We believe this work programme could begin with consideration of the following three issues:

·  Fossil fuel subsidy reform

·  The phase out of inefficient and polluting technology

·  Policy reform to create the enabling environment for increased deployment of renewable energy.

With respect to process, we have confidence in you Chair and we are flexible in how work on Article 6 is organised, recognizing the shortness of time here in Marrakech and the complexity of the issues involved.

AOSIS wishes to express its gratitude to the SBI for its work with respect to the composition and terms of reference of the Paris Committee on Capacity Building, (PCCB). The establishment of the PCCB last year in Paris marks an important milestone in addressing capacity building in developing countries. We expect that members of the Committee will be elected here in Marrakech and that they will have their first meeting at the sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies that will be convened during the first half of next year. Additionally, we must now identify specific thematic areas so the PCCB can make concrete progress.

SBSTA 45 should advance our discussions on matters relating to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. AOSIS is flexible as to how we organize our work on these three separate, but related issues. But we do not have much time in Marrakech, and so we should approach these issues in a manner that allows us to work efficiently, while still providing for equitable attention to each.

AOSIS thanks the secretariat for its work on the interim public registry. It is a good start, and we look forward to providing suggestions for improvement.

Finally, the review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, under Agenda Item 7 of the COP, is a high priority for AOSIS. We are concerned that the terms of reference of the review, including its expected outcomes, have yet to be agreed. During the informal consultations that you and the outgoing Presidency kindly organised in Bonn in May, AOSIS advocated the need for a robust review of the WIM. In light of the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement, and the authority that the CMA will have to enhance and strengthen the WIM, the review of the WIM in Marrakech provides an opportunity, not only to consider work on loss and damage to date, but also to provide a forum where the future of the WIM can begin to be formulated, providing the necessary guidance to the CMA that will enable it to effectively undertake its responsibilities. At the very least, AOSIS expects that the terms of reference to guide the review should be agreed upon in here in Marrakech, but is also willing to extend the review of the WIM into 2017 should it become apparent that more time is required to achieve a meaningful outcome.

Thank you.