Introduction to the Climate Change Regime

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Introduction to the Climate Change Regime
Sébastien Duyck duycks_at_gmail.com
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Objectives

• The History
• The Institutions
• The Negotiations
• The Actors
• The Stakes
• The Legal Architecture

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The History
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The current Climate Regime

• The UNFCCC
• (1988 UNEPWMOIPCC)
• 1990 UNGA Mandate
• 1991-1992 INC
• 1992 Signed
• 1994 In force

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The current Climate Regime

• The Kyoto Protocol
• 1995 The Berlin Mandate
• 1997 Signed
• 2005 In force
• 2008-2012 First Commitment Period
• The Post-Kyoto Agreements
• 2000-2001 COP 6-I/II
• 2001 Marrakesh

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The Convention
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The Objective

• The ultimate objective of this Convention and any
  related legal instruments that the COP may adopt
  is to achieve, , stabilization of greenhouse gas
  concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that
  would prevent dangerous anthropogenic
  interference with the climate system.
• Such a level should be achieved within a time
  frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt
  naturally to climate change, to ensure that food
  production is not threatened and to enable
  economic development to proceed in a sustainable
  manner.
• Article 2

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The Principles

• Precautionary Approach
• Sustainable Development
• Rights of Future Generations
• Cooperation
• Common but Differentiated Responsibility
• Historical responsibility
• Respective Capacity
• Article 3

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The main obligations

• All
• Develop inventories of GHGs
• (Annex I pay for the costs of developing
  countries)
• Cooperation in sinks and reservoirs
• Only developed States
• Stabilisation by 2000 at the 1990 level of Annex
  1 Countries (Art. 4)
• Financial and technological transfers (not CEI)

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The Kyoto Protocol
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The Kyoto Protocol

• The main obligation
• Developed states
• Aggregate reduction of 5 of GHG in the
  commitment period based on 1990 levels
• Australia 108 Greece 92 Norway 101
• Austria 92 Hungary 94 Poland 94
• Belgium 92 Iceland 110 Portugal 92
• Bulgaria 92 Ireland 92 Romania 92
• Canada 94 Italy 92 Russian Federation 100
• Croatia 95 Japan 94 Slovakia 92
• Czech R 92 Latvia 94 Slovenia 92
• Denmark 92 Liechtenstein 92 Spain 92
• Estonia 92 Lithuania 92 Sweden 92
• E.U. 92 Luxembourg 92 Switzerland 92
• Finland 92 Monaco 92 Ukraine 100
• France 92 Netherlands 92 UK, Northern Ireland
  92
• Germany 92 New Zealand 100 United States 93
• Accompanying technical requirements

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The Kyoto Protocol

• The Flexibility Mechanisms
• ETS Emissions Trading
• CDM Clean Development Mechanisms
• No nuclear energy (Marrakesh Accords)
• 2 levy for adaptation fund
• JI Joint Implementation
• For projects in another developed country
• The Sinks
• LULUCF
• CCS

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The Institutions
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The Institutions

• The Institutions
• COPs (MOPs) Conference (Meeting) Of the Parties
• Secretariat
• Subsidiary Bodies
• SBI Subsidiary Body for Implementation
• SBSTA SB for Scientific and Technical Advice
• The IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
  Change
• The GEF Global Environmental Facility

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The Negotiations
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The On-going Negotiations

• The two tracks
• The Kyoto Track
• AWG-KP (since 2005)
• New commitments
• Review of the protocol
• The Convention Track
• AWG-LCA (since 2007)

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The Bali Roadmap

• The Building blocks
• Mitigation
• MRVs, 1bi
• NAMAs, 1bii
• REDD
• Adaptation
• Technology transfer
• Finance
• The Shared Vision
• Capacity Building

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The On-going Negotiations

• UNFCCC Timeframe
• COP 14 Poznan
• AWGs March (Bonn I)
• SBs June (Bonn II)
• Informals August (Bonn III)
• AWGs September (Bangkok)
• November (Barcelona)
• COP 15 Copenhagen

• Other Forums
• MEF
• G20
• G8
• UNGA
• Bilaterals
• US-China
• China-India
• Regional
• SA
• Pacific
• Africa

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The On-going Negotiations

• The brick
• Bonn II
• AWG-LCA 200pp
• AWG-KP 2050pp
• Bangkok
• AWG-LCA 180pp

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The Actors
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The parties to the Convention

• The developed Countries (Annex I)
• EU
• Umbrella
• JUSCANNZ
• The developing countries (Non-Annex I)
• G77/China
• LDCs Least developed countries
• OPEC oil exporters
• AOSIS (SIDS) Small Islands States
• Africa
• The Environmental Integrity Group

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Observers

• Other States
• International Organizations
• Civil Society
• Observer Organizations
• Constituency
• Press

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The Main Issues
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Mitigation

• Annex I Mitigation Aggregate Targets
• Format of Annex I Mitigation Targets
• next commitment period
• Long-term plans
• global goal
• Developing Country NAMA

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Finance

• Public Mitigation Finance - Scale
• Public Finance Sources
• Adaptation Finance
• Financial Institution

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Adaptation

• Principles (Polluter pays, Bottom up,
  Transparency, most vulnerable, precautionary
  principle, historic responsibility, subsidiarity,
  no-transboundary harm)
• Adaptation Actions (Programme/Mainstreaming vs.
  Project, Bottom up, Compensation, Focus on the
  most vulnerable)
• MRV (source, actions)
• Climate Insurance
• Rehabilitation/ Compensation

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Forests

• LULUCF
• REDD()
• Rights of local communities
• Market based/centralised approach
• Financing
• Sustainable Forest Management

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Issues

• FLEXMEX
• Technology
• Bunkers

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Copenhagen
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Legal Architecture

• Binding Options
• Single Protocol
• Amend the KP plus COP Decisions
• Two Protocols
• Non-binding Options
• Political Declaration
• Adjourning the Negotiations
• The consequences
• Differentiation
• Accountability
• Urgency
• Resilience

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What we want a FAB Treaty

• Fair
• Ambitious
• Binding

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Questions Comments
Thank You