For immediate release

Contact: Munjurul Hannan Khan, spokesperson, LDCs: munjurulKhan@gmail.comor +12042943425

What follows is a media statement from the Least Developed Countries Group at UN climate change talks.

While expressing frustration at the overall progress in the international negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the LDC Group welcomes the establishment of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage by COP 19.

The Group believes that the mechanism will fill a major gap in addressing climate change as it will deal with losses and damages after the limits of adaptation are crossed. The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage is intended to meet the growing needs in developing countries, in the long term, to cover the economic and non-economic losses from climate change. The LDCs are fully dedicated to continuing to play their role in making the mechanism fully functional in the coming years.

The Group also welcomes the move forward towards the 2015 agreement, but remains worried and concerned at the lack of ambition. The agreement reached in Warsaw far from satisfies the needs of the Least Developed Countries and even creates concerns regarding the negotiating process leading up to the COP21 in 2015.

It is important to make sure that the replacement of the expression “commitments” by “contributions” in the ADP decision will not lead to misinterpretation, and will not undermine the capacity – and the stringency – of the 2015 agreement to prevent dangerous levels of global warming.

Parties need to accelerate their work for a legally binding agreement in Paris and the LDC Group will continue to engage in the negotiating process at the UNFCCC in order to keep the global mean temperature increase below 1.5 degrees by the end of the century.

The LDC lead coordinator for ADP, Pa Ousman Jarju says: “If we are to meet the 2015 deadline, we should advance quickly on many fronts, including a decision to set up a clear process to clarify everybody’s emissions reduction target – and financial contributions – under the new agreement. With the survival of nations at stake, only the highest level of commitment from all is acceptable, guaranteeing global climate action is taken at a level that stabilizes the average global temperature to prevent dangerous climate change.”

Prakash Mathema, the Chair of the LDC Group, says: “Developed countries should contribute effectively in the global process of climate change negotiations by providing support to climate vulnerable least developed countries and other developing countries to address adverse impacts of climate change while paving the way for enhanced action for all to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.”

Although the LDC Group appreciates the contributions of some developed country Parties to the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Adaptation Fund, commitments from developed country Parties have fallen short regarding the real needs. The Group has also called for immediate capitalization and full operationalization of the Green Climate Fund.