The 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany is the first UN Climate Change Conference to receive official certification for eco-friendly performance.

The German Federal Environment Minister, Barbara Hendricks, and UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary, Ovais Sarmad, were on Friday, November 17, 2017 presented with the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certificate. The certificate verifies the event management’s successful and environmentally-friendly organisation of the conference.

Event managers were already aiming for the consistent prevention of environmental burdens when planning began eleven months ago, and their work was documented in the environmental statement required under EMAS.

Hendricks said: “We have succeeded in making this Climate Change Conference environmentally friendly and sustainable. This is an important signal for a conference which is not just about negotiations, but also about taking action. It goes without saying that there is still room for improvement in certain areas – this COP only marks the start of the learning curve. I highly recommend using EMAS as the yardstick for future Climate Change Conferences.”

Sarmad said: “I want to thank the German government, the people of Bonn and my own staff for embracing wholeheartedly the UN climate conference 2017 and its ambition to be the greenest COP ever. We are fortunate indeed to be headquartered in a country that is working towards a determined transition to an environmentally-friendly and ever more sustainable future. That said, achieving the high EMAS certification approval was not a given.

“But here I think we have together raised the sustainability bar of UN conferences with some 28,800 people participating over the two weeks. I am sure many will look to what has been achieved, within the UN system and beyond, for inspiration on how all events and conferences can play their part in meeting the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

All goals and measures were documented in the environmental statement, then assessed on-site over several days by environmental verifiers and subsequently validated. Such measures included waste avoidance and strict waste separation, climate-friendly catering, excellent local public transport, climate-neutral shuttle services and environmentally sound and reusable materials also for the temporary structures. Energy supply and water consumption are also among the areas to be reviewed in the follow-up.

The role of the 650 volunteers who supported the conference and received training on COP23 environmental issues, should not be underestimated. They inform participants, for instance, about the numerous drinking fountains throughout the conference premises (almost 50) where participants can refill their COP23 reusable bottles they received on registering. The environmental verifier confirmed that this approach also worked well.

After the conference, data on consumption, collected data and the goals and measures of the original environmental statement will be evaluated and examined again by the environmental verifier. This will include a precise calculation of the unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions caused, for example, by the arrival and departure of the participants. These emissions will be offset with certified emission reduction (CERs) credits from particularly ambitious international climate action projects.

The IHK (The Chamber of Commerce and Industry) of Duisburg, which is responsible for Bonn, also handed over the registration certificate for the official EMAS database. COP23 will be added to the EMAS register, which now contains over 9,000 sites of companies and organisations committed to environmental protection.

To ensure the timely implementation of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), Nigeria says it has developed a robust National Sectoral Action Plan across the five priority sectors, which are: agriculture, energy, transportation, industry and oil & gas.

The West African nation added that it had also embraced issuance of green bond, ostensibly as an alternative source of funding green projects that would reduce emissions and provide robust climate infrastructure needed in the country.

The submission formed part of the Nigerian National Statement delivered by the Environment Minister of State and Head of Delegation, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, on Thursday, November 16, 2017 at the 23rd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change holding in Bonn, Germany.

The minister added that this would also manifest in renewable energy, low carbon transport, water infrastructure and sustainable agriculture. He disclosed that Nigeria would launch the first “Sovereign Green Bonds” in Africa in the coming weeks.

“Similarly, we will continue to show a profound interest in contributing to effective global action on climate change,” he said, adding that science has proved beyond reasonable doubt the certainty of the phenomenon.

“So, we must stand united to ensure that the outcome of this Conference comprehensively address what we need to do as prescribed by the Paris Agreement to deal with fundamental challenges of climate change. We are prepared to work with all Parties, in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation with a view to achieving the outcome that will be universally agreeable and beneficial to mankind of all generations,” said the minister.

According to him, up-scaling funding to address the impacts of climate change on livelihoods and ecosystems through an over-arching financial architecture to finance adaptation and mitigation measures is of high priority to Nigeria.

“This should include implementing the gender action plan under the Lima Work Programme on Gender,” he stated, adding that Nigeria is firmly committed to seeing that current areas of contentions with respect to the financial mechanism, adaptation framework and institutional arrangements, technology transfer and capacity building are resolved to the benefit of all Parties.

“We need to urgently move to remove barriers that impede developing countries from effectively accessing global climate finance such as the Adaptation Fund, and the Green Climate Change Fund (GCF), amongst others,” declared the minister.

