You are viewing our old site. See the new one here

<< visit IISDnet >>
Special Report on Selected Side Events at UNFCCC COP-6
published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
in co-operation with the UNFCCC Secretariat
<< visit the UNFCCC Secretariat website >>

Events convened on Wednesday 15 November 2000

Making it happen - insights from national emissions trading 
presented by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
Margaret Mogford, UK Emissions Trading Group Secretariat, announced that business and industry have taken a proactive interest in the UK's emissions trading regime. They are looking to early commencement of domestic emissions trading.

The United Kingdom's plans for a domestic emissions trading scheme were presented by representatives of the Emissions Trading Group (ETG UK) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Participants were informed that business and industry has engaged proactively in the design of the UK system and the ETG is looking to early trading activity. 

Margaret Mogford, Emissions Trading Group Secretariat, reported that the UK Government has launched a consultation document on trading, A GHG Trading Scheme for the UK (2000). Special features of the proposed trading scheme are its voluntary nature, built-in incentives, an upstream and downstream approach, and the ability of participants to adopt absolute or relative (i.e. energy efficiency) targets. The UK Government has set aside thirty million pounds for an auction in which companies will offer emissions reductions bids.

For the WBCSD, Lee Solsbery and Fiona Mullins outlined lessons from the UK experience for understanding the impacts of early trading. Solsbery pointed out that delays in the Kyoto Protocol process would not mean delays in trading. Mullins described how international trading would be driven, initially, by domestic developments. William Blyth, AEA Technology and Ernst and Young, outlined some of the practical issues around calculating and reporting emissions for a trading scheme. 

Discussion: Participants raised: the question of ring fencing the emissions of multinational corporations for national accounting purposes; the need for a carbon accounting due diligence procedure; the risk of double counting; the risk of companies acquiring "wind fall" credits through the purchase and closure of plants; access to international trades, including through the CDM; and the UK's attitude to credits from land-use change and forestry projects.

More information: 
UK consultation document on a domestic emissions
trading scheme: http://www.detr.gov.uk
Emissions Trading Group (password required): http://www.uketg.com

Contacts:
Dave Moorcroft <moorcroft@wbcsd.ch>
Nils Steinbrecher: <Ns@erm-li.de>
Rüdiger Schweer: <r.schweer@mulf.hessen.de>
Ingo Puhl: <ipuhl@550ppm.com>


The Central American Carbon Fund: Interaction in vulnerability, energy and the Mesoamerican biological corridor 
presented by the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD)

Marco Gonzàlez, (CCAD) spoke about Central America's vulnerability to climate change and how a regional carbon programme would help tackle these issues.
Participants in this event heard that climate change is a key issue for the Central American region due in part to vulnerability to the impacts of extreme weather events. Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by countries in the region, their approaches to LULUCF and energy activities reflect the region's special interests in this area.

In introducing the session, Eduardo Dopazo, Oficina Guatemalteca de Implementacion Conjunta (OGIC), described the region's approach to integrated policies regarding mitigation responses to climate change. Marco Gonzàlez, Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD), presented a proposal for a regional Central American Carbon Programme (CCP) highlighting the comparative advantages of the region due to the existence of large forest areas already under legal protection and its experience with AIJ pilot projects. He illustrated the CCP's twofold design objectives: to establish a trust fund for capacity building, training, and certification and marketing of Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs); and a commercial fund for specific projects generating CERs, including financing off-grid electrification. He stressed that Central America's unique regional approach to tackling climate change is reflected in the CCP initiative. 

Discussion: Discussion included the issue of funding and managing the carbon trust, tackling sustainability at the project level, the competing needs of forest conservation and tree plantations under the CDM, and the variation in prices for carbon credits accruing from individual projects and those driven by an international market.

More information:
<http://www.sicanet.org.sv>

Contact:
Marco Gonzàlez <prolegis@sicanet.org.sv>
Eduardo Dopazo <investinguat@guate.net>
Rebeca Marín <rmarin@sicanet.org.sv>


Multi-project verification of JI/CDM projects
presented by the Swedish Delegation and the Swedish National Energy Administration (SNEA)

Jürgen Salay, SNEA, requested negotiators to adopt simple rules and a minimum bureaucracy.
Ambassador Bo Kjellén, head of the Swedish Delegation, welcomed participants and explained that the event was convened to present an overview of the Swedish experience of AIJ projects in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. In gaining such experience, he explained, Sweden has gained valuable insights into the modalities of AIJ which will guide future activities under the Kyoto Protocol's JI and CDM. 

