International Workshop - Where development meets climate: development related mitigation options for a global climate change agreement
The development dimension of the climate change debate is an essential issue for developing countries. For them any active participation in a post-Kyoto agreement has to reconcile their development needs with climate related action. This is also reflected in the Bali Action Plan. As demonstrated in many studies, supported by the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC, and now widely discussed at a general level in the pre- and post- Bali process, there are very good opportunities for win-win solutions. So far however specific proposals are lacking. In the Bali Action Plan that provides the roadmap for the further negotiations for a post-Kyoto agreement one of the core elements is: “Nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner”. The workshop "Where development meets climate; development related mitigation options for a global climate change agreement" was held in the Haque 24- 25 september, 2008.
Summary workshop
There have been proposals for practical implementation of mitigation actions that align development and climate objectives in the form of Sustainable Development Policies and Measures (SD-PAMs). Various forms of such SD-PAMs are under discussion, including no-loose targets, sectoral CDM and sectoral agreements, with appropriate technical and financial incentives related to them. Reciprocity between industrialized and advanced developing countries is an important aspect of the negotiations, not the least because of competitiveness concerns amongst internationally operating companies. And so is the need – as specified in the Bali Action Plan- to get to significant emission reductions. This leads to the idea that SD-PAMs in the form of sector wide agreements across advanced developing countries, in support of sustainable development, could be a viable element of a new agreement.
Sector agreements are here defined as agreements on actions for a whole sector of the economy that can be binding for one or more developing countries, with a measurable impact on lowering GHG emissions compared to Business as Usual. Actions can be formulated as policies to be implemented or as targets to be reached by a certain date, or a combination of those. Technical and financial support would be part of it.
Sectoral focus
The workshop focused on a limited number of sectors: power, steel and cement and countries. The reasons for focusing on these three sectors are:
- They span the range of the type of problems to be encountered when formulating sectoral agreements: degree of international competition in the sector, country specificity, number of players, degree of organization of the industrial sector
- Potential impact on GHG emissions
- Availability of comparative information on the sector
The initial set of countries chosen was: India, Mexico and South Africa, providing a mix of regional and country specific situations, where access to the relevant industrial sectors would be feasible.
Programme and presentations
The overall workshop objective was to elaborate on specific proposals to bring sector specific actions into an international post-Kyoto climate agreement that can be an input into ongoing negotiations under the Bali Plan of Action.
- Opening and objectives of the meeting, by Bert Metz, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. Presentation: Where development meets climate (PDF, 0,6 MB) - development related mitigation options for a global climate change agreement
- Overview of post-Bali negotiation process and elements where development issues are important, by Gao Feng, UNFCCC secretariat
Approaches to formulating “Nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing country Parties in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner”: sector specific actions, policies and measures and other approaches
- Fernando Tudela, Undersecretary for planning and environmental policy, Ministry for environment and natural resources, Mexico
- Jonathan Pershing, Director climate, energy and pollution program, World Resources Institute, USA. Presentation: NAMAs: Sector Approaches to a Post-2012 Agreement (PDF, 1,5 MB)
Energy and GHG emissions in the electricity, cement and steel industry: international comparisons and lessons from earlier work on sector specific actions
- Niklas Höhne, Ecofys, Germany Presentation: Sectoral approaches and development (PDF, 0,8 MB)
- Jiang Kejun, Director of energy system analysis and market analysis, Energy Research Institute, China Presentation: Sector Approaches: A Case Study for China’s Power Generation (PDF, 0,6 MB)
Input paper
An input paper for the workshop was written by Ecofys: Sectoral approach and development (PDF, 1 MB)
Interim reports
Two break-out groups discussed sector agreements for the Power sector and the Cement and Steel sectors.
- presentation Report of break-out group on heavy industry, Cement – Iron & Steel (PDF, 0,2 MB)
- presentation Power Sector Proposals (PDF, 0,2 MB)
Workshop summary
Symposium 'Development dimensions of a new global climate change agreement'
The workshop was followed by a symposium: Development dimensions of a new global climate change agreement
| Publication date | 29-09-2008 |
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