Events convened on Friday 24 November 2000

Jürgen Maier, German NGO Forum, urged NGOs to begin a discussion on energy before Rio+10 in 2002.

Gerald Knauf, German NGO Forum, invited participants to enter into a global dialogue on alternative energy sources for developing countries, with a view to supporting their attempts to break their dependence on fossil fuels.

Isaac Osuoka, Environmental Rights Action, Nigeria, noted that his country has failed to reinvest oil export revenues in the improvement of the livelihoods of the population. He supports the exclusion of gas in the CDM and expressed concerns about its highly publicized benefits as a clean energy alternative. He pleaded with delegates to support public participation in the CDM process.

Douglas Korsah-Brown, Friends of the Earth, Ghana, noting that his country is an oil importer, highlighted the current trend of increasing fossil fuel use for thermal electricity generation. He called for the introduction of energy efficiency in the transport sector.

Hesphina Rukato, Minerals and Energy Policy Centre, South Africa, noted the mixed situation in her country, which exports coal and imports oil. She argued that the steady increase in oil prices affects people's access to basic services. The new South African Government strategy on renewable energies focuses on rural electrification, both grid and non-grid. She concluded that the shift to a new "low carbon" economy in developing countries would require more research cooperation on new technologies and improved transport systems.

Jürgen Maier, German NGO Forum, noted that few countries had managed to decouple carbon intensity and their GDP. He criticized the way in which energy issues have been seized upon by climate change negotiators and presented as an emissions problem. He urged NGOs to begin a timely discussion before Rio+10 in 2002.

Discussion: discussants raised: sustainable energy projects under the CDM; the benefits of replacing coal with gas; forest sinks; deforestation in the context of the flexible mechanisms; the need to capitalize infrastructure improvement in developing countries; the need for new renewable energy technologies; the impact of liberalization and deregulation of energy markets on attempts to lower carbon intensity; the burden of poverty alleviation and external debt servicing in southern countries and their attempts to overcome fossil-fuel dependence; and the need to involve the GEF in the funding of capacity building for renewable energy projects.

More information: 
Forum: http://www.oneworldweb.de/forum

Contact:
Gerald Knauf <forumue@compuserve.com>
Hesphina Rukato <hesphina@mepc.org.za>
Isaac Osuoka <oilwatch@infoweb.abs.net>
Douglas Korsah-Brown <foeghana@africaonline.com.gh>

Abdelkrim Ben Mohamed, Niger, outlined his country's first National Communication at COP-6.

More information:
http://www.unfccc.int

Contacts:
Martha Perdomo <Mperdomo@unfccc.int>
Stanford Mwakasonda <ceest@intafrica.com>
Abdelkrim Ben Mohamed <ben@acmad.ne>

Rolf Zelius, Asian Development Bank, and Paul Hassing (right). Hassing described The Netherlands' interest in accelerating the greening of international financial institutions.

Rolf Zelius, Asian Development Bank (ADB), outlined his organization's involvement in climate change issues. The ADB has implemented technical assistance programmes since 1992, including the Asia Least-cost GHG Abatement Strategy (ALGAS) for developing country members. Following the Kyoto agreement, the ADB has worked closely with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on several capacity building initiatives. Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director, UNEP, underlined the new dimension of UNEP's relationship with the ADB. He stressed the relationship between energy and development, and emphasized his commitment to sustainable development. 

The Netherlands, one of two donor countries present, has an interest in accelerating the "greening" of the lending policies of international financial institutions. To achieve this, according to Paul Hassing, the Netherlands has allocated US$30M to regional banks such as the ADB and called on them to identify investment opportunities in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Ambassador Mailand Christensen, Denmark, said that a trust fund to combat climate change had been established by the Danish Government.

Several people spoke on their contribution to a new ADB publication on climate change. Kirsten Halsnaes spoke on the potential demand and supply of credits through the CDM and JI. Prodipto Ghosh, demonstrated how a global supply curve for credits can be created from marginal abatement cost curves for individual countries. Sujata Gupta argued that the CDM could create a disparity between developing countries. Liu Deshun outlined practical issues on establishing a baseline methodology.

More information:
ADB: http://www.adb.org

Contacts:
Prodipto Ghosh <pghosh@adb.org>