ASEAN JOINT STATEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE 2014 ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®®® WE, the Heads of State/Government of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Member States of ASEAN, on the occasion of the 25th ASEAN Summit; REMEMBERING our commitments made in the Nay Pyi Taw Declaration on Realisation of the ASEAN Community by 2015 (2014); ASEAN Action Plan on Joint Response to Climate Change (2012); the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Climate Change to the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Session of the COP serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (2011); the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on Joint Response to Climate Change (2010); the ASEAN Joint Statement on Climate Change to the 15th Session of the COP to the UNFCCC and the 5th Session of the COP serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (2009); the ASEAN Declaration on the 13th session of COP to the UNFCCC and the 3rd session of the CMP to the Kyoto Protocol (2007); and the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Sustainability (2007); NOTING the wide-ranging and collaborative research and policy development work in recent years by ASEAN Member States on sustainable development, land use and landscapes, and on forest conservation and governance, as recognised, for example, at the Forests Asia Summit 2014; REITERATING our commitment to the UNFCCC, and its principles and provisions, as a framework for international collaboration on climate change mitigation and adaptation; REAFFIRMING the UNFCCC’s core principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and that developed country Parties should take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof in accordance with this principle, while agreeing that renewed efforts by all Parties to the UNFCCC are required to ensure mitigation goals are met; WELCOMING the Warsaw Framework for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), and the financial support provided by the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom, as an important outcome of COP19 and a critical step in better valuing and protecting global forest carbon stocks; PRAISING strengthened efforts to mobilize the long-term financing commitments from developed countries to support developing countries and least developed countries in pursuing ambitious mitigation and adaptation efforts; RECOGNIZING the United Nations Climate Summit held in New York on 23 September 2014; HIGHLIGHTING the urgency with which renewed mitigation efforts are required given the latest reports prepared for the International Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) predict that, without additional mitigation, global mean surface temperatures will increase in 2100 from 3.7°C to 4.8°C compared to pre-industrial levels, and that substantial reductions beyond 2020 will be required to limit temperature change to 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels; POINTING to the clear evidence of climate change in our region over the past four decades, which has major consequences for agriculture, energy supply and livelihoods; REEMPHASISING that climate change is already having significant impacts causing major loss and damage throughout the ASEAN region, and disproportionately affecting developing countries, with the experiences with Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines providing stark evidence of the destructive impacts and disaster-prone nature of the region that cannot be ignored; RECOGNISING the important role that forest conservation and sustainable management of forests throughout ASEAN will play in helping to mitigate global climate change, reduce the risks of extreme weather events and other climate-driven disasters, and provide sustainable economic livelihood opportunities for local communities; WELCOMING decision 1/CP.17 of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in which Parties decided to launch a process to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties by 2015 to be implemented from 2020; and recognising that the 2015 global agreement must be balanced and comprehensive, including key areas of the Durban mandate such as mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation; ACKNOWLEDGING that universal participation is an essential ingredient for greater ambition in the 2015 agreement and in that regard, all Parties have a common obligation to submit an intended nationally determined contribution as part of the 2015 global agreement, while recalling the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities; EXPRESSING the view that technology transfer, capacity building and financial assistance from developed countries to developing countries are vital to supporting Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and Intended Nationally Determined Contributions and other activities on climate change effectively and efficiently in the long run; VALUING the importance of pursuing climate change mitigation and adaptation actions that are consistent with broader sustainable development goals to the achievement of food security and poverty alleviation throughout the ASEAN region; RECOGNIZING the progress made in the implementation of the ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Framework on Climate Change: Agriculture and Forestry towards Food Security (AFCC), the ASEAN-German Program on Climate Change: Agriculture, Forestry and related sectors (GAP-CC) through newly proposed ‘Forestry and Climate Change (FOR-CC)’, and the ASEAN-Swiss Partnership Programme on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC) endorsed by the 36th Meeting of ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (36th AMAF); ACKNOWLEDGING the role of regional forums, including ASEAN, in supporting countries to collaborate on the local, regional and global challenges of climate change; DO HEREBY DECLARE TO: 1. CALL upon all Parties to the UNFCCC, including ASEAN Member States, to take note of the findings in the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report; 2. URGE Parties to take immediate action on ratifying the Doha Amendments to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol; 3. AFFIRM that increasing pre-2020 ambition must be primarily achieved through the implementation of the 2nd commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and the outcomes of the Bali Action Plan in accordance with principles and provisions of the Convention, with developed country Parties taking the lead; 4. CONTINUE to investigate increased renewable energy and energy efficiency potential throughout the ASEAN region in recognition that such efforts can be the fastest and most efficient way of closing the “ambition gap”; 5. CALL upon all Parties to the UNFCCC, including ASEAN Member States, to work effectively and in good faith to adopt a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all by the end of 2015, and to table their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions well in advance of COP-21 in Paris in December 2015 or by first quarter 2015 by those Parties ready to do so; 6. URGE developed countries to continue to show leadership, recognising historical responsibilities, including by coming forward early with ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contributions by March 2015; 7. AFFIRM that we will put forward our Intended Nationally Determined Contributions well in advance of COP-21 in Paris, or by first quarter 2015 for those Parties ready to do so, as mandated by the decisions reached at COP-19 in Warsaw. These Intended Nationally Determined