Posted on May, 05 2021

This year,  the Petersberg Climate Dialogue occurs in a moment of renewed climate momentum, but also considerable uncertainty about how and when the world will emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, and what shape the road to Glasgow will take.
 
This event is an important opportunity to mobilize political will and determination around the central issues in the climate negotiations this year.
 
The following suggestions of what could be the role of the dialogue in advancing the agenda this year:

1. Set the stage for finalizing the Paris rulebook, especially by supporting 5-year Common Time Frames. Of the three outstanding items – Common Time Frames for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Article 6 (Carbon Markets and non-Market mechanism), and the enhanced transparency framework – most of the attention is on Article 6. It is imperative to ensure the environmental integrity of all transfers of emissions credits or outcomes, including through corresponding adjustments for all international transfers. But it is Common Time Frames that most depend on progress at the Ministerial level at this point.

The outcome most compatible with an effective Paris ratchet mechanism and ambitious NDCs is agreement on five-year time frames or implementation periods for NDCs. So the next round of NDCs submitted by 2025 will have targets for 5 years after the current 2030 targets - so for the period up to 2035. The alternatives, either 2040 targets or a mix of 2035 and 2040 targets, could lock in low ambition and be an obstacle to achieving net zero global emissions by 2050, and so contribute to a failure to limit warming to 1.5°C.

2. Work on multiple fronts to close the emissions and resilience gaps. Most Parties have yet to submit NDCs that represent their fair share of global efforts towards limiting warming to 1.5°C. The Petersberg Climate Dialogue is an opportunity to build on the momentum created over the last months by announcing plans for enhanced NDCs. In addition, the Petersberg “satellite events” will provide useful opportunities to focus on other complementary efforts that can accelerate implementation of NDCs and the transformations needed to meet Paris objectives. Discussions during the Petersberg satellite events should explore how opportunities for enhanced action through, for example, industry transitions, nature based solutions, shipping decarbonization, zero emission vehicles, and ending deforestation and forest conversion can be pursued through strengthening multilateralism and the global climate regime. The continuing large mitigation gap threatens to widen the resilience gap even further.

3. Developed countries must step up their provision of public finance to support developing countries, especially the most vulnerable, on adaptation and mitigation efforts. In this sense, any announcements by this occasion would be needed and most welcome. The US$100 billion goal from 2020 has not yet been met, as well as the allocation of 50% of finance for adaptation. Financial support is needed more than ever to support climate actions and scale up efforts while ensuring a green economic recovery. Debt levels are soaring in the context of COVID-19 related economic disruptions. A failure to scale up finance to meet and exceed this commitment will undermine efforts to scale up ambition and close the mitigation and resilience gaps. It will also undermine trust and the chances of a successful COP26.

There are high expectations for COP26 as a moment that will focus, consolidate and channel the many important developments this year towards significant progress in confronting climate change. To this end, we must also consider the legacy of COP26 and how it can set the stage for advances under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement over the 2022-2025 key Paris implementation period.
 
Manuel Pulgar-Vidal is WWF Global Lead Climate & Energy..
 
For further information, contact Mandy Jean Woods mwoods@wwfint.org