We called for a focused session that would, according to him, make substantive progress through constructive discussions across all areas of the Paris Agreement work programme “in a balanced manner to enable us come up with a first-hand information on the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement well ahead of the 2018 Session including accelerating the implementation of the pre-2020 commitments and actions and increasing the pre-2020 ambition in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of decision 1/CP.19.”

He added: “We welcome the ‘Talanoa Dialogue’ and seek your guidance and direction as we proceed in the spirit of collaboration and trust in line with the Paris Agreement. This will lead us collectively to a common ground for a successful 2018 facilitative dialogue. Nigeria also shares the same circumstance and views with African member states in terms of NDC implementation capacities.

“We are not in any way proposing to re-open the land mark Agreement but we support the call from the African member States that the best way to proceed is to show a demonstration of flexibility for African countries on climate change actions based on the principles and provisions of the convention and to ensure that differentiation is clearly reflected.”

High level officials from Pacific Islands have called for a reining in of fossil fuel production in order to stay within the climate limits agreed to in Paris. They were joined in their call by civil society, indigenous, and academic voices.

Potential carbon emissions from the oil, gas, and coal present in the world’s currently operating fields and mines would take us beyond 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius of warming. For the world to stay within the Paris climate limits, new fossil fuel production must be halted. This requires stopping exploration for, and expansion of, new reserves and a managed decline and just transition away from fossil fuel production starting with wealthy countries and states who have the means to act first and fastest.

These calls echo the asks of the Lofoten Declaration, which affirms that it is the urgent responsibility and moral obligation of wealthy fossil fuel producers to lead in these efforts. The Lofoten Declaration has been signed by 500 organisations globally and was signed in Bonn, Germany on Wednesday, November 15, 2017 by Francois Martel, Pacific Islands Development Forum.

Anote Tong, President of Kiribati and Francois Martel, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Development Forum formally signed the Lofoten Declaration at the event.

President Anote Tong of Kiribati said: “Fossil fuels will destroy our home. Two Degrees will destroy our home.”

Francois Martel, Secretary General, The Pacific Islands Development Forum: “I have the mandate from the Pacific Leaders to continue to fight for this ambitious and urgent work to reduce emissions globally. I am very please to declare that the Pacific Islands Development Forum will be signing the Lofoten Declaration today and to join 500 like minded organisations who believe in the urgency of this effort.”

Patricia Gualinga, Leader of the Kichwa people of Sarayaku: “For nearly 20 years, our people have been resisting oil development and extraction in our rainforest home in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We have taken our fight all the way to international courts and won. We continue to resist new oil extraction and promote solutions to protect our living forests. We must stand together to keep oil in the ground from the Amazon to the Arctic to protect our climate and our future generations.”

Hannah McKinnon, Director, Energy Futures and Transitions, Oil Change International: “Achieving the Paris goals requires stopping exploration for, and expansion of, new reserves, and a managed decline and just transition away from fossil fuel production starting with those who have the means to act first and fastest.”

Peter Erickson, Senior Scientist, Stockholm Environment Institute: “The ambition of the Paris goals is often framed as an emissions gap. But there is also a production gap, in which countries are planning to produce way more fossil fuels than needed under a 2-degree limit. Our paper shows how they could close this gap.”

Berit Kristoffersen, Associate Professor, University of Tromso: “Norway is a good example of a country that has a historic responsibility and the economic capacity to be a leader on a managed decline. Norway and other wealthy countries should act according the to the Lofoten declaration and recognise that new exploration is inconsistent and no longer acceptable if we are to stay within the limits of the carbon budget.”

Ambassador Seyni Nafo, Chair of the African Group of climate change negotiators: “Achieving 1.5C will require a managed decline in fossil fuels and a rapid shift to renewable energy. Africa is leading the way through the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative and will work with all countries through the 2018 Talanoa Facilitative Dialogue on ways to scale up ambition and make the Paris goals a reality.

Ambassador Colin Beck, Solomon Islands: “There are some things best left under ground. Fossil fuels is one of them. There should be no new expansion of fossil fuels as this threatens our efforts to put the world onto a pathway to limit warming below 1.5C, through our endeavours at the UNFCCC to heal the health of the planet.”

Mohamed Adow, International Climate Lead, Christian Aid: “We need to make a swift global transition away from dirty energy and towards renewables. It is vital that governments should make sure they take appropriate steps to end fossil fuel production and  decarbonise their economies in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The Talanoa Dialogue needs to be the space to consider what’s needed to help countries take advantage of the energy opportunities of the future. This must lead them to ratchet up their Paris Agreement pledges – which is the only way the Paris Agreement’s goals will be met.”