Contributions will reflect our diverse national circumstances and be made in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and contribute to a 2015 agreement that is under the Convention and applicable to all Parties; 8. REQUEST support for developing countries and least developed countries in the context of paragraph 2(d) of decision 1/C.19 in the preparation of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, and to pursue low carbon development opportunities that can enable new mitigation efforts, especially focusing on renewable energy development, energy efficiency, and clean fossil energy technologies and forestry, to be included in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions; 9. URGE developed countries to provide assistance to ASEAN Member States to enhance protection of the remaining forests, biodiversity and ecosystem services that can contribute to ambitious forest conservation and sustainable forest management goals in ASEAN Member States’ Intended Nationally Determined Contributions; 10. URGE all Parties to the UNFCCC to recognise the extreme vulnerability of ASEAN Member States to climate change, and therefore the importance of adaptation activities and enhancing capacity in the 2015 agreement; 11. SUPPORT the notion that apart from mitigation, contributions could also include adaptation, in the context that all Parties would submit intended contributions which are nationally determined; 12. ENCOURAGE Parties to the UNFCCC to develop adaptation strategies that are consistent with, and address the threats identified in, the IPCC AR5 Working Group II report on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation; 13. UNDERTAKE concerted efforts to systematically rehabilitate our region’s mangrove forests, in recognition of their critically important roles in mitigation and adaptation, particularly their provision of disaster risk reduction services by minimizing the impacts of coastal storms and flooding; 14. ENCOURAGE developed countries to recognise the potential to support the ASEAN region to continue transition to renewable energy sources and increasing energy efficiency, as part of efforts to embrace low carbon futures; 15. ENCOURAGE developed countries to increase commitments, in terms of capacity building, technical assistance, technological transfer and financing, for developing countries and least developed countries to pursue ambitious mitigation and adaptation objectives in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions; 16. ENCOURAGE developed countries to accelerate their contributions to the Green Climate Fund, to mobilise it as a matter of priority, noting that the distribution process should be effective, predictable and easy to access; 17. AFFIRM that finalisation and operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Mechanism is of urgent priority, and welcome the application of insurance oriented financial mechanisms, such as crop insurance, throughout the ASEAN region with the support of developed countries; 18. AGREE that enhanced financing from developed countries is critical for least developed countries and developing countries to pursue green economy pathways that can preserve forest carbon sinks and to adapt to the emerging risks of climate change; 19. ENCOURAGE developed countries to prioritise financial and technological support for developing countries and least developed countries to rapidly pursue decentralized renewable energy supply options, which is critical to allow poor communities currently lacking electricity to pursue a clean energy future; 20. ENHANCE the potential of REDD+ to contribute to green development by protecting the remaining global forest carbon stocks and biodiversity resources, enhancing forest carbon stocks and thereby increasing carbon removal reversing land degradation, providing green products by sustaining management of forests improving the livelihoods of the rural poor, and aiding adaptation and mitigation efforts; 21. ENCOURAGE ASEAN Member States to strengthen existing regional collaborations, including in REDD+ readiness activities, in order to capitalise opportunities under REDD+ framework and future climate regime, recognizing differences in national circumstances and arrangement of REDD+ and/or forest related programmes in individual ASEAN Member States. 22. ENCOURAGE all Parties to the UNFCCC to ensure that sustainable REDD+ financing mechanisms are developed and implemented in order to enhance the potential for REDD+ to contribute significantly to global mitigation objectives; 23. URGE all Parties to progress in results-based REDD+ financing, taking into consideration conditions relating to forest protection and the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, and the principle that local communities and governments should be supported in promoting genuine efforts to halt deforestation; 24. REITERATE the need to increase ongoing capacity building assistance from developed countries to assist developing countries and in particular least developed countries with REDD+ implementation, including the incorporation of non-carbon benefits into systems and activities, taking into account different phases of REDD+ implementation in developing countries; 25. ENCOURAGE developed countries to fully implement obligations regarding land use, land use change and forestry, noting that all future actions or negotiations concerning land use land use, change and forestry should take into account the full range of ecosystem services provided by forests and wetlands; 26. ENCOURAGE the establishment of a network of research centres in ASEAN Member States to share knowledge and lessons learnt on climate adaptable agricultural products, which will enable us to combat the impacts of climate change on agricultural production patterns and promote regional food security; 27. INCREASE our cooperation to improve our collective capacity to deal with climate and weather management, including undertaking collaborative research to better understand how climate change will influence the weather systems of the ASEAN region and technology development on climate outlooks and forecasting to better manage risks, building the capacity of decision makers from different sectors and different geographic scales to link climate knowledge with humanitarian and development action, and developing regionalscale, high resolution climate models for the ASEAN region; 28. STRENGTHEN ASEAN rapid response capacity to be more efficient and effective in the event of natural disasters through existing mechanisms under the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER); 29. STRESS the importance of fast capitalization of the Adaptation Fund to continue funding priority projects since countries are already affected by climate change; 30. SEEK assistance in the form of technology transfer, for both the public and private sectors to support strengthened mitigation and adaptation efforts, which should be easily transferrable, subject to low costs and exempt from unreasonable patent fees; 31. REQUEST ongoing support from developed countries to ASEAN Member States to better understand, develop and implement Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) process; 32. CONTINUE to promote ASEAN’s experiences in other regional forums to progress collaborative efforts on climate change; 33. COMMIT ourselves to pursuing a successful COP20 as a crucial step towards elaborating a 2015 agreement at COP21 for the post-2020 period. Adopted in Nay Pyi Taw, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, this XX of XX in the Year Two Thousand and Fourteen.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 02:19:29 +0000