Jürgen Salay, SNEA, stressed the importance of cooperation with local officials, plant owners, and local experts in the host countries, and emphasized that learning-by-doing is a key factor for success. On the Swedish International Climate Investment Programme, Salay explained that its main focus is on renewable energy.

Jesse Uzzell, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Norway, presented methodologies for multi-project verification and certification. He emphasized that rules for smaller projects should be streamlined to achieve greater efficiency and lower transaction costs, for example by simultaneously verifying projects using similar technology or in similar locations. It is common practice, he argued, that business allows independent firms to verify its activities. He said that projects which generate high quality ERUs/CERs will be paid a premium.

Discussion: Ingrida Apene, Latvia, suggested that SNEA should strengthen institutional capacity for verification and the establishment of baselines. Andres Kratovits, Estonia, noted that local experts are now able to calculate baselines for JI projects. In addition, participants expressed concerns about the differences between lessons learned by the investor and host countries and suggested the establishment of local centers to broaden the scope of capacity building.

More information: 
Swedish National Energy Administration: http://www.stem.se
Det Norske Veritas (DNV): http://www.dnv.com

Contact:
Jürgen Salay <jurgen.salay@stem.se>


Rob Bradley, Climate Network Europe's energy specialist, sets out the case for climate change policies that create sustainable employment. 
In search of the double dividend: making climate change policy work to create jobs 
presented by Climate Network Europe (CNE) and the European Insulation Manufacturers Association (EURIMA)

Climate Network Europe (CNE) convened this event for NGOs, business and trade union representatives to consider the job creation benefits of technological innovation in pursuit of carbon emission reductions. 

Rob Bradley, CNE's energy specialist, introduced studies on jobs and energy policies, sponsored by CNE and the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE). He underlined the report's focus on the practical policies and actions that have generated sustainable employment growth. He said that actions to implement the Kyoto Protocol should be concentrated in developed countries, where real shifts in energy production and consumption are required, to force structural change. 

Martin Rocholl, Friends of the Earth International, described the efforts of the European and German lobbies for eco-tax reform, to stimulate employment and shift taxation on to energy. Chris Hamans, EURIMA, said 50% of the carbon emissions caused by the heating of commercial and residential buildings in Western Europe could be avoided by applying state-of-the-art insulation techniques. He outlined a number of European job creation initiatives linked to energy conservation and called for energy performance labeling for all buildings, new consideration of a European Energy Audit Directive, and severe insulation performance standards. 

Simon Worthington, BP, described the company's approach to realizing emissions reduction targets by entrusting the initiative to workers on the ground and building GHG targets into the performance contracts of their business unit managers.

More information:
The Association for the Conservation of Energy report, National and Local Employment Impacts of Energy Efficiency Investment Programmes (Summary Report), 2000. Website: http://www.ukace.org
Climate Network Europe report, Climate Change and Employment in the European Union (2000), by Christine Lottje. E-Mail: <canron@gn.apc.org>

Contact:
Martin Rocholl, Friends of the Earth International: <rob@climnet.org>
Chris Hamans, EURIMA: <info@eurima.org>


 

Ocean observation theme of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) and its contribution to the global climate observing needs of the FCCC 
presented by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Global Climate Observing System Secretariat (GCOS)

Naomasa Murakoshi, National Space Development Agency Japan (NASDA), described the achievements of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS).
Linda Moodie, United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), explained the importance of global monitoring systems for observing global climate change. She gave an overview of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS), which provides integrated global observations of the climate by co-ordinating remotely sensed data and in situ observations of the Earth's system. She described IGOS's interest in oceanic systems and cited its recent publication An ocean theme for the IGOS partnership (2000). Jan Stel, International Centre for Integrative Studies (ICIS), described the correlation between extreme weather events and the Earth's oceans as profound and stressed the importance of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) for monitoring changes in the Earth's behavioural system. He added that integrated systems allow for cost effective monitoring. Naomasa Murakoshi, National Space Development Agency Japan (NASDA), spoke about the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) consisting of 40 agencies worldwide. He described achievements since its inception including the development of principles for satellite data exchange. Alan Thomas, GCOS, called for the implementation of the Convention's commitment to the promotion of research and systematic observation. He illustrated the GCOS framework and its responsibility for linking climate observations and product development with the policy requirements of the FCCC. 

