LDCs Open Door to Climate Change Agreement

The world’s poorest countries are now prepared to commit themselves to tackling carbon emissions, opening up the possibility of world wide agreement on measures to slow down global warming.

Until now the LDC (Least Developed Countries) bloc, which represents 12% of the world’s population and plays a big role in UN negotiations, has been unwilling to accept cuts, seeing responsibility for tackling climate change as lying with more heavily industrialised nations.

Quamrul Chowdury, a lead climate negotiator of the LDC group, said:

“I think the LDCs are now for low carbon pathways for all. They are even ready to go first in helping to cut back global greenhouse gas emissions, though they are the ones least responsible for increasing those emissions.”

The LDCs are for raising ambitions over climate change mitigation, because mitigation is the ultimate adaptation. And adaptation has its limits.

The cost of adaptation is also rising every day as the most industrialised countries are not slashing their emissions, except for some of the European good boys. But that is not enough. Major emitters need to scale up their efforts.

LDCs are also doing some adaptation, and they are showing global leadership here. Bangladesh, Nepal and Mozambique are shining cases of successful on-the-ground adaptation.

Those cases should be scaled up and replicated. Others can learn from the LDCs how to face climate adversities day in and day out.

Chwodury also insisted that National Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) – terms that ensure that the actions countries are forced to take should reflect their abilities and be proportionate to their contribution to climate change – should be maintained and supported.

The announcement could have far reaching consequences given that, in the past, first world countries such as the USA and Australia have excluded themselves from protocol agreements on the basis that poorer nations held up climate talks. This new approach could mark a huge step forward in terms of the diplomacy surrounding climate change.

Green Steve’s Reaction

Climate talks, while very important in reaching meaningful action on a global scale, are not my favourite thing because national interests almost always seem to get in the way of the general good for planet Earth as a whole.

But this is very much a positive step in the right direction because the more countries that put a greater emphasis on climate change, the more likely it will be for talks to succeed and real targets to be actualised.

Steve (156 Posts)

I am chief writer and editor on Green Steve. Blogging since 2011, I like to delve into a wide number of topics to help people reduce their carbon footprint. You should follow me on Twitter here. And add me to your Google+ circles here.

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