Umbrella Group Statement

Joint COP21 and COP22 Presidency Session - 16 May 2016

Your Excellencies

It is my privilege to speak on behalf of the Umbrella Group of countries.

We salute the French Presidency for your role in delivering the historic Paris Agreement last December, and we pledge our full support to the incoming Moroccan Presidency as you guide our first steps towards its implementation.Thank you also to you, Secretary Figueres and your team, for the key role you have played over the last few years.

As this is the first formal session since COP21, it is appropriate to reflect on the success of Paris.

The Paris Agreement brokered big political decisions that have eluded us in the past and we are right to be collectively proud of this achievement. It is an achievement based on a common commitment - that we will work together in light of our national circumstances to realise the global transition to a low emissions economy, to enhance climate resilience, and to provide support where this is needed.

We made this commitment for the benefit of all our peoples, and for the generations to come.

The world overwhelmingly reaffirmed this commitment in New York recently, with over 170 Parties signing the Paris Agreement on the day it was opened for signature. This unprecedented display of solidarity underscores our commitment to deliver on our Paris promise together.

It is in this spirit of purpose, togetherness and trust that we will work to deliver on these commitments.

But we are only at the beginning…

…where we take our comprehensive and balanced agreement and make it happen, across the spectrum. To that end, we strongly support the characterisation of COP22 as an implementation and action COP and stand with the incoming Moroccan presidency in its effort to make Marrakech a success.

For us, success means implementation at the technical level. The focus must now squarely be on ensuring our technical experts work through the issues to deliver on what was agreed at Paris. Some of this work has been mandated for conclusion well before 2020 so we need to forge ahead.

In this context we welcome the Presidencies’ reflections note and proposal for taking work forward at this session – including through stocktakes. We endorse the proposed agendas and support their prompt adoption. They are consistent with the Paris Agreement and it is imperative we focus on what was agreed by our Leaders. We note the submission by the G77 and China and will consider these proposals in this context. The APA, SBI and SBSTA each have important roles in supporting the Paris work program, as do other bodies including the Adaptation Committee, the Standing Committee on Finance, the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, and others, and it will be important they work together to take this forward.

While we should properly focus on the technicalities of implementation, it remains equally important to maintain political profile and momentum for the Paris Agreement.

That is why Umbrella Group countries are committed to joining the Agreement as soon as possible and support its early entry into force. We are ready to work with all parties to address concerns that early entry into force may raise.

In the same spirit of action, we are deeply committed to meeting pre-2020 pledges and encourage all countries to make every effort as a down-payment on future success. As part of this we look forward to participating in the Technical Examination Process, continuing to engage outside actors including from the private sector, civil society and governments at all levels.

Future success will depend on how we implement our Nationally Determined Contributions and enhance their ambition over time. Getting this right will help NDCs become the basis for investment or business plans to drive action and investment.

Just as ensuring we continue to work to provide the right support, financial, technological, capacity building or otherwise for those countries where there is a need is as much a part of the equation. We strongly acknowledge this as a key component in the balanced Paris package.

Thinking creatively and in a coordinated way about all this should be one of the challenges we set for ourselves this year, including how we can better mobilise the vast resources of the private sector for climate finance, engage business in market mechanisms, and to maximise some of the broader initiatives stemming from Paris such as Mission Innovation, the Solar Alliance and the renewable energy initiative in Africa.

So there is a lot to do, and we hope to see good ground covered over the next two weeks so that we can demonstrate progress on implementation at Marrakesh and beyond.

We already have many elements to ensure success at COP22, for example:

-the historic progress already made on signing and joining

-the work-program we are about to commence here in Bonn, including important issues like new transparency guidelines by 2018

-demonstrating mobilisation of climate finance to support implementation

-a focus on capacity building which in our view will be critical

-progress on the Action Agenda to capitalise on initiatives beyond the UNFCCC.

The Paris Agreement is a welcome affirmation of our system of international cooperation. Given the science, given the threats, given the urgency, the world decided to act as one against the harm of climate change. There is great strength in this unanimity.

The enduring benefits will come in all sorts of guises, not least economic because we know now action does not stymie job creation and economic growth, but in many ways supports these fundamental goals of our societies. This is why it was doubly pleasing to see so much business support for the Paris Agreement.

Excellencies

The old saying is that time waits for no-one. Nor regrettably does climate change. We have to get on with it to prevent our worst fears. UG countries will work shoulder to shoulder with you all to make sure we meet our commitments, making significant progress for Marrakesh, and beyond.

As our peoples expect. And our planet requires.

Thank you