THE UN FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (FCCC)

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THE UN FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
(FCCC)

• Historical Aspects
• In 1990 the UN General Assembly established a
  Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee who
  drafted the Convention
• In June 1992 the Convention was opened for
  signature at the Rio Earth Summit it was signed
  there by 154 countries (175 today)

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THE UN FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
(FCCC)

• Objective
• "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"

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THE UN FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
(FCCC)

• Commitments
• All Parties have common but differentiated
  responsibilities (such as national inventories)
• Developed country Parties and other Parties
  included in Annex I (developed countries
  countries that are undergoing a transition to a
  market economy) have specific commitments (such
  as to limit its anthropogenic emissions, enhance
  its greenhouse sinks and reservoirs, coordinate
  relevant economic and administrative instruments
  to achieve the objective of the Convention,
  should provide new and additional financial
  resources to meet the full costs incurred by
  developing country Parties in complying with
  their obligation, etc.)

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THE KYOTO PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON CLIMATE
CHANGE

• Historical Aspects
• In 1995 in Berlin, the first session of the
  Conference of the Parties considered that the
  commitment of developed countries to aim at
  returning their emissions to 1990 levels by the
  year 2000 was inadequate. So the "Berlin
  Mandate" launched a new round of talks on
  strengthening developed country commitments.
• In December 1997, 10,000 delegates, journalists
  and observers participated in a conference in
  Kyoto, Japan. The Kyoto Protocol was opened for
  signature on March 1998.

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THE KYOTO PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON CLIMATE
CHANGE

• Objective
• The conference in Kyoto resulted in a consensus
  decision to adopt a Protocol under which
  industrialized countries will reduce their
  combined greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5
  compared to 1990 levels by the period 2008-2012
  (and that way producing a reversal of the upward
  trend in emissions that started in these
  countries 150 years ago).
• The Kyoto Protocol will enter into force 90 days
  after it has been ratified by at least 55 Parties
  to the Convention, including developed countries
  accounting for at least 55 of the total 1990 CO2
  emissions from this industrialized group.

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THE KYOTO PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON CLIMATE
CHANGE
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CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM (CDM)

• The Clean Development Mechanism is defined in
  Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol
• Art. 12.2 "The purpose of the CDM shall be to
  assist Parties not included in Annex I in
  achieving SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, and to assist
  Parties included in Annex I in achieve compliance
  with their quantified EMISSIONS LIMITATION AND
  REDUCTION COMMITMENTS"
• Art. 12.3 "a) Parties not included in Annex I
  will benefit from project activities resulting in
  certified emissions reductions, and (b) Parties
  included in Annex I may use the certified
  emissions reductions accruing from such project
  activities to contribute to compliance with PART
  of their quantified emissions limitation and
  reduction commitments"
• Article 12 also sets out the basic conditions and
  procedures to be followed to qualify project
  activities for certified emissions reductions
  a) voluntary participation b) real, measurable,
  and long-term benefits related to the mitigation
  of climate change c) reductions in emissions
  that are ADDITIONAL to any that would occur in
  the absence of the certified project activity

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CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM (CDM)

• The significance of CDM
• CDM has two goals to lower the overall cost of
  reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while also
  supporting sustainable development initiatives
  within developing countries
• CDM allows developed countries to invest in
  low-cost abatement opportunities in developing
  countries and receive credit for the resulting
  emissions reductions.
• Developed countries can then apply this credit
  against their 2008-2012 targets, reducing the
  cutbacks that would have to be made within their
  borders.
• Because many abatement opportunities are less
  expensive in developing countries, this increases
  the economic efficiency of achieving initial GHG
  emissions reductions.
• Because GHG emissions contribute equally to
  climate change irrespective of where they occur,
  the impact on the global environment is the same.

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A GLOBAL CARBON MARKET(from Latin Trade, Sept.
2000)

• Jay Pruett last year spent US5.4 million of his
  companys money to plant a forest in Brazil. Hes
  not planning to cut timber or build a resort. But
  he means to put those trees to work.
• Pruett, environmental services director for
  Central South West Corporation, a large
  Dallas-based utility company, is counting on the
  trees to do what comes naturally absorb carbon
  dioxide produced by animals, factories and cars,
  and emit oxygen into the atmosphere. Hes tapping
  into an emerging market spanning from Costa Rica
  to Australia, that seeks to assign a price per
  ton of carbon dioxide processed by trees.
• Over the past several years, large US, European,
  Canadian and Japanese power firms have invested
  at least US75 million to plant or preserve trees
  they know they cant cut down. More than half
  have been brokered by non-profit The Nature
  Conservancy, based in Virginia. Meanwhile, a
  variety of plans are proceeding to trade carbon
  credits on global exchanges or over the Internet.
  Analysts say that market could grow to as much as
  100 billion in the next few years. Remarkably,
  deals are being made without any guarantee of a
  concredte return on investments.