2012 UN Climate Meetings:
COP 18 & CMP8- Doha, Qatar

Doha 2012 will bring together an estimated 17,000 representatives of the world's governments, international civil society organizations, including trade unions, business associations, faith groups, environmental organizations, research institutes, etc.

The Doha 2012 Conference includes:

• 18th Annual Session of The Conference of the Parties, to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (also know as COP-18), and;
• 8th Annual Session of Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (also known as CMP-8),

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) sets out a framework for action aimed at stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) to avoid man-made global warming. It was adopted in 1992 and came into force in 1994. With 195 parties to the agreement, the UNFCCC encompasses virtually every country in the world, including Canada and the United States (US).

At last years session (COP 17) in Durban South Africa, governments decided to adopt a new universal legal agreement on climate change that will apply to all countries no later than 2015. While Doha 2012 is not intended to produce a new treaty or agreement, the central goal is to begin discussions for a new legal structure that will be in place for 2015.

The Kyoto Protocol, a sub-agreement under the UNFCC was signed in 1997 at COP 10 in Kyoto Japan, and came into force in 2005, and set binding obligations on industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). It presently has 193 parties, including Canada but not the US.

The Kyoto Protocol intended that a second commitment period and new international framework be negotiated and ratified by the end of 2012. The European Union (EU) - along with Australia, Norway, Switzerland and a handful of other countries - is expected to sign up to a continuation of the Kyoto protocol beyond 2012 at Doha. But such a continuation is not expected to include earlier signatories to Kyoto such Canada, Russia, or Japan. A second commitment period is also unlikely to include the US, or other major emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil, which were not required to reduce emissions during the first Kyoto commitment period.

Climate Action Network International (CANET), with almost 600 member organizations in countries around the world publishes an on line and paper daily bulletin called ECO during negotiations. CANET has participated in climate negotiations since the United Nations Framework on Climate Change was first negotiated, and pursues common program and policy goals during negotiations.

Sign Up for Climate Action Network International (CANET) ECO e-Newsletter

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), a global environmental research think tank based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, also provides daily coverage, reports, summaries and analysis of climate change negotiations through its Earth News Bulletin.

Sign Up for IISD: Earth News Bulletin e-Newsletter

Manitoba Wildlands will be providing selected and recommended links for news, reports, and analysis regarding the UN Doha Climate Summit November-December 2012. Media releases and clips will be listed by: Pre-Conference, During-Conference, and Post-Conference. Use this menu to quickly navigate the links listing below:

• Websites
• Blogs
• Events
• Reports (UNFCC / IPCC)
• Reports
• Photos
• Videos/Podcasts
• Media Releases - Post-Conference
• Media Releases - During
• Media Releases - Pre-Conference
• Manitoba Wildlands coverage

• Official Doha 2012 - COP 18 page
• UNFCCC Doha 2012 - COP 18 page
• bigEE
• Centre for Science and Development
• Climate & Development Knowledge Network
• Climate Action Network International (CANET)
• Climate Action Network Canada (CANC-RACC)
• Climate Action Sustainable Innovation Forum
• Gateway to the United Nations Systems Work on Climate Change
• IISD, COP 18 page
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Facebook: Climate Action Network Canada
• Tcktcktck Fresh Air Briefs
• The Guardian: COP18 Doha climate change conference
• United Nations Climate Change:Learn

• Canadian Youth Delegation
• Climate Legacy - Canadian Youth Climate Coalition

• November 29, 2012, IIED at the COP18 UN climate summit
• November 21, 2012 Letter to Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent from Canadian Council of Churches
• DCoha Climate hange Conference - November 2012
• Fairtrade International Events
• Future-Camp

• Overview Schedule - United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) Doha, Qatar 26 November to 07 December 2012

