1. REPORT ON THE OUTCOMES OF THE 23RD SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (COP23), HELD FROM 06 TO 17 NOVEMBER 2017 IN BONN, GERMANY
PCEA : 14 FEBRUARY 2018

2. PURPOSE
To provide a brief on the outcomes of the twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP23); and
To outline the significance of developments in the negotiations to South Africa and Africa.

3. BACKGROUND
Climate Change poses a significant threat to South Africa’s developmental goals, and also to development gains made to date.
No continent will be struck as severely by the impacts of climate change as AFRICA
Africa is also very vulnerable due to limited adaptive capacity, exacerbated by widespread poverty and the existing low levels of development.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimate that:
By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people in Africa are projected to be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change;
By 2020, in some countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50%. Food security in many African countries could be severely compromised.
Towards the end of the 21st century, projected sea level rise will affect low-lying coastal areas;

4. BACKGROUND (continued)
Global warming of 2 degrees will not be evenly distributed – in parts of Africa and South Africa, we will experience between 4 and 6 degrees of warming on average
Climate change is already leading to unexpected climate variability in South Africa – for example, the drought in the western Cape.
South Africa has a high-carbon economy – heavily coal-dependent – and we will have to change development paths
Luckily for us, the cost of low-carbon power is now much cheaper than coal, and there are large economic opportunities in low-carbon development

5. BACKGROUND (continued)
The twenty-third session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change took place in Bonn, Germany, 6-18 Nov 2017
COP 21 in Paris resulted in the seminal Paris Agreement; COP 22, 23 and 24 will work on decisions to be taken at COP 24 on measures to implement the Paris Agreement;
Africa participated in COP23 with its usual solidarity and South Africa led the African negotiators on many key issues.
COP23 had been expected to prioritize decisions on Loss & Damage from the impacts of climate change
As well as Finance, Technology and Capacity Building support for developing countries action

6. MAIN PRIORITIES FOR FIJI
Advance the work on the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement (adoption by COP24)
Establish arrangements for a Facilitative (Talanoa) Dialogue aimed to enhance post-2020 ambition

7. PRIORITIES FOR SOUTH AFRICA COP23
South Africa had three main priorities for the meeting:
Firstly, to advance the work on the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement that are set for adoption at COP24 in Poland in 2018 together with arrangements for a Facilitative Dialogue aimed to enhance post ambition;
Secondly, to place a specific focus on the Durban commitments for pre-2020 action and support, particularly from developed countries; and
Thirdly, to obtain decisions on financial support for developing countries, in particular on the future of the Adaptation Fund and the communication by developed countries of the scale of financial support that they will be providing to developed countries.

8. KEY OUTCOMES COP23
The major outcome of the Conference, decision 1/CP.23 titled “Fiji Momentum for Implementation”, addressed the following areas:
Completion of the Work Programme under the Paris Agreement: Parties confirmed their determination to accelerate the work on the Paris Agreement mandates;
Talanoa Dialogue: Parties welcomed the design of the 2018 Facilitative Dialogue to be conducted from April to December 2018; and
Pre-2020 implementation and ambition: Parties decided to convene stocktakes of pre-2020 implementation and ambition at COP24 (2018) and COP25 (2019) and urged Parties to the Kyoto Protocol that have not yet ratified the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, to do so without further delay.

9. KEY OUTCOMES COP23 (continued)
A significant success for the Africa Group was the decision that the Adaptation Fund shall serve the Paris Agreement, subject to decisions on governance and institutional arrangements, safeguards and operating modalities of the Fund to be taken in 2018.
Several developed countries made financial pledges to the Adaptation Fund.
Other outcomes on finance included decisions on:
long-term finance;
a process to decide on the up-front communication of financial support provided by developed countries, and
guidance to the Green Climate Fund, which clarifies that all developing countries should have access to all the financial instruments.

10. KEY OUTCOMES COP23 (continued)
Other significant decisions included:
the establishment of a Gender Action Plan;
an assessment of the current technical examination processes on mitigation and adaptation; and
guidance to the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts.
Progress on the Paris Work Programme.

11. POLITICAL DYNAMICS
The announcement by the USA to withdraw from the Paris Agreement continues to cast doubt on the USA position and its intentions in the negotiations.
The USA delegation to the Bonn Climate Change Conference indicated that they did not have clear instructions and were therefore engaging on the basis of what they understood to be positions that do not change across administrations.
This puts in doubt the extent to which Parties can trust the US as a reliable negotiating partner.
There has not been any efforts to renegotiate the Paris package which stands to be resisted by developing countries.
Furthermore, during the high-level session France and Germany signalled their determination to raise their ambition and to contribute towards filling the gaps left by the US. The rest of the world is resolute on this.

12. POLITICAL DYNAMICS (continued)
However, in the negotiations, this was not matched by willingness by developed countries to engage meaningfully on finance, capacity- building and technology.
The priority for South Africa going forward is therefore to impress upon developed countries the need to honour their commitments and show leadership. Securing progress on Article 9(5) on indicative support is key and how this matter is dealt with will be an indication of the degree of commitment of developed Parties to the process.
There are many challenges to the principle of differentiation, particularly regarding the eligibility of so-called “middle-income countries” to receive finance support from the financial mechanism of the Convention.
Developed countries are increasingly directing their development aid to least developed countries and vulnerable countries, but these states have very low emissions while the so-called ‘emerging economies’ still have the greatest mitigation potential.
As a result, investing in the low carbon future of emerging economies remain the best investment from a climate change perspective.

13. POLITICAL DYNAMICS (continued)
The Paris Agreement will require enhanced reporting obligations, as part of its enhanced transparency system, for developing countries.
As a result, specific provisions were made in the Agreement for support to be provided by developed countries to developing countries, both for capacity-building in reporting, and also for the ongoing actual implementation of the reporting processes themselves.
It is vital that these provisions are implemented fully, and appropriate resources are provided to developing countries.
It is crucial that developing countries ensure that any gap in ambition related to the pre-2020 period is not transferred to developing countries.
Developed countries’ emissions in excess of their fair allocation must remain their responsibility after 2020.

14. IMPLICATIONS FOR SOUTH AFRICA
The Paris Agreement, when fully implemented, will inter alia require South Africa to:
submit a “Nationally-Determined Contribution” (NDC) every five years which details South Africa’s climate response;
report on progress in achieving its NDC.
The nature and extent of these obligations will only be clear once negotiations on the Paris Rule Book have been finalised, but will involve building on current national systems established in terms of South Africa’s climate policy.
The specific outcome of COP 23 does not require additional implementation requirements for South Africa.
The outcome of COP 23 has no further organisational and personnel implications for South Africa

15. KEY OUCOMES [4] POST-2020 WORKSTREAM
SECRET
POST-2020 WORKSTREAM
ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT [A]
Conference of Parties serving as Meeting of Parties to the PA (CMA1)
Invited the COP to continue to oversee the implementation of the work programme under the Paris Agreement until 2018;
Invited the COP to request the APA to continue its consideration of possible additional matters relating to the implementation of the Paris Agreement (homeless/orphan items);
Invited the COP to to continue to oversee the work on further guidance in relation to the adaptation communication;
Invited the COP to continue to oversee the work on the development of modalities and procedures for the operation and use of a public registry;
Decided that the Adaptation Fund should serve the Paris agreement following a discussion on governance and institutional arrangements, safeguards and operating modalities; and
Joint meeting of COP/CMA in 2017 to review progress on implementation of the work programme under the PA.
SECRET