United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 18)

Bern, 06.12.2012 - Statement delivered by the Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha 6 December 2012

Excellencies,

Here in Doha, we are standing at a crossroads: If we don't reach a balanced agreement, then the world will face an uncertain and difficult future.

This future is described in the World Bank climate report, which predicts that the world will be 4 degrees warmer by the end of the century.

This future is described in the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2012, whose new energy policy scenario predicts a medium-range rise in global temperatures of 3.6 degrees.

The possible consequences of these changes are already being seen in Alpine countries, where weather-related landslides are occurring more often, and in coastal regions, which are experiencing more frequent storms.

The world must act. Industrialised countries and emerging and developing economies must work together and agree on an international climate agreement. Climate policy must go hand-in-hand with energy and economic policy. The Doha Summit must not be allowed to reach a stalemate.

Doha marks the implementation of the 2013-2020 regime

The Bali Action Plan sets up a stronger international regime, including:

  • A pledge-and-review system which covers over 85% of world's emissions and includes, for the first time, mitigation commitments from all developed and many developing Parties
  • The Green Climate Fund and the goal of mobilising 100 billion US dollars per year by 2020 to support mitigation and adaptation actions in developing countries
  • The Adaptation Committee, Technology Mechanism and work on Loss and Damage, to the same end

We now must shift to implementation of the Bali Action Plan - when negotiations terminate in Doha

In this context, Switzerland is ready to commit to a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol

Doha also marks the first step in drawing up the post-2020 climate regime.

Emissions projections depict a clear future:
Responsibility for global warming is no longer in the hands of developed Parties only - there is no solution to climate change without the participation of all major economies

In Durban, we agreed to draw up a post-2020 regime that includes all Parties and is strong and legally binding.
This regime must be fair, that is to say, it must take into account the responsibilities and capabilities of each of the Parties. It must be dynamic so that it can respond to future situations. It must focus on the potential to act and not on constraints and excuses not to act. And it must have environmental integrity, limiting temperature increases to 2 degrees or less. And finally, it must include support for those who need it.

Here in Doha, we have the opportunity to send a signal to the world that we are making progress on the post-2020 regime and that our future will be low carbon intensive.

Science also sends out a clear message on ambition:
the current level of global ambition is insufficient to restrict the global temperature increase to under 2 degrees Celsius.

The Parties must engage as a matter of urgency in increasing their efforts. International cooperation is required. We can only succeed if we act together.
Switzerland has committed itself to reducing its emissions by 20% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. Switzerland's emissions will then be approximately five tonnes per capita. Switzerland's ‘green economy' policy is a way of reducing resource use and energy consumption and the associated carbon emissions. We are ready to be more ambitious if other developed Parties commit themselves to comparable emission reductions and developing Parties contribute sufficiently according to their responsibilities and capabilities.

Switzerland is ready to do its part:

  • It will continue with the strong and rules-based system of the Kyoto Protocol in a second commitment period until 2020
  • It will continue to contribute financially and even scale-up the Fast Start amount due to the increase of our official development assistance decided by the Swiss parliament in 2012.
  • It will establish and participate in a legally binding and stringent regime from 2020
  • It will work with other Parties to increase global ambition as a matter of urgency
  • It will work with and support developing parties who need help in mitigating and adapting to climate change

Thank you.


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