SciDev.Net

This report, published by E3G and Chatham House proposes an institutional framework for the innovation and transfer of low carbon and adaptation technologies, and suggests key features for the international agreement due to be signed at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen in December 2009.

The authors include an executive summary and an analysis of key issues including technology options, capacity in developing countries and intellectual property rights (IPR).

They also make recommendations for action, calling for objectives to be set in terms of critical technologies that need developing. Other suggestions include creating a multilateral innovation and diffusion fund, using sectoral approaches to accelerate technology development and deployment, and establishing a 'protect and share' agreement for IPR.

This paper, prepared for the Global Urban Summit, proposes a framework for building climate change adaptation and mitigation measures into India's urban renewal programmes. This involves multiple government stakeholders at national, state and city levels.

The author begins with a description of the urbanisation trends in India and outlines the climate risks facing the subcontinent, including changing rainfall patterns and the potential for more drought, flooding and extreme weather events like cyclones.

The author outlines the vulnerability of urban populations and suggests that reducing it requires a public policy shift towards mainstreaming climate change risk assessment, adaptation and mitigation measures into ongoing national hazard mitigation programmes, and linking them to urban renewal in the largest cities.

Specific measures highlighted by the author include making building data public, building flood defences, strengthening existing infrastructure to withstand disasters and relocating highly vulnerable populations.

International efforts to address climate change tend to focus on mitigation — the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Another response is adapting to the unavoidable impacts caused by past emissions. Yet adaptation plays a minor role in UN climate negotiations — this report argues that it must be considered on an equal footing with mitigation.

After an introduction to the history of adaptation, the report outlines key policy issues and summarises international adaptation efforts to date. It proposes three potentially complementary approaches to future international efforts on adaptation; using the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to enforce adaptation, integrating adaptation with development and providing climate 'insurance'.

It asks how adaptation can be given greater attention internationally. Its premise is that adaptation requires a concerted effort that benefits from international cooperation. But this is a contested notion.

The role of developing countries in climate change mitigation has been and continues to be a contentious issue. Developing countries' emissions are predicted to surpass those of industrialised countries within the first half of this century, but no formal commitments to reduce emissions have been made.

This report, prepared for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, examines six countries — Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey — in the context of climate change mitigation. Ongoing efforts in these countries have helped reduce emissions, though not necessarily in the name of mitigating climate change.

The authors find that overall, over the past three decades, these countries have reduced the growth rate of their emissions by 300 million tonnes. The motivations for such efforts include poverty alleviation, economic development, energy security and local environmental protection. This demonstrates that climate change mitigation can and does occur in the context of development that aims to be sustainable.

This report is comprehensive for the countries studied. It is very accessible and likely to be of interest to anyone engaged in the debate about mitigation in the South.

The report is available in pdf format only. An executive summary is availably online here.

This article analyses Indian initiatives to mitigate climate change associated with a predicted rise in greenhouse gas emissions. It describes four scenarios for emissions, as modelled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and discusses India's vulnerability to the associated impacts of climate change. The article then goes on to describe ongoing national mitigation strategies — highlighting improvements made in petrol and diesel quality, forest conservation policies, the growing use of renewable energy sources and the research initiatives put in place by India's National Communication to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to study greenhouse emissions.

This collection of nine research articles, published by the Indian Academy of Sciences, presents the latest findings of a network of studies conducted by leading scientific institutes and researchers in India. They examine the likely national impact of climate change on issues such as water availability, tropical cyclone frequency, changes in forest type and malaria transmission rates. The collection also includes an analysis of current and predicted trends for greenhouse gas emissions from India, as well as commentary on mitigation strategies for ensuring sustainable development.

The role of developing countries in climate change mitigation has been and continues to be a contentious issue. Developing countries' emissions are predicted to surpass those of industrialised countries within the first half of this century, but no formal commitments to reduce emissions have been made.

This report, prepared for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, examines six countries — Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey — in the context of climate change mitigation. Ongoing efforts in these countries have helped reduce emissions, though not necessarily in the name of mitigating climate change.

