Title: Environmental democracy, transparency and global governance: The Road from Rio to Copenhagen
1Environmental democracy, transparency and global
governanceThe Road from Rio to Copenhagen
- Michael Stanley-Jones
- Environmental Information Management Officer
- UNECE Aarhus Convention Secretariat
- 13th International Anti-Corruption Conference
- Workshop 1.4 Governing the Climate Change
Agenda Making the Case for Transparency - Athens, 30 October 2008
2Key landmarks in the climate change and
environmental democracy agenda
- The road from
-
- Rio
- Kyoto
- Aarhus
- Kiev
- Almaty
- Bali
- to Copenhagen
3Intergovernmental Agreementsand Mechanisms
- Broadly, these range over relevant
intergovernmental - Multilateral Agreements
- Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
(including Principle 10) - Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
- Kyoto Protocol
- Aarhus Convention
- Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer
Registers - and selected
- Mechanisms and Guidance
- Emissions trading schemes (EU ETS, Kyoto Clean
Development Mechanism) - Almaty Guidelines on Public Participation in
International Forums
4Rio
- United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED or Rio Earth Summit, 1992)
5Rio Outcomes
Agreement on the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) . . . The ultimate
objective to achieve "... stabilization of
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere
at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate
sytem." leading to the establishment of
national greenhouse gas inventories negotiated
reduction targets
6Rio Rio Declaration
- Adoption of the Rio Declaration on Environmental
and Development, articulated 27 principles to
guide development, including Principle 10 Public
Participation, which states - "Environmental issues are best handled with the
participation of all concerned citizens, at the
relevant level. "
7Rio (3)Principle 10 (cont.)
- "At the national level, each individual shall
have appropriate access to information concerning
the environment that is held by public
authorities, including information on hazardous
materials and activities in their communities,
and the opportunity to participate in
decision-making processes. States shall
facilitate and encourage public awareness and
participation by making information widely
available. - Effective access to judicial and administrative
proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall
be provided."
8Principle 10 and Climate Change
- Article 6 of the UNFCCC requires its Parties
inter alia to - "Promote and facilitate...(ii) public access to
information on climate change and its effects
(iii) public participation in addressing climate
change and its effects and developing adequate
responses..." - Article 6 was elaborated under the UNFCCC New
Delhi work programme, revised in Dec. 2007 at
13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties
(COP-13), in Bali, Indonesia
9Kyoto
- National greenhouse gas inventories provide the
basis for the Kyoto Protocol, adopted by the FCCC
Parties at their third conference in 1997 - The Kyoto Protocol establishes legally binding
commitments for the reduction of six greenhouse
gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,
sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, and
perfluorocarbons) produced by "Annex I"
(industrialized) nations, as well as general
commitments for all member countries - Kyoto set global and national GHG emission
reduction targets through 2012 based on 1990
baseline. On average reductions of 5.2
10KyotoCarbon Trading
- Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol defines a Clean
Development Mechanism, which can be used by major
polluting countries to invest in projects that
reduce emissions in developing countries as an
alternative to more expensive emission reductions
in their own countries - Kyoto allows major developed countries to meet
their greenhouse gas emission limitation by
purchasing GHG emission reductions from
elsewhere. (Joint Implementation) - Gives financial incentives to non-Annex I
countries to develop GHG emission reduction
projects to receive "Carbon Credits" that can
then be sold to Annex I buyers - Created tradable financial instruments, bought
and sold on the spot market for speculation
purposes, linked to futures contracts
11Bali
- COP-13 held December 2007
- Over 10,000 participants attended COP-13
- Bali Road Map adopted
- The Road Map includes the Bali Action Plan, which
charts the course for a new negotiating process
designed to tackle climate change, with the aim
of completing this by the end of 2009 at the
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP-15)
12-
- Fourth Ministerial Conference Environment for
Europe (June 1998) - adopted Convention on Access to Information,
Public Participation in Decision-making and
Access to Justice in Environmental Matters - 42 Parties (including the European Community)
- negotiated under auspices of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Aarhus
13Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision-making and Access to
Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus
Convention, 1998)
14UNECE regional convention of global significance
- by far the most impressive elaboration of
principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, which
stresses the need for citizens participation in
environmental issues As such the Aarhus
Convention is the most ambitious venture in the
area of environmental democracy so far undertaken
under the auspices of the United Nations. - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
15Aarhus provides a model of good environmental
governance
- Recognises the right to a healthy environment and
acknowledges that citizens may need assistance in
order to exercise their rights - Aims to further accountability and transparency
in decision-making and strengthen public support
for decisions on environment - Recognises desirability of transparency in all
branches of government - Recognises importance of respective roles of
citizens and enables active NGO participation in
all processes under the Convention
16Aarhus model of good environmental governance
- Each Party to establish and maintain a clear,
transparent and consistent framework to implement
the Convention - European Union institutions covered
- Anti-harassment, non-discrimination provisions
- Compliance review arrangements
- Open to non-UNECE countries
17Aarhus compliance review
- Compliance review mechanism open to the public
- Since 2004, 29 communications from the public,
including civic organizations, triggering
compliance review procedures - Leading to findings of non-compliance by the
Compliance Committee and formal decisions of
non-compliance at the MOPs in 2005 and 2008 - Improved legal standing for NGOs
18(No Transcript)
19Parties, at their second meeting (Almaty,
Kazakhstan, May 2005) adopted decision II/3 on
Electronic Information Tools and the
Clearing-house Mechanism Annex
Recommendations on the more effective use of
electronic information tools to provide public
access to environmental information
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21Aarhus Clearinghouse is the central node of a
network of national and information nodes, many
with their own Clearinghouses
22Kiev
- Fifth Ministerial Conference Environment for
Europe held in May 2003 - Adopted Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release
- and Transfer Registers
- First legally binding international instrument
on pollutant release andtransfer registers. Its
objective is "to enhance public access to
information through the establishment of
coherent, nationwide pollutant release and
transfer registers (PRTRs)." - Facility-specific reporting on GHGemissions and
releases from transport, annual reporting,
accessible over Internet
23Almaty Guidelines on Public Participation in
International Forums
- Adopted in Almaty, May 2005
- Consultation with FCCC secretariat in 2007
- Guidelines reinforce article 3, para. 7
- Each Party shall promote the application of
the principles of (Aarhus) Convention in
international environmental decision-making
processes and within the framework of
international organizations in matters relating
to the environment. - Impact may be felt more at national level among
Aarhus Parties
24Some Climate Change ConventionImplementation
Challenges
- Measurement of GHG emissions at national level
- Impact of GHG sinks / reduction projects
- Transparency and auditing of information
- Compliance mechanism / Enforcement
- Elaboration of CDM Accreditation Requirements
25Aarhus Climate Change Conference
- The Role of Informationin the Age of
ClimateChange13-14 November 2008University
of Aarhus, Denmark - http//www.klima.au.dk/dk/forside/aarhusconv
ention/