Discussion: Participants discussed the quality of resolution available for global observation systems to monitor carbon fluxes in the atmosphere. One speaker highlighted the importance of high-resolution data in the context of the COP-6 discussions.

More information:
http://www.gefweb.org
http://www.ifc.org/pvuse
http://www.shell.com
http://www.raps.co.za

Contact:
Alan Miller <amiller2@worldbank.org>
Dana Younger <dyounger@ifc.org>
Marius Willemse <marius@raps.co.za>
Jos van de Ven <jos.h.vandeven@opc.shell.com>


Accelerating renewable energy use in developing countries
presented by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)

Dana Younger, International Finance Corporation (IFC) on how to create a vibrant market for renewable energy, and Alan Miller, Global Environmental Facility (GEF).
Alan Miller, GEF, explained that the facility aims to remove barriers to a vibrant market for renewable energy and focuses on the incremental risks associated with investing in renewable energy projects. 

Marius Willemse, Rural Area Power Solutions (RAPS), South Africa, urged the involvement of the private sector to help accelerate the market. The absence of adequate infrastructure and financing mechanisms impact mostly at the end-user level, particularly in the off-grid rural electrification sector. 

Jos van de Ven, Shell Solar, explained Shell's involvement in the renewable energy business. Since few households in developing countries can afford to buy Solar Home Systems (SHS) Shell's programme operates under a lease agreement where households are charged a monthly service fee. He underlined that such households spend 3-5 times more on electricity than grid-connected households.

Dana Younger, International Finance Corporation (IFC), cautioned that investments in renewable energy projects are often high risk with low returns, and that much of their success depends on the quality of management and the viability of the market. He outlined IFC's involvement in removing the barriers to a vibrant renewable energy market. IFC, together with the GEF, operates the Small and Medium Scale Enterprise Programme (SME) which aims to overcome the incremental risks associated with renewable energy investments through financial intermediaries. For example, the IFC provided seed money to the Grameen Shakti Bank in Bangladesh to stimulate loans to off-grid PV enterprises. In addition, the IFC/GEF operates the Photovoltaic Market Transformation Initiative (PVMTI) and is involved in the Solar Development Fund.

More information:
http://www.eurelectric.org
http://enb.iisd.org/climate/sb13/side/enbots14thur.htm

Contact:
John Scowcroft <jscowcroft@eurelectric.org>
Calliope Webber <webber@bp.com>
Garth Edward <gedward@natsource.com>
Giuseppe Montesano <montesano.giuseppe@enel.it>
Helmut Groscurth <groscurth.ekz@hew.de>

 

 
Gaining practical experience with the Kyoto mechanisms 
presented by the Fraunhofer Institute Systems and Innovation Research (ISI)
 
Joachim Schleich, ISI, explained that Germany needed experience to prepare for implementation of the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol.
 Joachim Schleich, ISI, explained that Germany was behind the curve in gaining the experience required to use the flexibility mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. Germany has traditionally focused on command and control-type policy instruments, and has tended to see problems with the Protocol's mechanisms rather than opportunities. However, faced with the prospect of having to implement such instruments, Germany is now gaining experience through pilot projects in several parts of the world. Several organizations presented their experiences and reflected on the modalities of emissions trading and activities implemented jointly. 

More information:
http://www.isi.fhg.de
http://www.hwwa.de
http://www.iwoe.unisg.ch/kyoto

Contact:
Joachim Schleich <schleich@isi.fhg.de>
Sandra Greiner <sandra.greiner@hwwa.de>
Stefan Gloger <stefan.gloger@uvm.bwl.de>
Josef Janssen <josef.janssen@unisg.ch>
Nils Steinbrecher <ns@erm-li.de>


© 2000, IISD. All rights reserved.