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 The
main negotiating group of Ministers and other high-level officials
have been briefed on informal consultations held Saturday morning and
early afternoon, with some progress being reported.
The
group convened in an open session mid-afternoon to hear the reports
from the facilitators on their consultations over the issues of
finance, mechanisms, LULUCF and compliance. President Pronk said the
aim of the meeting was to improve transparency in the negotiating
process and to take stock of the progress made since yesterday.
Secretary
of State Philippe Roch (Switzerland) reported on the consultations on
finance. He said his aim was to evaluate the chances of reaching a
consensus on financial issues. He emphasized the very diverse
positions on fundamental aspects of funding and the difficulties in
finding common ground. He reported that consultations suggest four
elements: the necessity to clearly separate between the implementation
of the UNFCCC and that of the Protocol in order to allow those Parties
not wishing to work on the Protocol to continue to participate in
mitigation work under the UNFCCC; the need for additional funding for
the implementation of the UNFCCC and the Protocol; the need for
funding to be predictable; and the need to quantify the funding. He
explained that this last element constituted the weakest result of his
consultations. He added that he had prepared a short paper outlining
principles that could serve as elements for reaching a middle-ground
position. For funding under the UNFCCC, he suggested: the need for new
and additional funding; the need to establish a list of activities
financed under UNFCCC; predictable funding subject to review;
channeling of the necessary funds either through an increased
replenishment of the GEF, a special UNFCCC fund, or bilateral and
multilateral channels; and funding provided by Annex II Parties and
other Annex I Parties in a position to do so. Concerning funding under
the Protocol, he proposed: the establishment of an Adaptation fund
financed by the share of proceeds and other funding; an invitation to
Annex I Parties to provide funding additional to that resulting from
the share of proceeds. He also suggested that new funds be managed by
an entity that operates the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, that
urgent attention be given to the needs of LDCs, and that the
willingness to provide funding should be made through a political
declaration. He concluded his report by saying that he knew the result
of his consultation was "very deceiving", but that it looks like
the "maximum achievable in Bonn."
Minister
Pete Hodgson (New Zealand) reported on his consultations on the
mechanisms. He said that although no explicit agreement was reached,
progress on some matters had been made, in particular with the
introduction of new words "that might fly".
On
equity, he reported that the issue for the G-77/China was that the CDM
allows an increase of emissions in Annex I Parties and a decrease in
non-Annex I Parties. He suggested wording in terms of which Annex I
Parties should implement domestic action according to national
circumstances, with a view to reducing per capita emissions in a
manner conducive to reducing the per capita inequities in emissions
between developed and developing countries. On supplementarity, he
said the EU had "moved big distances." He reported that he had
suggested: text including a reference to "significant" as an
elaboration of the term "supplemental"; that Annex I Parties
provide relevant information in relation to such "significant"
domestic action; and that the facilitative branch of the Compliance
Committee would address questions of implementation on this issue. On
nuclear, he suggested an addition to the language in the Pronk text
giving an assessment role to the host country. On the Supervisory
Committee, Minister Hodgson said the "ball is in the court" of the
Russian Federation and Ukraine. He concluded by saying that the issues
of the commitment period reserve level and of compliance as
eligibility would be settled once there is agreement on the legally
binding nature of the compliance regime.
On
LULUCF, Ambassador Raul Estrada (Argentina) said consultations had
focused on individual and collective caps. He indicated results could
be achieved by the late afternoon. He emphasized that the "big
difficulty" was the "big absent" of the negotiations and that
efforts were made to protect its interests in order to allow it to
join the Protocol at a later stage.
Minister
Valli Moosa (South Africa) reported on consultations on compliance. He
said this was an issue everybody outside the COP would be looking at
since it reflects "how we do that we agree to do", and cautioned
against setting precedents. He said that given the legally binding
nature of the Protocol, its compliance mechanism must go well beyond a
mere gentlemen's agreement. He suggested a stepped approach for the
compliance system with an emphasis on facilitation. The first step
would be an early warning system through the review teams setting a
process of facilitation to assist Parties in cases where there might
be a case of non-compliance. During the compliance period itself,
legally binding consequences would need to ensure "environmental
restoration" rather than punish the Party concerned. He also hinted
at the need for certainty for market mechanisms.
President
Pronk then reported on his consultations on technology transfer. He
said the name of the body had been agreed upon and that there was
"flexibility in the air" with regard to its composition. On
adverse effects of policies and measures, he suggested, inter
alia, a move towards a "global cost-effective" approach to
minimize costs for all countries. He concluded the session by saying
that, following the request from the G-77/China and other Parties, he
would prepare a proposal to be tabled later during the day. He said
his text would be an "equitable" compromise benefiting each group.
It
is currently anticipated that the negotiating group will reconvene in
an open session at 8:00 pm where President Pronk will present his
proposal.
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