10/24/2011
Paper offers options to scale up climate
action globally in Durban, Rio and beyond
WASHINGTON 24 October 2011 — Studies show
that the world's aggregate level of effort
on climate change mitigation is not in line
with the science and existing country commitments
are insufficient to adequately address climate
change. A new paper published by the World
Resources Institute (WRI) and the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with
the support of the Government of Ireland,
entitled Building the Climate Change Regime:
Survey and Analysis of Approaches, reviews
more than 130 proposals put forward by governments,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and
academics to design a climate regime capable
of delivering adequate mitigation action.
"The analysis provided
in this new report offers many options that
can happen either in the formal negotiations
or as complementary measures elsewhere,"
said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General
and Executive Director of UNEP. "Options
that can assist the more than 190 United
Nations member states move quickly to harvest
the opportunities of a transition to a climate
resilient, low carbon, resource efficient
Green Economy," he added.
Building the Climate
Change Regime clearly shows that there is
a path forward for climate negotiators and
offers a menu of options to national governments
to mitigate climate change, both within
and outside the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The
report, which suggests that there are a
number of pathways toward the desired level
of ambition, also highlights the need to
mobilize a range of public and private sector
actors at the international, national and
sub-national levels, who can contribute
to climate governance, emission reductions,
and adaptation investment.
"We know that more
needs to be done globally to reach our long-term
climate objectives. The reality is that
there is no shortage of options and these
proposals show the wealth of pathways available,"
said Manish Bapna, Interim President of
WRI. "At the upcoming climate meeting
in Durban, countries have the opportunity
to turn these ideas into action and start
to bridge the ambition gap needed to truly
have an impact."
"The publication
of the paper is very timely. It presents
real options for addressing difficult political
issues that still remain to be resolved
in the international negotiations, not least
in relation to the legal form of a future
international agreement, the timeframe for
agreement, and the need to increase the
level of ambition on mitigation action",
said Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment,
Community and Local Government, Ireland.
The report breaks down
proposals into five key issues that have
been major points of debate:
1. Options under the
UNFCCC to Increase Ambition: Within the
UNFCCC, new approaches could involve reducing
the emissions of additional greenhouse gases,
including additional sectors, and strengthening
accounting rules for emissions and emission
reductions. Utilizing tools within the UNFCCC
can be beneficial because they minimize
duplication and implementation costs while
facilitating trust-building. However, other
complementary options should also be considered.
2. Options outside the
UNFCCC to Increase Ambition: Beyond the
UNFCCC process, approaches include multilateral,
plurilateral, bilateral and domestic strategies.
These approaches offer prospects to mobilize
actors around shared interests like development,
trade, human rights, energy or food security.
While these new strategies can generate
greater ambition, one disadvantage of following
approaches outside the UNFCCC is a risk
of undermining existing processes and creating
inefficiencies.
3. Means for Sharing
the Mitigation Effort Under the UNFCCC:
Various proposals could be used to allocate
responsibility to bridge the gap between
the current level of effort and scientific
recommendations. Possible approaches include
dividing mitigation efforts based on countries'
capacity or based on countries' contribution
to the problem. Setting a global carbon
budget would help ensure that the climate
regime meets the adequacy standard, but
it could be difficult to implement new allocations
for emission obligations.
4. The Role of Various
Actors in Tracking Country Performance on
Mitigation: Harmonized global accounting,
reporting and verification standards are
fundamental to progress. Two options are
to use tools within the UNFCCC or outside
the UNFCCC. Both options are discussed in
detail.
5. The Legal Form of
a Future Climate Agreement: The issue of
legally binding commitments is central to
the debates ahead of Durban. The paper presents
multiple options for climate negotiators:
to proceed without new, legally-binding
commitments; to commit to achieving new
legally-binding commitments immediately;
or to strengthen the components of legal
character over time to achieve new, legally-binding
commitments as soon as possible.
An illustrative finding
in the report is that it is possible to
build upon existing UNFCCC processes to
strengthen the climate regime and raise
the overall level of ambition. For example,
a review under the UNFCCC of aggregate progress
towards the 2 degree goal could facilitate
an increase in the ambition of countries'
commitments. The UNFCCC can also provide
a strengthened institutional framework,
possibly binding in nature, to anchor, coordinate
and review the commitments of countries.
"Many institutions
and actors can play a part in the broader
climate regime," said Remi Moncel,
Associate at WRI and one of the authors
of the paper. "The proposals reviewed
show that we can take an all-hands-on-deck
approach where the UNFCCC and other actors
work in tandem based on their respective
strengths. We need to move the conversation
from 'we are not doing enough' to 'how can
we do more collectively', and these findings
take us one step closer."
Whilst a number of studies
have demonstrated that the level of climate
mitigation pledged to date is insufficient
to limit temperature increases to 2 degrees
C, this paper clearly demonstrates that
there are a range of good ideas and options
available that could help correct the course
and move toward a safer and more stable
climate.
The paper is being launched
at events in Washington, DC, and Dublin
featuring key experts from WRI, UNEP, the
Government of Ireland, and partners. To
read the full report, visit: http://www.wri.org/project/moving-unfccc-forward.
About the World Resources
Institute
The World Resources
Institute is a global environmental think
tank that goes beyond research to put ideas
into action. WRI works with governments,
companies, and civil society to build solutions
to urgent environmental challenges. www.wri.org
About UNEP
The United Nations Environment
Programme, established in 1972, is the leading
authority on the environment within the
United Nations system. Its mission is to
provide leadership and encourage partnership
in caring for the environment by inspiring,
informing, and enabling nations and peoples
to improve their quality of life without
compromising that of future generations.
To accomplish this, UNEP works with a wide
range of partners, including United Nations
entities, international organizations, national
governments, non-governmental organizations,
the private sector and civil society. www.unep.org
