IISD Reporting Services Blog

Climate Talks: Vulnerability, adaptation, resilience: cutting-edge science for informed decisions

Shobhakar Dhakal, Global Carbon Project (GCP), said the goal of the GCP is to develop a comprehensive, policy-relevant understanding of the global carbon cycle, encompassing natural and human dimensions. He highlighted initiatives under three main themes: patterns and variability; mechanisms and feedbacks; and carbon management.

Falk Schmidt, International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change, on behalf of Lydia Dumenil Gates, Global Water System Project (GWSP), defined the global water system as the global suite of water-related human, physical, biological and biogeochemical components and their interactions. He outlined GWSP initiatives, including: computing the world water balance; assessing the vulnerability of delta systems; and considering governance of the global water system.

Linda Stevenson, Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change (APN), described the APN as a network of governments aimed at fostering global change research in the Asia-Pacific region, and focused on the science-policy interface.

Neil Leary, SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training, highlighted key findings from the Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change project, including that: climate variability, extremes and change are a present threat; and climate vulnerability has multiple causes and seems to be greatest where natural systems are degraded and human systems are failing.

Participants discussed: the need for integrated modeling; research methodologies related to vulnerability; and carbon budgets for avoided deforestation and commercial forests.

More information
http://www.globalcarbonproject.org
http://www.ihdp.org
http://www.gwsp.org
http://www.apn-gcr.org
http://www.start.org

Contacts
Shobhakar Dhakal <shobhakar.dhakal@nies.go.jp>
Falk Schmidt <schmidt@ihdp.unu.edu>
Linda Stevenson <lstevenson@apn-gcr.org>
Neil Leary <nleary@agu.org>

ENBOTS Coverage

Climate Talks: Reducing emissions from deforestation: moving towards a mechanism for the second commitment period

Participants during the side event.

Barnabas Suebu, Governor of Papua, Indonesia, lamented that the people of his province remain poor despite the richness of its forests. He described several new programmes designed to reverse this trend, including: a prohibition of raw log exports; capacity building for community-based forest management and value-added manufacturing; securing land tenure; and forest certification.

Paulo Adario, Greenpeace Amazon, said the Amazon is both a climate change “victim” and “villain,” adding that 800 million tons of carbon are released via deforestation annually. He described a proposal to eliminate deforestation in the region in seven years, and stressed the need for significant sources of funding, stating “no money, no forest, no climate, no future.”

Bill Hare, Greenpeace International, presented a proposal to create a new tropical deforestation emission reduction mechanism, stressing the importance of protecting biodiversity, ecological functions and indigenous peoples’ rights. He emphasized the need for a robust governance system, and that leakage can be prevented by bringing a large number of countries on board. He described elements of the proposed plan, noting that financial flows can be ensured by requiring a minimum contribution from Annex I countries.

Kate Hampton, Climate Change Capital, discussed the implications of the proposed mechanism for the carbon market, noting that investors are starting to gain confidence in this market after an initial period of skepticism.

Participants discussed the proposed mechanism as a means to secure funding for combating deforestation and how to ensure it is meeting its objectives.

More information
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/
press/reports/tropical-deforestation-and-the
http://www.climatechangecapital.com

Contacts
Barnabas Suebu <voice@barnabas-suebu.com>
Paulo Adario <padario@amazon.greenpeace.org>
Bill Hare <hare@pik-potsdam.de>
Kate Hampton <khampton@c-c-capital.com>

ENBOTS Coverage

Climate Talks: Towards a strategy for sustainable production and trade in bioenergy

L-R: Moustapha Kamal Gueye, ICTSD; Thelma Krug, Secretary of Climate Change and Environmental Quality, Brazil; Christophe Bellmann, ICTSD; Francis Johnson, Stockholm Environment Institute; and John Christensen, UNEP Risoe Centre.

Christophe Bellmann, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), described driving forces behind the increasing interest in biofuels, and noted that concern over climate change has not been the major factor. He cautioned that tradeoffs exist between achieving energy and food security.

Thelma Krug, Secretary of Climate Change and Environmental Quality, Brazil, presented on Brazil’s biofuels development programme, noting that it originated from the country’s response to the 1970s oil crisis. Regarding concerns that ethanol production will have negative impacts on food security, she noted that as a result of gains in productivity, the amount of land used for bioenergy is minor. She contrasted the high cost and low productivity of US corn-based biofuels with Brazil’s sugar cane-based ethanol.

Moustapha Kamal Gueye, ICTSD, presented on the emerging global market for biofuels, and described its economic, environmental and social impacts. He stressed that no internationally-agreed criteria for the certification of biofuels have been established to date, and cautioned that the World Trade Organization is not necessarily the appropriate forum to discuss this issue.

Francis Johnson, Stockholm Environment Institute, stated that although concern over climate change has not been a major driving factor behind biofuel production, it has been beneficial for climate change mitigation. He highlighted that biomass is simply stored solar energy, and is more flexible than other renewables in the delivery of energy. He also indicated that the production of biofuels is more labor intensive than other forms of energy.

John Christensen, UNEP Risoe Centre, discussed the outlook for biofuels and the risks associated with them, noting that optimal biofuel production areas often coincide with biodiversity hotspots. He highlighted that without proper safeguards biofuel production can cause damage to water and soils. He discussed sustainability criteria for biofuels, noting that these can help mitigate the financial and reputational risks of investing in this form of energy. He noted that there are very few CDM-funded biofuel-related projects.

