Dr. Phillippe Ciais, Professor at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environment, gave an in-depth overview of scientific research regarding the potential for carbon sinks in Europe. Possible sinks include the atmosphere, as is the primary concern at the Conference, however, it is believed that the oceans may be absorbing up to 40% of carbon emissions, that rivers can play a role in absorbing and exporting a portion of carbon emissions, and that sinks associated with forested areas differ in their rate of carbon absorption depending on the type of forest (re: boreal, temperate, tropical) and the type of natural resource management practised there (re: clear cutting, monocultures, natural, etc). These facts combined with current studies display great uncertainty in quantifying identified carbon sinks, their potentials for absorption, and hence add to the debate surrounding measurement of carbon emissions, the use of Kyoto mechanisms, and emissions trading.

Dr. Ciais then introduced a new effort to combine climate studies regionally, through an initiative called CARBOEUROPE. Carboeurope is to manifest as a cluster of regional projects with a purpose of synthesizing study in 5 key areas: the study of ecosystem processes, chrono-sequential fluxes, ecosystem fluxes, regional carbon balances and continental estimates. Taking an integrated approach, Carboeurope involves 10 EU countries co-operating with other developing countries and countries with economies in transition, 25 research laboratories, 2 private companies, and 80 scientists with the aim of studying macro-ecological carbon transport.

Another concerted effort to include science in the policy arena is ACACIA - A Concerted Action Towards a Comprehensive Climate Impacts and Adaptations Assessment for the European Union [http://www.uea.ac.uk/env/jei/acacia/]. ACACIA is an action funded by the European Commission's DGXII Environment and Climate Programme, to review current knowledge of the potential for climate change impacts in the EU, and to provide clear specifications for future in-depth assessments needed for policy development surrounding climate change.

This side event presentation of EU-backed collaborative efforts in climate change science signalled the EU's investment in the research and development of practical ways to move toward viable compliance mechanisms, laying the necessary groundwork for potential emissions trading in the future. The event was chaired by Julia M. Kundermann, Scientific Officer, Climate and Natural Hazards, European Commission.

This side event was sponsored by The Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI) and the Center for International Climate and Energy Research (CICERO). Speakers presented a research project n modeling international negotiations and the case of global climate change. Arild Underdal, CICERO, presented an overview and the conceptual framework. Steinar Andresen, FNI, gave a presentation on "Indispensibility or Indefensibility? The United States and the Climate Treaty Negotiations." Andresen is pictured below with Lasse Ringius, CICERO, who discussed "The EU's Policy: What is Behind the Empty Rhetoric?" and Arild Moe (arild.moe@fni.no, image on the left), FNI, addressed "The Development of Russia's Positions: The Lack of Driving Forces (until now)." Moe noted that Russia has only recently become a major player in the emerging international climate regime and said the reasons for the change is the introduction of the flexibility mechanisms, particularly joint implementation and emissions trading. He said that given the Russian economy's combination of extreme energy inefficiency and dramatic fall in economic activity, Russia has much to gain from the implementation of these mechanisms.
For more information, contact FNI at sentralbord@fni.no or visit http://www.fni.no/; CICERO can be reached at admin@cicero.uio.no or http://www.cicero.uio.no.

Dr.Hermann Ott, Wuppertal Institute, co-author of The Kyoto Protocol: International Climate Policy for the 21st Century (1999) and a proposal for a European Leadership initiative, talks to Peter Doran about the outcomes from COP-5, responses to the proposal and strategic developments among the climate change NGO community