TANZANIA YAWAKILISHA TAARIFA YAKE YA MABADILIKO TABIA YA NCHI KWENYE MKUTANO WA COP 18 MJINI DOHA

Waziri wa Nchi Ofisi ya Makamo wa Rais Mazingira Dkt Terezya Huvisa akitoa statement ya Tanzania leo kwa Rais wa cop 18 hayupo pichani katika mkutano unaoendelea mjini Doha

STATEMENT MADE BY HON. TEREZYA LUOGA HUVISA (MP), MINISTER OF STATE – VICE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENVIRONMENT IN THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE COP 18 MINISTERIAL MEETING, 05 DECEMBER, 2012, DOHA, QATAR.

His Excellency Mr. Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, the COP 18/CMP8 President

Honourable Ministers,

Ms. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC,

Distinguished Participants,

At the outset I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the State of Qatar, and you, Your Excellency, for assuming the Presidency of COP 18/CMP8. Equally, we are grateful and we do appreciate the hospitality accorded to us by the state of Qatar and for putting at our disposal excellent facilities for the conduct of Conference. I also wish to recognize the outgoing COP President Hon. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane of the Republic of South Africa for her excellent leadership of COP 17 held in Durban, South Africa where groundbreaking decisions were made. We fully endorse the statement made by Algeria on behalf of the Group of 77 & China and Gambia for LDCs. As the President of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN), let me on behalf of my fellow ministers of Environment in Africa, endorse and fully support the statement made by the Kingdom of Swaziland on behalf of the African Group.

Mr. President,

Following the successful outcome of COP 17, and other similar COP conferences which have built up the process this far, my delegation is participating at this Conference with expectation that we now have the needed political momentum and knowledge that provide sufficient opportunity for a breakthrough on matters outstanding from COP 17 in Durban, South Africa. On this basis, my delegation expects positive outcome from this conference on various key areas of concern:

Firstly, as the Kyoto protocol is the only instrument, which provides a legal framework for all parties to address the mitigation challenge of climate change, we must come up with credible decisions that will ensure that the five year second commitment period starts on time and in a manner that will ensure the continued credibility of this legal instrument. We therefore call upon developed country parties to show leadership by increasing the level of ambition for their mitigation commitments for the second period and beyond. Let me reiterate the position of my government that Kyoto market mechanisms should remain eligible for parties with Kyoto Commitments.

Secondly, Financial support cannot be over emphasized. This might seem rhetoric but financial support and other means of implementation are critical to us. The adverse effect of climate change have intensified causing devastating impacts to the economy and to our wellbeing. The impacts of sea level rise are being experienced than ever before, threatening the livelihood of island and coastal communities. This year alone Tanzania faced serious floods which destroyed key economic infrastructure and facilities hence compelling the government to divert meager budget resources to restore the damaged infrastructure and facilities. At this COP 18, decisions should be made to ensure adequate, predictable and scaled up finance for developing countries. Hence, agreement on how to address the Loss and Damage caused by climate change to such vulnerable countries is of particular importance to my delegation.

Mr. President,

During the fast-start finance, we have witnessed a mismatch of information and figures between developed and developing countries. We need to continuously ensure transparent modalities and procedures on how we and disburse the promised 100 billion USD by 2020 as per Cancun agreement. The established Green Climate Fund, which has a balanced governance structure, should be major conduit for long term, predictable funding for adaptation as well as mitigation for developing countries particularly for LDCs and Africa.

Financing REDD plus actions is important. A REDD+ plus window should be established so as to enable the local communities to benefit from REDD activities and for countries to be able to address the drivers of deforestation. Tanzania like many other developing countries is managing the forests for global commons and therefore this service must be paid for by the international community. Commitment for long term finance for REDD+ is the only way to ensure that developing countries and communities can increase their efforts in conservation and better forest management. A decision on modalities and procedures for financing REDD plus need to be reached at this COP. Tanzania believe that such financing modalities and procedure will ensure that local communities and host countries engaged in REDD+ activities do benefit. Activities related to REDD+ must not undermine the livelihood of the local communities who mainly depend on forest services and should help countries to address the drivers of deforestation. Addressing key drivers of deforestation in particular energy needs, better agriculture production, and strengthening the governance of the forest sector will in turn assist poor countries in addressing poverty while ensuring sustainable development.

Mr. President,

In conclusion, my delegation looks forward to a successful Doha conference agreement that will forge a long term vision for the implementation of Durban outcome in all fronts. I wish to reiterate my delegation’s expectation of a positive outcome in particular in the areas of increased emissions reduction ambitions and fulfillment of commitments in the areas of access to finance, technology transfer, and capacity building. A clear roadmap for addressing issues related to agriculture, and unresolved issues on technology transfer and development, adaptation, long term financing including REDD plus financing, capacity building, education and timely information communication is of particular importance to my delegation.

Lastly, it will be a miss if I do not congratulate the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Ms. Christiana Figueres and her entire team in the UNFCCC Secretariat for their tireless efforts in collaboration with the Government of Qatar which has made this conference a success. My delegation has indeed enjoyed your entire team’s dedication and commitment for the success of this conference.

I thank you all Excellencies for your attention.