Discussion: Participants expressed skepticism regarding the claims of sustainability associated with large-scale biofuel production, and cautioned against its possible negative secondary impacts on land use and food security. One participant drew attention to the risks associated with letting market forces drive land-use decisions.

More information
http://www.ictsd.org
http://www.sei.se
http://www.risoe.dk

Contacts
Christophe Bellmann <cbellmann@ictsd.ch>
Thelma Krug <thelma.krug@mma.gov.br>
Moustapha Kamal Gueye <gkamal@ictsd.ch>
Francis Johnson <francis.johnson@sei.se>
John Christensen <john.christensen@risoe.dk>

ENBOTS Coverage

Financing adaptation action: GEF projects under the SPA, the LDCF and the SCCF

Monique Barbut, Global Environment Facility (GEF), underlined that the Fourth Assessment Report clearly defines the impacts of climate change and stressed the urgency of funding adaptation. She noted a recent GEF Council decision that increases flexibility in the management of the Strategic Priority on Adaptation (SPA) fund, the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and the Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF).

Winston Bennett, Caribbean Community Climate Change Center, presented a project under the SPA fund aimed at implementing specific pilot adaptation measures in Dominica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He described the project’s management structure, cost, components and performance indicators.

Thinley Namgyel, National Environment Commission, Bhutan, presented a National Adaptation Programme of Action follow-up project under the LDCF in Bhutan, which aims to reduce climate change-induced risks and vulnerabilities from glacial lake outburst floods.

Evans Njewa, Ministry of Mines, Natural Resources and Environment, Malawi, presented a project under the LDCF on climate adaptation for rural agriculture and livelihoods in Malawi.

Bubu Pateh Jallow, LDC Expert Group, called for more programmatic projects like the Caribbean one, rather than small-sized ones.

Discussion: participants addressed the use of LDCF Guidelines and the involvement of women in the NAPA process.

More information
http://www.thegef.org
http://www.caricom.org/jsp/community/ccccc.jsp?menu=community
http://www.mti.gov.bt/dgm/dgm-undpgef/main.html

Contacts
Bonizella Biagini <bbiagini@thegef.org>
Winston Bennett <wbennett@caribbeanclimate.bz>
Thinley Namgyel <tnamgyel@yahoo.com>
Evans Njewa <njewae@yahoo.com>
Bubu Pateh Jallow <bubupateh@yahoo.com>

ENBOTS Coverage

The Montreal Protocol and climate change: lessons for success?

Participants during Marco González intervention.

Husamuddin Ahmadzai, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, highlighted the benefits in carbon dioxide equivalent emission reductions that have already been achieved through the Montreal Protocol (MP). He noted that the September 2007 agreement on the acceleration of the hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) phase-out under the MP could result in reduced emissions of 12-15 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Marco Gonzalez, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat, stated that MP parties were conscious of the climate benefits of ozone protection when they signed the MP, as noted in its preamble. He highlighted the flexibility of the MP in contrast to the Kyoto Protocol.

Ana Maria Kleymeyer, Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development, Argentina, stressed that the same government representatives should work on both climate and ozone issues. She listed lessons learned from the MP, including that building trust between parties and synergies between environmental treaties are essential.

Sateeaved Seebaluck, Ministry of Environment, Mauritius, explained that his country’s support of the accelerated phase-out of HCFCs under the MP was based on its understanding of the importance of the simultaneous ozone and climate benefits. He cited reasons for which the MP’s Multilateral Fund (MLF) is more effective than the Kyoto Protocol’s funding mechanisms.

Maas Goote, Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the Netherlands, in his own capacity, listed seven features that have facilitated the MP’s success, including: long-term objectives for phase-outs; a focus on alternatives for phased-out substances; the adjustment procedure; and a fair and balanced compliance regime.

Daniel Reifsnyder, US State Department, highlighted the potential to reap more climate benefits from the MP if parties agree to destroy banks of ozone-depleting substances. He outlined similarities between the MP and the Kyoto Protocol, but suggested that it would be difficult to develop an adjustment procedure under the latter.

Madhava Sarma, Executive Secretary of the Ozone Secretariat from 1991-2000, argued that the Kyoto Protocol should have time-bound control measures and adjustments and trade controls with non-parties. He recommended restructuring financing for the Kyoto Protocol based on the MLF model, and developing sector-wise technical committees.

Participants discussed why a global phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons is not underway and the need to improve energy efficiency alongside phase-outs.

More information
http://www.naturvardsverket.se
http://ozone.unep.org
http://www.vrom.nl
http://www.state.gov

Contacts
Husamuddin Ahmadzai <husamuddin.ahmadzai@naturvardsverket.se>
Ana Maria Kleymeyer <akleymeyer@ambiente.gov.ar>
Sateeaved Seebaluck <sseebaluck@mail.gov.mu>
Maas Goote <maas.goote@minvrom.nl>
Daniel Reifsnyder <reifsnyderda@state.gov>
Madhava Sarma <sarma_madhava@yahoo.com>

ENBOTS COVERAGE

Climate talks begin in Bali

Incoming COP President Rachmat Witoelar with the outgoing COP Presidency while UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer looks on.

The thirteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and third Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 3) opened on Monday morning. These were followed in the afternoon by the opening of the 27th sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 27) and Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 27), as well as the resumed fourth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG 4).

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