As experts gather for the 21st edition of the Conference of Parties “COP21,” in Paris this week, developing countries are digging in for protracted negotiations since some of the proposals they are making potentially threaten the competitiveness of industrialised countries.

Among the contentious proposals being pushed is an arrangement under which least developed countries would be allowed to continue using existing but carbon offensive technologies until they reach acceptable levels of development while industrialised countries immediately stop their own emissions.

Ethiopia and the East African Community member states have been thrashing out some of these proposals as they work towards a common position on matters such as adaptation and vulnerability to climate change, as well as means of implementing a new emissions regime and technology transfer.

During a recent pre-COP meeting organised by GIZ — an organisation whose focus is international development — for negotiators in Entebbe, participants from the EAC and Ethiopia pointed out that while Africa was not responsible for global warming, the continent remains most exposed to its effects, and therefore the agreement sought in Paris is inequitable, as it could force developing countries to forego the very technologies that helped Western countries grow, without assured access to newer technologies.

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Delegates to the Entebbe meeting pointed out that there is a lack of clarity in the Paris draft of how adaptation will be addressed, noting that there is a need to anchor actions related to adaptation in the agreement.

The East African collective is pushing for an agreement that commits developed countries to support climate change adaptation in developing countries.

It is also interested in getting developed countries to commit to a long term climate change mitigation plan that will keep global temperature rises below 2 degrees centigrade by 2030.

Without action to control current emission levels, global temperatures will rise 4 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels, threatening the continued viability of life in its current form on earth.

Developing countries feel that they are being asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of mitigation measures. For instance, at 1.39 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita annually, Uganda is the lowest emitter among least developed countries in the African group and yet it has been forced to commit to a 22 per cent reduction by 2030.

“The irony of international climate change negotiations or intergovernmental processes is that the most vulnerable usually don’t get what they deserve but what they negotiate. The worry now is whether we shall have an agreement in Paris that truly caters for the interests of the most vulnerable communities in the world,” said Chebet Maikut, the head of the Climate Change Department at Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment.

He, for example, questioned how a country like Uganda, which is likely to suffer most from the impacts of climate change, even though it was historically not responsible for  causing it, will cope under the new agreement.

“Uganda has not caused emissions but when it comes to impacts such as erratic rainfall patterns, droughts or floods, we continue to be impacted. Therefore, the issue of adaptation should be part of the Paris agreement.”

According to various commentators, the proposal by developing countries for a staggered approach that would allow them to continue emitting until they achieve a certain level of development is likely to meet strong opposition from industrialised countries because it has the potential to trigger capital flight to developing countries.

Like Mr Maikut, Wvine Ntamubano, the principal environment and natural resources officer at the EAC Secretariat hopes that “the voice of reason will prevail, particularly among the biggest emitters, resulting in a fair and unambiguous climate change agreement that will save humanity and the planet.”

He also pointed to the need for the Paris agreement to make clear provisions for climate financing by the developed countries which are historically responsible for emissions, to support priority actions by developing countries.

Member countries want climate financing scaled up to support adaptation. They also want guarantees for technology transfer because it will be at the core of adaptation and implementation.

“Knowledge and other capacities will be essential to addressing climate change  so if the countries that have these resources restrict developing countries’ access to them, it will impose a huge penalty on the latter’s prospects,” said Mr Ntamubano.

The countries resolved to rally around a common position on key issues ahead of COP21. A technical team has produced the resource guide that member countries will use during the conference.

“We have to be prepared for long hours of work in Paris because the biggest challenge is going to be willingness to engage and strike compromise on the key issues,” said Mr Maikut.