“The Least Developed Countries are the poorest and most vulnerable group of countries in the world, who contribute the least to the problems of climate change. We are likely to suffer some of the worst loss and damages, and are least able to cope with them – without substantial financial and technical support. Our very future therefore not only depends on the world keeping global warming temperature to below 1.5°C, but also on how much financial and technical support is made available for adaptation and sustainable development. We therefore need to see concrete outcomes of the talks here in Warsaw and progress towards a strong 2015 agreement.” says the Chair of the group Mr. Prakash Mathema.

As delegates of the world gather in the Polish capital for the annual climate conference, the 49 most vulnerable countries stress that Warsaw should draw the roadmap for an effective international agreement on climate change in 2015. The LDCs urge all developed country parties to fulfill their responsibility to take the lead in addressing the crisis of climate change through ambitious mitigation targets.

Gaps in Climate Finance:

Finance is a key issue for the LDCs for realizing urgent, immediate and long-term adaptation plans as well as achieving sustainable development. Effective progress in climate finance negotiation – as a part of developed countries commitment to act – is crucial for developing countries to take action on the ground and to tackle the adverse impacts, it remains unclear as to how developed countries will fulfill their pledge of mobilizing US$ 100 billion a year by 2020 to address the needs of highly vulnerable developing countries. The availability of climate finance – both in the pre-2020 period, and scaling up beyond 2020, are crucial for the LDCs to be able to adapt and address impacts of climate change. Closing the gap for climate finance through identified sources and ensuring certainty for availability of the funds are the key asks of the LDC group.

Closing the Mitigation Ambition Gap:

Even to achieve the globally agreed 2°C goal requires nations to keep global C02 emissions to no more than 44 gigatonnes by 2020. There is a ‘mitigation gap’ of 8 -13 gigatonnes of CO2: the combined current emissions reduction targets submitted by parties show that emissions will be 52-57 gigatonnes of CO2 by 2020. This mitigation ambition gap is of serious concern for the LDCs. The LDC group would like to see real progress in this issue and will continue to draw attention to the mitigation gap in Warsaw and will urge the developed countries to agree a work plan by which they can deliver robust and enhanced mitigation ambition in 2014 and beyond, to achieve the 2°C goal reaching 1.5 degree target soon.

Adopting a Roadmap for the 2015 Agreement:

In 2011, governments agreed to finalize a new agreement applicable to all by 2015, which will come into force in 2020. The LDC group has already made it clear that the new agreement must be a legally binding protocol, the draft of which must be ready by the end of 2014. This will allow time for domestic stakeholder consultations and to adopt the final Protocol in 2015. The LDC group would like to highlight the importance of having a clear roadmap for negotiating the planning, scope, structure and design of the new 2015 agreement.

Institutional Mechanism for Addressing Loss and Damage:

Addressing loss and damage from the impacts of climate change is crucial for the survival of the LDCs. There will be inevitable losses and damages due to climate change that are beyond the capacities of LDCs to respond and adapt. Last year in Doha, importance of this issue was realized and considered by the parties as one of the major agenda for Warsaw meeting to set up an institutional mechanism under the UNFCCC to address this issue. The LDC group has taken this issue very seriously and would like to urge parties to act here in Warsaw as per the agreement in Doha.

Contact: Munjurul Hannan Khan, spokesperson, LDCs: munjurulKhan@gmail.com or +48 690 507 519