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LSE Environmental Society Roundtable. Presentation by Marisa Beck, Jan. 22, 2009
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LSE Environmental Society Roundtable Presentation by Marisa Beck, Jan. 22, 2009 Please note: I have collected the information in this presentation to my best knowledge and based on my personal experience in Poznan and the resources listed below. However, of course, neither do I guarantee correctness nor do I claim completeness!
POZNAN ... so what???
The Essentials The Convention • 1992: Rio Earth Summit • 192 countries are Parties • objective: avoid dangerous climate change • Annex I: industrialized countries and economies in transition commitment to return to 1990 levels • Prime authority of Convention: COP • Bodies: SBSTA, SBI, expert groups, UNFCCC secretary • Observers: 50+ intergovernmental agencies, 600+ NGOs
The Essentials The Protocol • 1997: adoption in Kyoto, Japan • 2005: entry into force • ratified by 184 Parties • defines binding targets for 37 industrialised countries • 1st commitment period ends in 2012 • 3 mechanisms: emissions trading, JI, CDM • Adaptation Fund • CMP: meeting parallel to COP
The agenda: Paving the way to Copenhagen COP 14: AWG LCA • efforts by emerging economies + USA • technology transfer • financing mechanism • deforestation & REDD to be concluded by 2009!
The agenda: Paving the way to Copenhagen CMP 4: AWG KP • new targets for 2nd commitment period • 2 degree limit: 25-40% reduction by 2020 in Annex I countries • main blockers: Canada, Japan, Russia, Australia • further development of CDM: sectoral, policy CDM... • to be concluded by 2009
The results • minimum (formal) requirements for successful negotiations in Copenhagen: mandates for negotiations in both tracks (COP & CMP) • Adaptation Fund: progress! Governance issues solved! Ready for implementation! BUT: No big step forward! Still lack of political will!
Technology Transfer & Financing Top spot on Poznan‘s agenda – how come? Convention Art 4.3: „... new and additional financial resources to meet the agreed full costs incurred by developing country Parties in complying with their obligations ...“ (source: UN, 1992) Convention Art 4.5: „... to promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how to other Parties, particularly to developing countries ...““ (source: UN, 1992) review showed: insufficient implementation!
Technology Transfer & Financing COP 13 Bali Action Plan: „Nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner.“ (source: UNFCCC, 2007) • NEW: clear linkage of DC actions to cooperation through MRV criteria definition? performance indicators?
Technology Transfer & Financing What are the most important issues? • massive scale-up of public funds for adaptation, mitigation necessary • large scale technology cooperation required • mechanisms to mobilize private investments in innovation, deployment and diffusion of clean technologies • heart of the debate: Industry Competitiveness!
Technology Transfer & Financing What happened at COP 14? • multiple proposals by developing countries: • establishment of a new and additional funds/mechanisms/institutions under the UNFCCC • binding obligations for Annex I parties (‚polluter pays‘) • enhancement of research cooperation & joint ventures • compulsory licensing of patented technologies want access to technologies to boost domestic economy
Technology Transfer & Financing • blocked by many Annex I countries: • use existing institutions, processes & mechanisms • focus on (bilateral) voluntary agreements • improve „enabling environments“ for tech diffusion, e.g. strong IPR regimes • positive exceptions: • Norway: auctioning of AAUs • Switzerland: carbon tax want export to new markets, but fear low-cost competition
What‘s next? Critical processes in 2009: • define shared vision for new agreement: establish political will! • establish strong negotiation coalitions, avoid North-South divide • leadership of new US-administration? • green bail-out investments? On the road to Copenhagen... • parties‘ submissions by February • meetings in March/April and June in Bonn • first draft of negotiation text expected in June
COPENHAGEN ... we can???
Wanna know more??? Resources • General: www.unfccc.int • United Nations (1992): United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. See: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf • UNFCCC (2007): Bali Action Plan. Decision -/CP.13. See:http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_13/application/pdf/cp_bali_action.pdf • Poznan results: “Between Poznan and Copenhagen: The climate train in the “valley of death” by C. Bals, Germanwatch. January 2009. http://www.germanwatch.org/klima/c14rese.pdf
Wanna know more???Resources • MRVs: “Measuring the way to a new global climate agreement.” Discussion paper by the World Resource Institute. December 2008.http://pdf.wri.org/measuring_the_way_to_a_new_global_climate_agreement.pdf • Technology Transfer: “Innovation and Technology Transfer” by S. Tomlinson, P. Zorlu, & C. Langley, an E3G report with contributions from the Chatham House. November 2008. http://www.e3g.org/images/uploads/E3G_Innovation_and_Technology_Full_Report.pdf
Wanna know more???Resources • Financing: “Investment and financial flows to address climate change. An update.” Technical Paper by the UNFCCC. December 2008. http://unfccc.int/files/cooperation_and_support/financial_mechanism/application/pdf/background_paper.pdf