Gobierno de Reconciliación y Unidad Nacional
Unida Nicaragua Triunfa
CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS EUROPEAN UNION - LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Berlin, Germany
December 14 and 15, 2020
"Green Alliance"
INTERVENTION OF THE CHANCELLOR OF NICARAGUA
Dr. Denis Moncada Colindres
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of Nicaragua
Dear Ministers:
1. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates for 2020 a reduction in the region’s GDP of -9.1%, a decline to the level of 2010, that is, a 10-year loss in development. This compares with a reduction of -5.8% for developed economies according to the IMF. As always, the poor are the most affected, with the number of poor rising to 231 million, representing a 15-year reverse to 2005, while extreme poverty reaches 96 million people, a 30-year reverse to the level of 1990.
2. A “Green Alliance” between developed and developing countries is necessary to face the consequences of the combined action of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
3. At this point, it is extremely important to note that the 10 largest emitting countries represent 83% of global emissions, while the 100 countries with the lowest emissions represent only 3% and, among them, Nicaragua only emits 0.03%. of global emissions.
4. Nicaragua does not agree with achieving carbon neutrality until the second half of the century. This represents a huge setback from the 2°C and 1.5°C targets of the Paris Agreement and for carbon neutrality by 2050, according to the IPCC's scientific findings to achieve 1.5°C, critical for developing countries.
5. The countries of Central America and the Caribbean are among the most vulnerable to climate change in the world. In the damages suffered after 1998, German Watch includes 5 countries of the sub-region among the 10 most affected countries: Puerto Rico, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua and Dominica. In its 2019 report, Nicaragua ranked 6th in climate vulnerability in the world.
6. To give an example, last month, November 2020, Central America suffered a category 4 hurricane, ETA, and a second category 5, IOTA, which followed 15 days later. The two hurricanes took more than 150 precious lives and some more are still missing.
The storms caused billions of dollars in damages that are still being estimated. In Honduras, up to 80% of agricultural crops were lost and in El Salvador between 15% and 20% of the coffee harvest. In Nicaragua, preliminary damages are US $ 740 million, which represents 6% of the GDP, 5,800 homes, 1,750 km of roads, 106 bridges, electrical installations, schools, health facilities, forests, agricultural crops, boats and fishing implements were destroyed.
7. Nicaragua thanks the World Food Program (WFP), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, for its prompt response to the need for emergency food supplies which occurred due to the passage of Hurricanes ETA and IOTA.
8. Nicaragua has promoted the inclusion of Loss and Damage, in addition to the categories of Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change, both in the Framework Convention and in climate financing.
9. As President Comandante Daniel Ortega Saavedra expressed at the 70th Period of Sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, on September 2015: “The Government and People of Nicaragua hope that from the Paris Conference, COP21, a commitment to Climate Justice can emerge, as well as an indispensable Reparation Policy converted into direct and unconditional cooperation. […] Issuers and those responsible for depredation, degradation and imbalances must recognize our losses and contribute to recovery, to the extent of their responsibilities, to restore the Right to Health and Life of Mother Earth and of the Peoples of the World.”
10. This is “tort” in the Anglo-Saxon Common Law and “losses and damages” in the Napoleonic Code of the Continental Law.
11. Faced with the global and regional emergency situation, the Presidents of Central America met among themselves; with the President and Board of Directors of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI); and, with the Secretary General of the United Nations. It has been agreed to strengthen the resilient infrastructure in housing, communications and transport routes, resilient and sustainable agriculture, as well as the extension of the MSMEs program to generate employment in the face of the combined crisis of COVID-19 and the effects of climatic events.
12. Regarding climate financing, the Secretary General, António Guterres, in his speech on December 2, highlighted the enormous financing potential from institutional investors, citing the example of pension funds.
13. There is an urgent need for a world of Peace, Respect, Dialogue and Solidarity. In this world, there is no place for unilateral, coercive, arbitrary and illegal measures that obstruct the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by affecting food supply, nutrition, public health or healthcare services. The illegality of coercive measures rises to the degree of crime against humanity, as is the case of applying them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
14. Nicaragua is convinced that the presence of the entire International Community, without exclusions, in these Meetings is vital to achieve a world of Understanding, Peace, Justice, Solidarity and Development.
Thank you very much.