Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD)
1
NGO Statement by GFDD/FUNGLODE during 12th Session of Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
06.19.14
Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) are private, non-partisan, not-for-profit institutions, created by His Excellency Dr. Leonel Fernández, former President of the Dominican Republic.
FUNGLODE and GFDD are dedicated to formulating innovative and strategic proposals on global issues of national interest with the purpose of contributing to the creation of effective public policies related to the governance and social and economic development of the Dominican Republic.
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Thank you, Mr. Co-Chair.
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarollo (FUNGLODE).
As Dominican foundations, GFDD and FUNGLODE have firsthand experience of the impacts of climate change. The rise in CO2 concentration has acidified our oceans, creating a problem for the Caribbean region and making it harder for ocean organisms to generate shells and coral. Global climate change also affects the world economy, the production and purchasing capabilities of trading partners, the vitality of natural resources that the Dominican Republic shares with the world (such as migrating birds and whales) and the extent and spread of vector-borne and infectious diseases. Finally, climate change also affects the strength and occurrence of tropical hurricanes across the globe which, in addition to obvious risks to human life, continues to cause extensive global economic damage that affects all sectors of the economy.
GFDD and FUNGLODE welcome the importance that the co-chairs have attributed to the issue of climate change in these negotiation sessions. We are concerned however that Goal 13 on climate change is associated to the outcome of the UNFCCC negotiations in Paris in 2015. A goal on climate change should not be subservient to the UNFCCC process but run in parallel to it. The value of a climate change SDG resides in the fact that it associates adaptation and mitigation strategies into development plans, and helps to expedite investment in low-carbon solutions so as to enable a faster transition to a green economy. Should we make the mistake of associating the SDG on climate change to the UNFCCC process then we risk undermining the importance of this transition to a low carbon future. For this reason, we request the deletion of any reference to this process.
Given the magnitude and the urgency of the issue of climate change, we call in Goal 13.1 for holding the increase in global average temperature below a 1.5 degree C rise and we request under Goals 13.3 and 13.4 for a time frame of 2020 to be inserted. To conclude, it is our opinion that climate change is an issue that seeps into all the focus areas of the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular impact on education, agriculture and fisheries. We therefore believe that climate change must be strengthened across the entire SDGs.
I thank you.
NGO Statement by GFDD/FUNGLODE during 12th Session of Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
06.19.14
Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) are private, non-partisan, not-for-profit institutions, created by His Excellency Dr. Leonel Fernández, former President of the Dominican Republic.
FUNGLODE and GFDD are dedicated to formulating innovative and strategic proposals on global issues of national interest with the purpose of contributing to the creation of effective public policies related to the governance and social and economic development of the Dominican Republic.
2
Thank you, Mr. Co-Chair.
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarollo (FUNGLODE).
As Dominican foundations, GFDD and FUNGLODE have firsthand experience of the impacts of climate change. The rise in CO2 concentration has acidified our oceans, creating a problem for the Caribbean region and making it harder for ocean organisms to generate shells and coral. Global climate change also affects the world economy, the production and purchasing capabilities of trading partners, the vitality of natural resources that the Dominican Republic shares with the world (such as migrating birds and whales) and the extent and spread of vector-borne and infectious diseases. Finally, climate change also affects the strength and occurrence of tropical hurricanes across the globe which, in addition to obvious risks to human life, continues to cause extensive global economic damage that affects all sectors of the economy.
GFDD and FUNGLODE welcome the importance that the co-chairs have attributed to the issue of climate change in these negotiation sessions. We are concerned however that Goal 13 on climate change is associated to the outcome of the UNFCCC negotiations in Paris in 2015. A goal on climate change should not be subservient to the UNFCCC process but run in parallel to it. The value of a climate change SDG resides in the fact that it associates adaptation and mitigation strategies into development plans, and helps to expedite investment in low-carbon solutions so as to enable a faster transition to a green economy. Should we make the mistake of associating the SDG on climate change to the UNFCCC process then we risk undermining the importance of this transition to a low carbon future. For this reason, we request the deletion of any reference to this process.
Given the magnitude and the urgency of the issue of climate change, we call in Goal 13.1 for holding the increase in global average temperature below a 1.5 degree C rise and we request under Goals 13.3 and 13.4 for a time frame of 2020 to be inserted. To conclude, it is our opinion that climate change is an issue that seeps into all the focus areas of the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular impact on education, agriculture and fisheries. We therefore believe that climate change must be strengthened across the entire SDGs.
I thank you.