• November 30, 2012, 2° be or not 2° be, Climate Analytics
• November 29, 2012, Cultivating Governance: Cautionary Tales for Biofuel Policy Reformers, IISD
• November 29, 2012, Standards for Results-Based REDD+ Finance : Overview and Design Parameters
• November 26, 2012, UN climate negotiations in Doha, Qatar, The Pembina Institute
• November 23, 2012, Clearing the air on oilsands emissions, The Pembina Institute
• November 18, 2012, Turn Down the Heat, World Bank
• November 12, 2012, World Energy Outlook 2012, International Energy Agency
• November 1, 2012, Too late for two degrees?, Pricewaterhouse Coopers
• November 2012, Loss and Damage in a Warmer World: Whither Gender Matters?
• November 2012, Tackling Loss & Damage - A new role for the climate regime?
• November 2012, REDD-plus briefing paper Doha Climate Change Conference
• November 2012, Science Update: Loss and Damage - Climate Change Today and under Future Scenarios
• October 21, 2012, Call for Leadership and Action on Climate Change, Canadian Interfaith
• October 2012 Climate Action Network International (CANET) - Doha Milestones and Action
• October 2012 Climate Action Network International (CANET) - Doha Milestones and Action: Summary
• Ecofys Publications
• Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost, United Nations Environment Programme
• Standardized Baselines for the CDM - Are We On the Right Track?, Stockholm Environment Institute

• Climate Action Network Canada Photostream on Facebook

Videos/Podcasts:  

• Canada's 'war on science', Aljazeera
• Fossil of the Day - Day 1 at COP18 on YouTube
• Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International, at the CAN press conference at the end of COP18
• UN Head Says World is in a Race Against Time, Common Dreams
• UNIDO Sustainable Energy for All
• Watch 80,000 people break out in song for the climate
• "Your Governments Have Failed You": Syrian-American Student Munira Sibai Calls For Climate Justice

• December 13, 2012, 'I'd Rather Fight Like Hell': Naomi Klein's Fierce New Resolve to Fight for Climate Justice, Common Dreams
• December 12, 2012, A New Latin American Climate Negotiating Group: The Greenest Shoots in the Doha Desert, Brookings
• December 12, 2012, COP18 Failed to Turn Down the Heat, Bianca Jagger
• December 11, 2012, Doha Climate Change Negotiations: Moving Beyond the Dueling Dinosaurs to Bring Together Equity and Ambition, Brookings
• December 10, 2012, The "Doha Climate Gateway": Limited Progress Toward a Global Agreement, Brookings
• December 7, 2012, Doha Deal will Result in "Unprecedented Ecological and Social Collapse", Common Dreams
• December 6, 2012, Doha: Forest Groups Denounce False Solutions to Forest Loss at UN Climate Summit, Global Justice Ecology Project
• December 5, 2012, The Final Stretch of the Doha Climate Talks, Brookings
• December 4, 2012, Climate Finance and Global Development Post-2012: Clearing the Fog at Doha, Brookings

