MEXICO
A Developing Countries Contribution
1:00 PM
Notes by William Hallmark
Mexico has announced short, medium, and long-term goals. President Calderon is leading the effort, which involves his administration and includes a public education campaign.
2009-12 Program
A government-supported plan calls for staggered emissions reduction rates from 30% by 2020 to 50% by 2050. An action plan is in place but depends on financial assistance as contemplated in the KP and BAP.
Economics of Climate Change
Climate change and its negative externalities, from higher temperatures to unpredictable rain patterns, is costly and increasingly so. Current projection predicts a 1% reduction in GDP due to climate change, varying by sectors. We need an international agreement to deal with these problems.
Fourth National Communication
All signatories to the Convention are obligated to produce national communications regarding green house gas emissions and other matters, which take two years to produce. Mexico is the first developing country to produce a Fourth Communication, showing both total emissions and emissions by year and by sector within years. Emissions per unit of GDP are coming down, but emissions increased 40.3% in last decade. Looking at 40 year period, we see increasing temperatures and reduced moisture. Mitigation is focused on REDD programs and other World Bank programs. Adaptation is also a high priority at the local level.
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
First programmatic CDM to be developed, it is transferrable and the World Bank sees it as a big step forward. Project Green Light distributes 30 million CFLs to replace incandescent lights with huge savings. Goal is to replace 300 million.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Meeting Notes Summary - Dec. 15, 2009
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE
The Best Laid Plans . . .
10:45 am
Notes by William Hallmark
Climate change mitigation plans need to incorporate human needs as well, at local, national, and global levels.
Examples of national plans include:
• China – detailed at the provincial level, broader at the national level.
• Australia - five year old national effort to adapt, including identifying
options, priorities, and costs and a (research-based) attempt to predict
what is likely to occur. Predict a wide variation in consequences that make
it impractical to plan at the national level. It is a major challenge to
predict how money is and will be best spent.
Systemic catch 22: False planning starts hamper progress. When locals develop a plan based upon presumed funding, they develop excellent plans. When no funding follows, politicians involved become gun shy and unwilling to encourage future constituent efforts until the funding is fully committed. But funders do not want to commit money until the plans are in place.
The Best Laid Plans . . .
10:45 am
Notes by William Hallmark
Climate change mitigation plans need to incorporate human needs as well, at local, national, and global levels.
Examples of national plans include:
• China – detailed at the provincial level, broader at the national level.
• Australia - five year old national effort to adapt, including identifying
options, priorities, and costs and a (research-based) attempt to predict
what is likely to occur. Predict a wide variation in consequences that make
it impractical to plan at the national level. It is a major challenge to
predict how money is and will be best spent.
Systemic catch 22: False planning starts hamper progress. When locals develop a plan based upon presumed funding, they develop excellent plans. When no funding follows, politicians involved become gun shy and unwilling to encourage future constituent efforts until the funding is fully committed. But funders do not want to commit money until the plans are in place.
Meeting Notes Summary - Dec. 14, 2009
I. Regional and Amazonian initiatives on climate change and REDD: Voice of Latin America
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Notes by Elaine Hallmark
Emphasis was on how to help stakeholders, especially traditional cultures affected by the REDD and other forest preservation projects to be part of the decision-making in the process. They talked about several cooperative projects such as in the Amazon region or at the program level in REDD. Forums had been held in 5 countries to feed into the development of policies. One group was the ARA, Articulacion Regional Amazonica. This is a fruitful area for working with other NGOs and coalitions to develop processes based on what we have learned about collaborative, decision-making including all the stakeholders.
II. Building capacity for effective public engagement in climate change governance
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Notes by Elaine Hallmark (also attended by Kirk Emerson)
This workshop presented an entry point for conflict resolution/consensus building on existing and emerging public issues within the international framework for involving the public in environmental issues and decisions.
