Report from Poznan: Latest United Nations Climate Change Convention Shows
January 14, 2009
Prepared by Laura Zizzo who attended the 14th Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poznan, Poland on behalf of the Environmental Markets Association.
The 14th Conference of the Parties (COP 14) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place from December 1-12, 2008 in Poznan, Poland. The Polish city housed about 8,000 representatives from 192 countries for the climate change talks.
Under the UNFCCC, The Kyoto Protocol’s compliance period expires in 2012 so a new agreement is needed to ensure an international legal regime “Post-2012”. COP 14 marked the mid-point of the negotiation process that started in Bali, Indonesia last year, which aims to be completed at the COP 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark next December. This milestone served as a stark reminder to the parties and observers that significant progress will be needed in a short timeframe to reach an agreement in Copenhagen.
It was generally accepted that global emissions must peak around 2015 in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Most agree that an international agreement under the UNFCCC is an essential element in a successful global response to the climate crisis. Unfortunately, the story of the most recent COP is that not much was accomplished. Following the conference, Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer confirmed that we are not yet half way through the negotiations, but was confident that progress would be made in advance of Copenhagen. He likened the negotiations to a marathon, saying the fast running will be done at the end.
In a conference frustrated with positioning and little progress, a bright spot emerged in Poznan around adaptation funding. A decision was made to operationalize the Adaptation Fund, making funds available to finance adaptation to climate change in developing countries. There is currently a 2% levy taken from all Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credits that go into the Adaptation Fund. Parties were negotiating a potential decision to add levies from the other Kyoto Flexibility Mechanism (Joint Implementation and Emissions Trading) to increase funding to the Adaptation Fund.
However, despite some progress, talks broke down in the final hours, postponing any decision on additional levies to support the Adaptation Fund. Talks also broke down on proposed reforms to the CDM aimed, in part, to speed up approvals from the Executive Board of the CDM, the body responsible for approving projects that generate CDM credits. In his closing press-conference, Yvo de Boer expressed confidence that these negotiations would be picked up at the next round of negotiations and reiterated that although no decisions were finalized in this regard, significant advancements were made in Poznan.
The countries also made progress on a number of issues that are important in the short run, including finance, technology transfer and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (referred to as REDD).
Many side-events presented by governments, academia, NGOs and business organizations allowed participants an escape from the negotiation halls. The multitude of those discussing ideas, technologies and policies evidenced innovation all over the world. This shows that despite the global economic crisis, climate change is still near the top of the international agenda. There seemed to be agreement among attendees that the economic crisis should be seen as an opportunity to move forward with a “green” future, not an excuse to continue with “business-as-usual”.
Canada was heavily criticized by NGOs for its various unpopular negotiating positions including its reluctance to commit to strong targets. Canada was the sole “winner” of the “Colossal Fossil” award for the party most obstructive of progress, a distinction voted on by the International Climate Action Network, a coalition of over 300 NGOs worldwide. The domestic political situation in Canada was also closely followed by participants at the conference as the decision to prorogue parliament was made during the intense negotiation period. Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable Jim Prentice was on hand in the final days of the conference and communicated Canada’s positions to the conference, assuring the world that Canada “has the potential to make a significant contribution to meeting these global challenges”1. He also confirmed Canada’s commitment to develop and implement a North American-wide cap and trade system for greenhouse gases along with its intention to forge “an immediate relationship with the new American administration to address this issue”. Canada continued to reference the national target of reducing emissions by 20% below 2006 levels by 2020, which is off-side of its Kyoto Commitments of 6% below 1990 levels by 2012. Canada’s emission rose approximately 30% between 1990 and 2006.
The Poznan conference clearly showed the stark divide between developed and developing countries. Developing countries demonstrated increased frustration amid the slow progress and the apparent lack of commitments to strong targets and significant funding from developed countries. Commentators hope that these two camps will be able to narrow the divide in the coming months in order to build trust and see real cooperative action going forward.
For more information about the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan and related decisions please see: http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_14/items/4481.php
1 From the Speech of the Honourable Jim Prentice at COP 14, December 11, 2008. The full text of Minister Prentice’s remarks can be found at http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=6F2DE1CA-1&news=A59C4FA1-1776-4DC6-81BD-D64F8B59123C
Originally posted on http://www.gowlings.com/
