[Dhaka/New Delhi] December 16, 2014: Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) a coalition of over 120 civil society organisations have expressed their disappointment and dissatisfaction on the lack of progress on crucial issues at the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP20) that concluded in Lima on Sunday. CANSA members attending the summit in Peru have said that governments signed off on an outcome that does not reflect the urgency required to address the needs of the developing countries to cope with the impacts of climate change.

“The Lima decision is a major disappointment as it fails to adequately deal with adaptation and also loss and damage, which the vulnerable developing had asked for. This leaves a big question mark hanging over communities dealing with devastating losses due to climate impacts, impacts to which it is not possible to adapt,” said International Centre for Climate Change and Development Director Dr Saleemul Huq.

“We came to Lima hoping that these negotiations would finally deliver what is needed to help poor people adapt to the effects of climate change. As glaciers melt and farmers around the world face dry rivers and warmer temperatures, the need for support could not be clearer. Yet the demands for adaptation and finance have been repeatedly ducked. It is as if the world has forgotten that climate change is already causing unprecedented loss and damage. Poorer countries need financial support to help their people survive a crisis they did not cause. Unless rich countries commit to providing money for the long term, the talks can’t head in the right direction,” said Harjeet Singh, International Manager for Climate Change and Resilience at ActionAid International.

“On finance, the momentum provided by pledges to the Green Climate Fund got lost, 10 billion USD in the Green Climate Fund – over four years – is too little and in absence of a roadmap to scale up the amount to 100 billion by 2020 and implies that the mitigation gap stays unaddressed. The Lima outcome did not provide further clarity about the pathway to the USD 100 billion a year promised to support developing countries to take climate action. Finance was essentially kicked down the road to Paris. As a result much of the untapped potential for climate action in developing countries stands in further jeopardy”, said CANSA Director Sanjay Vashist.

“The only small glimmer of hope is that Parties recognised one of the big elephants in the room, the principle of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibility and Respective Capability (CBDR&RC), and have acknowledged it in the decision. This provides some hope that the Paris Deal could provide a robust framework for tackling climate change. Parties in the first half of 2015 should address the issue of differentiation as that would facilitate the preparation of draft negotiating text for Paris. It is important that all Parties proactively put forward constructive proposals to find solutions based on equity,” said CANSA Advisor Sudhir Sharma.

The Lima Decision reaffirmed that governments are now on the spot to put the individual climate pledges on the table in the first half of next year that will form the foundations of the global climate agreement due in Paris next December. With the big political decisions that can unlock the action and accelerate the transition from dirty to clean energy now delayed till Paris next year, the least developed and most vulnerable nations are, once again, left in the cold.

Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) is a pan-Asia network of over 120 NGOs working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.

###

For more information please contact CANSA Director Sanjay Vashist on sanjay@cansouthasia.net