Eileen Claussen, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, introduced the Report of the Climate Dialogue at Pocantico, which brought together 25 government, industry and NGO representatives to share views and reach consensus on ways of advancing the post-2012 regime.

Elliot Diringer, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, provided an overview of the Report of the Dialogue, noting the recognition of the scientific justification for stronger action. He listed objectives of a post-2012 regime, including: engaging major economies; being flexible; integrating development and climate change; addressing adaptation; and being viewed as fair by all parties.

Henry Derwent, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK, stated that final decisions on the post-2012 regime must be within the UN context but that dialogues such as those held at Pocantico have created political momentum and will provide useful tools for negotiators.

Joanne Yawitch, Department of Environment Affairs and Tourism, South Africa, called for a greater acknowledgement of sustainable development imperatives and broadened participation. She stressed the need for deeper emission cuts, the decarbonization of developing country economies and a greater emphasis on adaptation.

Preston Chiaro, Rio Tinto, outlined his company’s emissions reduction activities, including building support for governmental action, supporting technology development and deployment, and setting meaningful internal targets.

David Hone, Shell International, underlined the importance of long term goals that create certainty for industry. He said carbon markets are a core element of the response to climate change and that market demand will lead to deployment of existing clean technology.

John Wells, BP, emphasized that flexibility and allowing different economies meet their needs is important for the future regime and that progress in emissions reduction can be achieved quickly with the right framework.

Jennifer Morgan, WWF International, stated that the future climate regime should include: mandatory caps; the decarbonization of developing country economies; technology deployment cooperation; and the integration of adaptation. She warned against letting countries “cherry pick” among various climate strategies, cautioning this would lead to a race to the bottom.

Discussions: participants addressed integrating climate change into development policies, the role of informal dialogues in reaching consensus on a post-2012 regime, the creation of incentives, meeting energy demands and climate friendly coal usage, and the role of governments in technology transfer.

Robert Sneddon, Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory Committee (TUSDAC), highlighted objectives of TUSDAC and urged governments to grant trade unions equal standing with NGOs in climate discussions.

Elliot Morley, Environment Minister, UK, emphasized the importance of trade unions in policy development, and their ability to disseminate information.

Daniel Van Daele, FGTB, said governments and unions have a long tradition of dialogue within his country, and this has extended to climate politics, noting gains achieved in integrating social criteria into the CDM.

Atilio Savino, Environmental Secretary of State, Argentina, called for aligning and uniting labor, education, health and climate change interests, which he believes can be mutually supportive.

Joachin Nieto, on behalf of the Confederation of Spanish Trade Unions (CCOO), noted that both Spain and Canada are far from fulfilling their Kyoto obligations, and stressed that the social effects of combating climate change must be minimized.

Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri, Environment Ministry, Spain, noted rising population levels and GDP will make meeting Kyoto obligations difficult, and that climate change is as much a socioeconomic problem as an environmental one.

Sophie Dupressoir, European Trade Union Confederation, noted a recent study of changing workforce and capacity-building needs in relation to fulfilling Kyoto objectives.

Bill Wehrum, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), outlined win-win partnerships including Energy Star, Climate Leadership, and Methane to Markets programmes.

Jeffery Sterbo, PNM Resources, described the US Electric Industries Power Partnerships, indicating that they will exceed their 7% reduction target.

Jim Lime, Pfizer Inc., reviewed a number of partnerships involving the Business Roundtable, EPA and the World Resources Institute.

Wayne Balta, IBM, said all their products meet Energy Star Criteria, and highlighted partnerships with Pew Foundation, the EPA’s Climate Leaders Programme, WRI’s Green Market development programme, and the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Makoto Kato, Ministry of Environment, Japan, provided an overview of the Japanese Kyoto Mechanisms Acceleration Programme (JCAP), a government support scheme for host countries and Japanese stakeholders to carry out CDM and JI projects. He described the Nubarshen Landfill Gas capture and power generation project in Armenia and a windfarm project in Argentina.

Shinichi Ioka, Institute of Global Environmental Strategies, presented a JCAP project component that integrates CDM/JI capacity building.

Shigeru Shiotani, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Japan, illustrated a second JCAP project component, relating to capacity-building activities in Hebei, China.

Discussion: participants addressed additionality issues, CDM project financing, and Japanese policies on hybrid automobiles tax exemption.

Vicky Pope, Hadley Centre, presented observed climatic changes relative to measurements at the end of the 19th century, noting pronounced Arctic temperature anomalies and concentration of rainfall patterns. She added that anthropogenically-caused increases in river flow and subsequent decreases in Arctic ocean salinity stands to effect the thermohaline cycle and gulf stream.

Pope then demonstrated a new technique for tracking tropical storms. She said that 2004 was the fourth warmest year on record; that the ten warmest years have occurred since 1990; and that rainfall and river flows stand to be altered drastically, leading to pronounced drought events in Africa.

Debbie Hemming, Hadley Centre, demonstrated future hydrological scenarios using the total river runoff pathway (TRIP) modeling system, which predicts marked changes in global river flows, including a considerable increase in Africa and the boreal region. She explored quantification of uncertainties, and noted decreased transpiration rates in response to increased carbon dioxide concentrations.

Discussion: participants discussed the inclusion of soot as a seventh GHG; that the Amazon is drying out faster than predicted, and the unprecedented hurricane activity in coastal Brazil.