• December 8, 2012, Climate Fail: Cop18 Ends in 'Betrayal', Common Dreams
• December 7, 2012, Canada and New Zealand Tie for the Infamous Colossal Fossil 2012 Award, Climate Action Network International
• December 7, 2012, Climate Justice Advocates Slam Doha's Emerging 'Sham of a Deal', Common Dreams
• December 7, 2012, Leading NGOs Make Emergency Appeal as Doha Talks are on the Brink of Disaster, Common Dreams
• December 5, 2012, Environment Minister Peter Kent touts Harper government's climate record at summit, Canada.com
• December 4, 2012, Will Obama Seize Key Opportunity to Fight Climate Change?, Common Dreams
• December 3, 2012, The Human Cost of Climate Change Is Too High, Huffington Post
• December 3, 2012, Fossil Fuel Subsidies Five Times Greater Than Pledges To Help Developing Nations, Common Dreams
• December 3, 2012, Fossil Fuel Subsidies In Focus At Doha Climate Talks, Huffington Post
• December 2, 2012, Climate Change Study Indicates Amount Of Heat-Trapping Pollution Rose By 3 Percent Worldwide Last Year, Huffington Post
• December 1, 2012, Qatar's first climate change march urges Arab states to act, AlertNet
• November 30, 2012, Climate Experts To World: Act Boldly Now, or Pay Severely Later, Common Dreams
• November 30, 2012, Climate aid assurances fail to convince African nations, AlertNet
• November 30, 2012, Canada won't budge on environment, Peter Kent insists, The Globe and Mail
• November 29, 2012, Enbridge Bid to Dismiss Landowners' Lawsuit Fails, Pipeline Case to Continue, Inside Climate News
• November 29, 2012, Climate policy inaction fuels new era of loss and damage - report, AlertNet
• November 28, 2012, Plants and Soils Could Accelerate Climate's Warming, Study Warns, Inside Climate News
• November 28, 2012, Let's Talk Hidden Dragons at COP18, This Beautiful Troubled Planet
• November 28, 2012, 'Alarming' Year of Extremes as Climate 'Tipping Point' Looms, Common Dreams
• November 28, 2012, Leave the Carbon in the Ground: An Open Letter to Governments and Their Negotiators, Common Dreams
• November 28, 2012, 'Alarming' Year of Extremes as Climate 'Tipping Point' Looms, Common Dreams
• November 28, 2012, Sea Level Rise Accelerating Faster Than Initial Projections, Huffington Post
• November 28, 2012, Paying the Price for Climate Change, Huffington Post
• November 27, 2012, World must pay more attention to thawing permafrost: UN report, Nunatsiaq Online
• November 27, 2012, Outcry Grows Over Canadian Govt's Undermining of Climate Science, Inside Climate News
• November 27, 2012, COP18: Permafrost Melts While Government Negotiations Stall, Common Dreams
• November 27, 2012, Canada, The Surprise 'Pariah' of the Kyoto Protocol, Common Dreams
• November 27, 2012, The Climate Fiscal Cliff, Common Dreams
• November 27, 2012, Global Warming Threat: Permafrost Thawing Across Siberia And Alaska Poses New Concern, UNEP Reports, Huffington Post
• November 26, 2012, UN Climate Change Conference Opens In Doha, Qatar, Huffington Post
• November 26, 2012, U.S. holds to climate goals despite poor nations' pleas, Reuters
• November 26, 2012, Ocean clouds obscure warming's fate, create 'fundamental problem' for models, E&E Publishing
• November 26, 2012, Doha Climate Conference: Key Issues Up for Negotiation, Brookings

• United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha, USCAN
• November 23, 2012, Doha/UN Climate Change Talks: "Of course it's about money, but it's also about solidarity," says UN Expert, UN.org
• November 23, 2012, Resuscitation hopes dim for expiring Kyoto climate treaty, Planet Ark
• November 23, 2012, Will uncertainty over new climate agreement prolong the REDD+ stalemate?, Centre for International Forest Research
• November 22, 2012, China expects Doha climate conference to produce "balanced" result, People's Daily Online
• November 21, 2012, The Doha Climate Talks and Long Term Treaty Goals, Brookings
• November 21, 2012, Realism in the climate negotiations, India Environment Portal
• November 21, 2012, UNFCCC Executive Secretary: Doha's COP18/CMP8 climate change conference must deliver objectives to speed up inadequate climate action, UN.org
• November 21, 2012, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Gap Widening as Nations Head to Crucial Climate Talks in Doha, UN.org
• November 21, 2012, The Doha Climate Talks and Long Term Treaty Goals, Brookings Institution
• November 21, 2012, 'Sobering Facts' In UN Report Show Global Warming Targets Fading Fast, Common Dreams
• November 20, 2012, Dear Doha: Time to get the climate policy right, Renew Economy
• November 19, 2012, Climate Conversations - New Kyoto commitments needed now, AlertNet
• November 19, 2012, The latest predictions on climate change should shock us into action, The Guardian
• November 19, 2012, Issues to Watch at the Doha Climate Negotiations (COP 18), WRI Insights
• November 19, 2012, World Bank Report Warns 'Catastrophic Consequences' of Global Warming, Common Dreams
• November 19, 2012, Issues to Watch at the Doha Climate Negotiations (COP 18), World Resources Institute
• November 15, 2012, Climate Conversations - A climate roadmap for Obama, AlertNet

Doha Resolves Little

A framework for a single-track negotiation process to arrive a new legally binding global climate treaty by 2015 was developed in Doha, but unless countries develop the political will to take sincere action at home a deal in 2015 remains elusive.

