Grabert outlined elements of the development plans, including: developing a stable and reliable version of the CRF Reporter; improving its performance in key areas; enhancing the XML import/export facility; implementing the revised Convention LULUCF sector; and aligning the development activities to Parties’ needs.

He indicated that the first release of the third version of the software is scheduled for July 2006 and will include the new XML, more reliable software and some optimized performance. He said the third version of the software will be released a second time in October 2006 and include remaining usability, functions, and optimization work, as well as the revised Convention LULUCF tables. Noting that to date only 32 out of 41 submissions have been received, ten of which are not using the software, he highlighted that the Secretariat aims at achieving a 100% use of the CRF Reporter. He outlined future steps, including: contacting Parties concerning the status of their submissions and interest in resubmission or data migration; coordinating Parties’ desires with the upcoming release of the third version of the CRF Reporter; and implementing support for associated processes.

In ensuing discussions, participants addressed the timely deliverance of the new version of the CRF software and the migration of data previously submitted in the Excel format.

Makoto Kato, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan, introduced the Asia-Pacific Seminars and Network, noting their goal of addressing climate change at the regional and international levels. He stressed that mitigation efforts should be seen as an opportunity for development.

Chisa Umemiya, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan, introduced the Workshops on GHG Inventories in Asia Region, organized by her government. She explained that these annual workshops assist Asian countries in developing and improving their GHG inventories by promoting regional information exchange. Aree Tummakird, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand, described four common regional issues and possible solutions identified through the workshops.

Andrew Matthews, Asia-Pacific Network on Global Change Research, stressed the need to make climate change science understandable to policy makers and to engage policy makers in the climate change debate.

Susan Wickwire, US Environmental Protection Agency, underscored the need to institutionalize the co-benefits concepts of climate change mitigation and to build permanent capacity within governmental and technical institutions.

Liu Qiang, Energy Research Institute, China, presented baseline and policy and technology carbon dioxide emissions scenarios for China for 2050. He stated that energy savings would contribute most to emission reductions, while technological progress and social and fiscal policies would also contribute significantly.

Mozaharul Alam, Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies, stressed the need to address poverty and climate change simultaneously, and described the contribution that community-based adaptation projects can make in this regard.

Taka Hiraishi, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, emphasized that climate change mitigation and adaptation must be included in national development plans, and invited participants to consider whether the potential co-benefits of CDM projects could be partly funded by ODA or alternative funding sources.

Suppiah Muthusamy, Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia, explained that regional networks and initiatives on climate change enable continuous exchange between relevant stakeholders and provides a platform for environmental issues that might otherwise not be prioritized.

Dadang Hilman, State Ministry of the Environment, Indonesia, explained that the growing understanding of climate change has triggered long-term national planning considerations in his country.

Erwin Schmid, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Austria, described the bio-physical modeling component of INSEA. He explained the results which show average effects of changes in crop residue systems over ten years in Europe, including increased soil organic carbon and net reduced direct and indirect N2O-N emissions.

Michael Obersteiner, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria, presented on the forest production and carbon storage potentials of European forestry. He emphasized that there is a potential to substantially increase the harvest in about 20 years and that increasing the harvest rotation time is one way of increasing the carbon storage in forests, although it initially reduces the harvest substantially.

Stéphane De Cara, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, described the regional farm-type modeling component of INSEA, explaining that one of its goals is to examine marginal abatement costs in EU agriculture, accounting for regional and farm type heterogeneity.

Uwe Schneider, Hamburg University, Germany, described the Forest and Agricultural Sector Optimization model (FASOM) which aims to advise policy makers on environmental, agricultural and trade policies. He stated that FASOM analysis is important for large scale land-use changes.

Raimondo Orsini, UIC, emphasized that rail transport and sustainable mobility should be incorporated in the development of climate change policies. He called for a fairer and more balanced Emission Trading Scheme for the transport sector, as well as fuel taxation for aviation.

Stephanie Bauer, Deutsche Bahn, highlighted her organization’s energy saving programme, which succeeded in reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by 25% from 1990 levels two years ahead of schedule through capacity utilization, eco-driving, and new technology. She said Deutsche Bahn’s new goal is an additional 15% reduction by 2020 and called for the removal of competitive disadvantages, notably the subsidization of aviation.

Participants discussed whether Deutsche Bahn is working with the German government to create incentives for railway use, and the parameters for a shift from road to railway.