Climate change threatens the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities and people throughout the developing world. It is increasingly understood as the single biggest threat the global fight against poverty, undermining the food and water security of many, many millions in the present day.

Yet these many millions have done the least to cause devastating climate change. Historical responsibility lies with industrialised countries, where our ability to cope is thanks to many generations of development fuelled by polluting emissions. This is the core injustice of climate change.

Those with political power to address this core injustice will spend the next two weeks at the UN climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa.

SCIAF is calling for decisive action from industrialised countries, based on the needs of those coping with the realities of climate change on the ground.

In Durban the EU, UK delegation and Scottish representation should:

n take a lead in committing to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, regardless of regressive climate politics from other major emitters

n signal firm intention to increase EU emission reduction commitments to 30% over 1990 levels by 2020, as a stepping stone to higher ambition in the future

n champion a decision to swiftly operationalise the Green Climate Fund, in line with ‘pro-poor’ access and governance modalities

n stand with developing countries, by centralising the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility”[3]and pushing for equal weighting of adaptation and mitigation priorities

1. Legal framework for climate action

-- Annex 1 parties to the conference (developed countries) should agree a 2nd commitment period to the Kyoto Protocol. This is the only existing binding framework for emission reduction commitments, due to expire in 2012. Failure to negotiate an extension would be a major setback for the international climate regime.

-- All parties should signal willingness to commit to a single rules-based framework that respects equity and “effort sharing” principles from 2015.

2. Long term ambition on emissions

-- Annex 1 parties should commit to carbon emission cuts of at least 40% over 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050. This is in line with the demands of science, in order to maintain any chance of limiting global warming to 2 degrees and limit catastrophic impacts.[4]

-- All parties should commit to a peak year of 2015 for global emissions, recognising that many developing country emissions will peak after this date.

-- All parties should agree to close loopholes in international accounting standards, which undermine the integrity of tabled commitments and result in less actual progress in terms of cuts.

3. Financing global action on climate

-- Annex 1 parties should identify a timeline to provide the $100 billion per year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries pledged in Copenhagen.[5] This $100 billion must be new and additional to existing budgetary commitments and be resourced by public funds wherever possible.

-- All parties should move to operationalise the UN Green Climate Fund (GCF),[6] emulating the access and allocation modalities of the UN Adaptation Fund where applicable.

-- All parties should agree to allocate 50% of funds channelled through the GCF to adaptation priorities in developing countries, through a dedicated funding window.

[1] CIDSE 2011: The FTT for people and the planet

[2] Christina Ora, Solomon Islands youth delegate: Copenhagen 2009

[3] United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

[4] UNFCCC Cancun Agreements: 2010

[5] UNFCCC Copenhagen Accord: 2009

[6] UNFCCC Cancun Agreements: 2010