Cancun safeguards included as a premise for results-based REDD+ finance
The background was a very weak, completed draft text forwarded from work earlier in 2013 to the Warsaw COP. This text, among other things relating to the timing and frequency of safeguards reporting to the UNFCCC, was in reality a fait accompli, since no party dared to move to have this text re-opened. This therefore had to be rectified in the decision on REDD+ finance, to make it clear that REDD+ finance will not be accessed before the implementation of the Cancun safeguards has been documented.
Ensuring this was no easy task however, as several major developing countries clearly opposed this. This element was also part of a larger REDD+ package of decision that had to achieve consensus. However, intensive work from Naturvernforbundet and Regnskogfondet part, together with our allies in the Safeguards Working Group and Accra Caucus, did result in a relatively strong decision clearly linking the access to results based REDD+ finance to documentation of implementation of the Cancun safeguards.