Month: December 2008

At the press briefing on the first day of the second conference week, Yvo de Boer gave an update on a number of issues under discussion. He said that in general negotiations are going well and that countries are trying to identify new avenues instead of re-stating traditional positions.

On Adaptation countries have been sharing success stories in dealing with impacts of climate change but were also identifying barriers in this area. Mr. de Boer informed about a proposal on the table to establish a new expert group on adaptation to enhance action on the ground.

He also highlighted the importance of risk and disaster management and
insurance for the Copenhagen agreement. He said that this area is a
fundamental requirement to meet adaptation objectives and that AOSIS is
proposing an insurance mechanism to address loss and damage from climate change impacts.

The debates on REDD are focusing on conversation versus market incentives via credits to avoid deforestation. There was also discussion on how deforestation and degredation affect indigenous people. The suggestion has been raised to organize special consultations on this issue during next year.

Yvo de Boer remarked on the good work under the Kyoto Protocol. The so
called spillover effects are now more discussed as potential consequences of policies to address climate change.

Briefing the media on day five of the Conference, Yvo de Boer said that serious discussions were emerging to launch the intensified negotiations needed to reach the 2009 deadline in Copenhagen.

Many delegates were highlighting the need to move to a low-carbon society, citing the emission reduction range of -25 to -40 by 2020 over 1990 levels for industrialized countries, and asking these countries to show ambition and leadership with regard to these targets.

There was agreement that financial mechanisms, including insurance, can play an important role within a strengthened response to climate change, and that financial mechanisms for risk management in developing countries needed to be scaled up.

Parties were also considering how to increase funds for adaptation through the carbon market, with discussions focusing on extending the current 2% levy on mitigation projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to the other Kyoto mechanisms, Joint Implementation and Emissions Trading, Mr. de Boer said. He added that the inclusion of a limited number of Carbon Capture and Storage pilot projects under the CDM was also under discussion.

The market-based mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol were highlighted by Yvo de Boer at todays press briefing; Parties in Pozna? are considering ways to enhance the existing mechanisms and looking at the role mechanisms will play in the future.

Discussions continued yesterday on a shared vision on long-term cooperative action. Mr. de Boer said that during the discussions, developing countries gave a strong call for industrialized countries to show leadership and ambition in emission reductions.

On the issue of technology, he pointed to the strategic programme of the Global Environment Facility to scale up technology transfer, with many countries calling for its quick implementation. Underling the importance of both financial and technical support for all developing countries, Mr. de Boer said delegates in Pozna? were also assessing how to scale up financing, including the role of both public and private financing.

The reporting of climate change actions by developing countries was also taken up at todays briefing. On this important issue, Mr. de Boer said that delegates were discussing ways to support the preparation of these reports.