The below statement was planned to be delivered by Fadi el Masry of the International Federation of Liberal Youth on behalf of Youth groups and delivered to the informal plenary of the Ad-Hoc Working Group of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP). That plenary has been postponed for several days in a row – when or if it happens we will try to post the video, but for now here is the text:
In Durban you commited to start your work as a matter of urgency. The UNFCCC process has always been typified by lethargy and stalling. However, we cannot afford to subject the Durban Platform to the same downfalls. You must live up to the promises you made to work URGENTLY and to bring ambition in line with what science demands.
The future agreement must also continue to be based on the Convention's key principles of:equity and common but differentiated responsibilities which need to be informed by historical responsibility.
Developed countries must lead, as they have consistently failed to fulfill their commitments They must live up to their historical climate debt and legal obligations. The ADP must not be an opportunity for platform jumping .
The work of the ADP must be ambitious and cannot be another outlet for developed country parties to fail on their commitments and to not successfully complete their work in other tracks, in particular the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Action Plan by continuing with comprehensive work on mitigation, adaptation, finance, tech-transfer, and capacity building. It must aim for a 1,5C target to ensure the survival of whole nations and their people. By the end of this week, there must be an ambitious workplan in place.
All nations are facing costs from climate impacts, but developing countries are facing projected costs of 1 trillion for adaptation to a problem that they had the least part in causing. it is clear that the LCA must deliver on all its pillars, especially on finance. There must be no conditionalities on ADP outcomes, Finance cannot be held hostage in the ADP.
Pre-2020 mitigation is essential. If a 2020 agreement is to address what science says needs to be done,the ambitious work needs to start now. In particular, the end of subsidies for an industry that runs counter to the conventions very aim. Stop fossil fuel subsidies.
For any target to be achieved at all, a top down approach that ensures compliance is crucial. Pledge and review has proven to be a ridiculous concept – it is a means for countries to shirk their responsibilities.
As young people, we would have liked to end this intervention on a positive note, but you've left us consitently dissapointed and betrayed. Just get it done.