There were reports on provisions from Article 6 of the Convention and the New Delhi Work Program adopted in 2001 regarding public participation; how the Aarhus Convention is making access to information, public participation and environmental justice issues legally binding for its member countries; and how UNITAR is working with several national pilot projects to develop a national baseline, set priorities and develop programs in those countries to build the capacity for public participation.
A UNFCCC representative said they had not yet contacted experts in the area of conflict resolution and consensus building, but will be working very seriously on this agenda next year under SBI. One month ago a meeting was held in Nairobi re UNEP guidelines on these issues.
A group is working to get public participation principles into the text of COP 15 recognizing that although delegates are not dealing with these issues now, public participation will play a role.
III. Making REDD a Reality at Multiple Scales
11:00 am
Notes by William Hallmark
This session discussed Brazil’s efforts to save the Amazon Forest. For several reasons, Brazil is a leader in the effort to eliminate deforestation: (1) a powerful indigent movement to save their native forests, (2) a political decision by the government of Brazil to commit to reduce annual deforestation rates by 80%, and (3) efforts by Greenpeace and other environmental organizations resulting in meat and soy industries committing to a zero deforestation supply line.
Brazil has achieved an 80% reduction in deforestation. Some of these gains may be temporary, but Brazil may actually achieve 0% deforestation in the Amazon and expand include other forests within its boundaries.
Brazil’s efforts can serve as example for other areas and the process is ripe for mediation:
• Facilitation to enable local populace to define how they want to use their forest.
• Design processes for open involvement of all stakeholders. The Wood Hole Research Center, www.whrc.org /pan-tropical
may have info on this opportunity or may even be designing and implementing such processes.
• Design processes to determine fair and equitable compensation of forest people.
• Address illegal forest use issues
• Facilitate development of government mechanisms at local and national levels that can work as an integrated system.
• Facilitation processes to assure projects are cost effective.
• Develop processes where business and industry, government, and environmental interests can work together.
IV. Poland's Climate Policy - The Green Investment Scheme (GIS)
Notes by William Hallmark
A presentation by 5 Polish businessmen and academics to outline the 30% reduction in emissions Poland has been able to achieve in the last ten years while increasing GDP by 70-80%.
Poland’s success may be due to starting with a crashed economy and an extremely high level of emissions. Poland’s future plans include nuclear energy and biomass, both of which drew criticism.
A clearly “developed-economy point of view” focused on technological solutions, including “negawatts” -- the reduction of energy use through improved efficiency. Poland still creates high emissions to produce energy, but has made it a goal to address this issue and be more in line with other European countries.
V. Faith Based approaches to Climate Justice
Notes by Todd Gardner
Churches discuss climate change and that developed nations must repay climate debt to the developing countries. The core principles:
1. Human dignity
2. Solidarity
3. Common good or sustainability
4. Subsidiary or the idea that you do what you can at your level but get help from a higher level.
5. Preferential options for the poor. There was an implicit indication that a world authority is necessary to achieve this including an international bankruptcy court.
Paufu Felani, leader of the Congregational Christian Church on Tuvalu (95 percent of the 12k population are members), spoke from the heart of the need to listen to the "still small voice" for direction on survival.
VI. International Chamber of Commerce ICC
Notes by Nicolai Abramson
Sources of future conflict and potential role for mediation:
1. Electricity
2. Competition for resources
3. Competition for green business
VII. Session “Acting on Climate Change”
Notes by Vicky Eisler
Executive Director of UNEP, Achim Steiner, recognized the need for mediation and facilitation to achieve a sustainable agreement once the parties reach an accord and the value of these tools to address the inevitable conflicts of the implementation phase.
(the exact transcript of this statement will follow shortly)
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Notes by Elaine Hallmark
Emphasis was on how to help stakeholders, especially traditional cultures affected by the REDD and other forest preservation projects to be part of the decision-making in the process. They talked about several cooperative projects such as in the Amazon region or at the program level in REDD. Forums had been held in 5 countries to feed into the development of policies. One group was the ARA, Articulacion Regional Amazonica. This is a fruitful area for working with other NGOs and coalitions to develop processes based on what we have learned about collaborative, decision-making including all the stakeholders.
