EGS1003: Section on International Environmental Justice and the Climate Change ChallengeMary Lawhon ([email protected])
This work by Mary Lawhon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
First World Climate ConferenceMeeting mostly of scientistsConcludes that CO2 is the leading cause of
global warmingDeclaration urges govt to “foresee and
prevent” climate change
(Source: http://www.nature.com/climate/timeline/icp/index.html)
Renowned climatologist James Hansen speaks to the US Senate
Says greenhouse effect is happening nowYear of global high temperatures makes the
issue more prominentNoted by some scientists as too extreme
(Source: http://www.nature.com/climate/timeline/icp/index.html)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is established by UNEP and WMO
“The IPCC is a scientific body. It reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. It does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters… The IPCC is an intergovernmental body… By endorsing the IPCC reports, governments acknowledge the authority of their scientific content” (IPCC website)
(Source: http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml)
General agreement on the need to reduce emissions- but how much overall? Per country?
Voluntary agreement for developed nations to stabilize their greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by 2000
(Source: http://www.nature.com/climate/timeline/icp/index.html)
Where the UNFCC convention is voluntary, Kyoto sets binding amounts
Targets differ by country, are expressed as levels of allowed emissions
Debates on North/South responsibilities unable to be resolved; deferred; a year later they are still stuck
2001 Protocol finalized, 2004 ratified
These are market-based mechanisms that “help stimulate green investment and help Parties meet their emission targets in a cost-effective way.” (UNFCC website)
This is very different than the “climate debt” argument of the climate justice movement
Joint Implementation in global North
(Source: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php)
“allows countries that have emission units to spare - emissions permitted them but not "used" - to sell this excess capacity to countries that are over their targets”
Can also occur at national/regional scale to achieve the Kyoto targets (European Union Emissions Trading Scheme)
(Source: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/emissions_trading/items/2731.php)
“Allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol… to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries. Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto targets.” (UNFCC website)(Source: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/clean_development_mechanism/items/2718.php)
Helps the GS develop sustainablyHelps the GN achieve emissions reductions
as lowest costAs of March 2010, 2099 projects registered
Of 6724 projects, only178 in AfricaLowest per capita in the world
Concerns with process: who is included in the discussions
Further non-binding commitments What next? Kyoto runs out in 2012
1995 – COP 1, The Berlin Mandate 1996 – COP 2, Geneva, Switzerland 1997 – COP 3, The Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change 1998 – COP 4, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1999 – COP 5, Bonn, Germany 2000 – COP 6, The Hague, Netherlands 2001 – COP 6 Bonn, Germany 2001 – COP 7, Marrakech, Morocco 2002 – COP 8, New Delhi, India 2003 – COP 9, Milan, Italy 2004 – COP 10, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2005 – COP 11/MOP 1, Montreal, Canada 2006 – COP 12/MOP 2, Nairobi, Kenya 2007 – COP 13/MOP 3, Bali, Indonesia 2008 – COP 14/MOP 4, Poznań, Poland 2009 – COP 15/MOP 5, Copenhagen, Denmark 2010 – COP 16/MOP 6, Cancún, Mexico 2011 – COP 17/MOP 7, Durban, South Africa 2012 – COP 18/MOP 8
http://www.nature.com/climate/timeline/icp/index.htmlhttp://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.phphttp://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/emissions_trading/items/2731.phphttp://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/mechanisms/clean_development_mechanism/items/2718.php
All web links were checked in November 2011
11/11/14