"These talks have failed the climate and they have failed developing nations. The Doha decision has delivered no real cuts in emissions, it has delivered no concrete finance, and it has not delivered on equity," said World Wildlife Federation (WWF) head delegate, Tasneem Essop.

Potentially the most import discussion at Doha was the talk of financing the response for climate change.

"The climate change phenomenon has been caused by the industrialization of the developed world. It's only fair and reasonable that the developed world should bear most of the responsibility," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

2009 UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark agreed to a fast-start financing commitment to mobilize US$ 10 billion per year between 2010-2012. With a longer-term pledge to reach an annual target of US$ 100 billion by 2020 to establish a Green Climate Fund was also agreed to.

Canada pledged $1.2 billion between 2009-2012 towards fast-start climate financing. Canada provided $400 million in 2010, $394 million in 2011, and $180 million from January to May 2012. Canadian Minister of the Environment Peter Kent announced a further $167.5 million of fast-start climate financing at Doha on December 6, 2012.

The most recent funding includes $75 million for a fund administered by the International Finance Corporation that will invest in venture capital and private equity in developing countries. Another $76 million is earmarked for the Asian Development Bank to establish a Canadian Climate Fund for private sector projects in Asia, and $16.5 million goes to the UN Development Program for adaptation projects in least developed countries.

With no firm funding commitments beyond 2013, developing countries pushed richer nations to scale up climate aid to poor countries to meet the $100 billion annual commitment. But rich nations were generally unwilling to make specific commitments at Doha, citing world financial turmoil and pressure on their budgets.

"The Canadian Government was determined to lead the race to the bottom on the central issue of finance, insisting on holding out for at least 3 more years until they contribute to the Green Climate Fund," said Hannah McKinnon, Climate Action Network Canada Campaigns Director.

Developing countries did have some success in obtaining a pledge from rich nations that they will receive funds to repair "loss and damage from climate change."

"This is a highly significant move - it will be the first time the size of the bill for failing to take on climate change will be part of the UN discussions. Countries need to understand the risks they are taking in not addressing climate change urgently," said Greenpeace political advisor Ruth Davis.

Despite this success, key questions remain unanswered, including whether funds devoted to "loss and damage" will come from existing humanitarian aid and disaster relief budgets. Another question is how the funds will be disbursed. These issues will have to be sorted out at next year's climate conference, in Warsaw, Poland, where they will be bitterly contested.

The European Union, Australia, Switzerland, Norway and several other industrialized nations did manage to conclude negotiations on a new commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. Kyoto's expiry on January 31 would have left the world without a legally binding framework to confront global warming. However, the second phase only covers about 15 per cent of global emissions after Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Russia opted out. The Unites States is not a signatory to Kyoto.

Countries also failed to move beyond the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction pledges that have been on the table since the Copenhagen conference in 2009. The US refused to budge on its target of a 17% reduction in GHG emission by 2020. The EU, already on track to meet its target of 20% GHG reductions by 2020, was unable to form consensus on greater action due to opposition from member state Poland, which wanted to keep carbon credits awarded to it in the 1990s.

Other tough issues, such as emissions from international aviation and maritime transport, were simply ignored.

"Bopha, Sandy, floods in Pakistan, droughts in China... How many reports from the likes of the World Bank, NASA and the International Energy Agency will it take? How many preventable catastrophes until our leaders realize that climate change will not be solved by nice speeches and empty promises? Countries like Canada and the U.S. have promised to reduce their greenhouse gas pollution and provide adequate financial support for developing countries. They have so far failed on both counts," Steven Guilbeault, Deputy Director, Equiterre.