II. Building capacity for effective public engagement in climate change governance
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Notes by Elaine Hallmark (also attended by Kirk Emerson)
This workshop presented an entry point for conflict resolution/consensus building on existing and emerging public issues within the international framework for involving the public in environmental issues and decisions.
There were reports on provisions from Article 6 of the Convention and the New Delhi Work Program adopted in 2001 regarding public participation; how the Aarhus Convention is making access to information, public participation and environmental justice issues legally binding for its member countries; and how UNITAR is working with several national pilot projects to develop a national baseline, set priorities and develop programs in those countries to build the capacity for public participation.
A UNFCCC representative said they had not yet contacted experts in the area of conflict resolution and consensus building, but will be working very seriously on this agenda next year under SBI. One month ago a meeting was held in Nairobi re UNEP guidelines on these issues.
A group is working to get public participation principles into the text of COP 15 recognizing that although delegates are not dealing with these issues now, public participation will play a role.
III. Making REDD a Reality at Multiple Scales
11:00 am
Notes by William Hallmark
This session discussed Brazil’s efforts to save the Amazon Forest. For several reasons, Brazil is a leader in the effort to eliminate deforestation: (1) a powerful indigent movement to save their native forests, (2) a political decision by the government of Brazil to commit to reduce annual deforestation rates by 80%, and (3) efforts by Greenpeace and other environmental organizations resulting in meat and soy industries committing to a zero deforestation supply line.
Brazil has achieved an 80% reduction in deforestation. Some of these gains may be temporary, but Brazil may actually achieve 0% deforestation in the Amazon and expand include other forests within its boundaries.
Brazil’s efforts can serve as example for other areas and the process is ripe for mediation:
• Facilitation to enable local populace to define how they want to use their forest.
• Design processes for open involvement of all stakeholders. The Wood Hole Research Center, www.whrc.org /pan-tropical
may have info on this opportunity or may even be designing and implementing such processes.
• Design processes to determine fair and equitable compensation of forest people.
• Address illegal forest use issues
• Facilitate development of government mechanisms at local and national levels that can work as an integrated system.
• Facilitation processes to assure projects are cost effective.
• Develop processes where business and industry, government, and environmental interests can work together.
IV. Poland's Climate Policy - The Green Investment Scheme (GIS)
Notes by William Hallmark
A presentation by 5 Polish businessmen and academics to outline the 30% reduction in emissions Poland has been able to achieve in the last ten years while increasing GDP by 70-80%.
Poland’s success may be due to starting with a crashed economy and an extremely high level of emissions. Poland’s future plans include nuclear energy and biomass, both of which drew criticism.
A clearly “developed-economy point of view” focused on technological solutions, including “negawatts” -- the reduction of energy use through improved efficiency. Poland still creates high emissions to produce energy, but has made it a goal to address this issue and be more in line with other European countries.
V. Faith Based approaches to Climate Justice
Notes by Todd Gardner
Churches discuss climate change and that developed nations must repay climate debt to the developing countries. The core principles:
1. Human dignity
2. Solidarity
3. Common good or sustainability
4. Subsidiary or the idea that you do what you can at your level but get help from a higher level.
5. Preferential options for the poor. There was an implicit indication that a world authority is necessary to achieve this including an international bankruptcy court.
Paufu Felani, leader of the Congregational Christian Church on Tuvalu (95 percent of the 12k population are members), spoke from the heart of the need to listen to the "still small voice" for direction on survival.
VI. International Chamber of Commerce ICC
Notes by Nicolai Abramson
Sources of future conflict and potential role for mediation:
1. Electricity
2. Competition for resources
3. Competition for green business
VII. Session “Acting on Climate Change”
Notes by Vicky Eisler
Executive Director of UNEP, Achim Steiner, recognized the need for mediation and facilitation to achieve a sustainable agreement once the parties reach an accord and the value of these tools to address the inevitable conflicts of the implementation phase.
(the exact transcript of this statement will follow shortly)
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