The G20 meeting of leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies ended a few days ago in Hamburg, Germany with a strong statement of commitment for implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change by 19 of the leaders, with the exception of President Trump who has decided to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement. This marks the effective split …

I have just returned from Kampala, Uganda, where I attended the 11th International Conference on Community Based Adaptation (CBA11), where around 300 participants from over fifty countries came together for a week of discussions and knowledge-sharing on how the most vulnerable communities around the world are already taking action to tackle climate change at the local level. This conference series …

(Originally published here) Talks on preserving a 100-strong ‘high ambition’ alliance that helped deliver the Paris climate deal last December are ongoing, according to a legal advisor for the world’s poorest countries. The unlikely group saw the US, Canada and EU link arms with African, Pacific and smaller Asian states in the closing days of the UN summit, agreeing to …

(Originally published here) The Paris Agreement coming out of the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 negotiations gave breakthrough recognition to loss and damage, sorting through thorny discussions and politically charged negotiating positions. These positions revolved around liability and compensation, which developing countries called for but developed countries were unwilling to have included in the Agreement. The UN Framework Convention on …

(Originally published here) In exchange for including the ambitious target in the final text, developing nations are being pressured to never again mention “loss and damage.”   Entering the closing 48 hours of the global climate negotiations, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that “we will not leave the most vulnerable nations among us to quite literally …

(Originally published here) With many “climate-vulnerable” nations calling on the Paris climate summit (COP21) to adopt a global warming limit of 1.5℃ rather than 2℃, will these concerns be acted upon? And if not, how much help will they get to cope with the consequences? Matt McDonald: Your research has examined developing countries in the context of climate change – …

(Originally posted on the IIED website here) With a month to go until the start of COP21, Saleemul Huq provides an insight into the perspectives of the Least Developed Countries ahead of the Paris climate talks, as part of a new series of video interviews for IIED.   Least Developed Countries must use their “strength of numbers” if they are to …