The authors find that overall, over the past three decades, these countries have reduced the growth rate of their emissions by 300 million tonnes. The motivations for such efforts include poverty alleviation, economic development, energy security and local environmental protection. This demonstrates that climate change mitigation can and does occur in the context of development that aims to be sustainable.

This report is comprehensive for the countries studied. It is very accessible and likely to be of interest to anyone engaged in the debate about mitigation in the South.

The report is available in pdf format only. An executive summary is availably online here.

This paper is the result of the study examining the potential for carbon mitigation in developing countries.  It considers country-specific areas with potential for avoiding deforestation,  deforestation through assisted regeneration, and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.

The analysis in this paper estimates that over the next ten years, forty-eight major tropical and subtropical developing countries could potentially reduce the atmospheric carbon burden by about 2.2 billion tonnes. Assuming a price of $10 per tonne of carbon and a discount rate of 3%, the authors suggest that this would generate a net present value of about $16.1 billion for these countries collectively. However, realising such potential would require substantially greater policy support and investment in sustainable land uses than is currently the case.

While somewhat technical, and weak on the sociological and institutional impacts of carbon projects, this paper provides a useful example of the calculations involved in estimating economic benefits of carbon sequestration projects.

This CICERO working paper focuses on policy issues associated with carbon sinks and provides a good overview of the potential and costs involved in implementing the land use,  land use change and forestry options under the Kyoto Protocol.

After a brief background section on the relevant articles of the Protocol, the paper estimates the capacity of the world’s forests for carbon uptake, and projects the associated costs of doing so. While the paper reveals significant variations between the gain and cost, it is suggested that sequestration projects in developing countries are far less expensive than in the North.

This accessible paper includes some technical details on methods for carbon accounting. It also provides a useful section on the outcomes and implications of climate negotiations.

This examination of the Kyoto provisions relevant to carbon sinks, provides a thorough and critical assessment of the accord. It outlines the policy basics and offers recommendations on the interpretation and application of the provisions.

It also provides a comprehensive look at the source and sink potential of terrestrial ecosystems, and outlines the unresolved issues. The paper suggests that the present accounting approach may provide incentives that bear a negative impact on climate protection measures, biodiversity conservation and soil protection. In addition, it argues that many uncertainties are attached to the reduction in net emissions achievable by means of terrestrial sinks. In the long term, it states, fossil fuel emissions cannot be compensated for by the terrestrial biosphere.

Geological carbon sequestration remains an attractive climate change mitigation option. But there are uncertainties and complexities surrounding the legality of projects aiming to sequester carbon this way. This working paper reviews the legal issues concerning geological carbon sequestration in the offshore waters surrounding the United Kingdom.

Geological carbon sequestration aims to prevent emissions from entering the atmosphere by capturing CO2 at source. Unlike carbon sequestration by forests, where CO2 already in the atmosphere is taken up, geological sequestration is classed as an emission reduction at the source. From a legal perspective, different locations of the sea are subject to different prescriptions under international law, but it is individual nations who have the greatest amount of jurisdiction and control over waters closest to the shore. There two key legal questions in this regard. Is CO2 a waste, and hence, can we consider it as dumped? And what is the pathway of CO2 at the storage site? This paper finds that long term storage should be considered dumping, and that existing legal tools do not properly address the pathways involved in CO2 transport.

This working paper explores an area of research that has not been considered in detail to date. While the results are specific to the EU, the content is relevant globally. It is important reading for anyone interested in the frontiers of current carbon sinks research.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol aims to provide carbon mitigation benefits as well as sustainable development to local communities. This paper investigates the potential implications of carbon sink projects under the CDM for developing countries and examines what capacity is necessary to administer such forestry projects, particularly community-based ones.

The paper provides an assessment of the benefits and risks to local livelihoods from CDM projects, and concludes with conditions that enable benefits based on existing projects. Of particular interest are the sections assessing large-scale industrial pulp and timber plantations, agroforestry and community forestry plantations, secondary forest and fallows, forest rehabilitation and regeneration, strictly protected areas, and multiple use forestry.

The authors say that forest carbon projects can enhance livelihoods, provided that carbon prices are high enough and that project design is attentive to local social realities. This paper is accessible to anyone with a basic knowledge of carbon sinks and the international climate change negotiations.

Changes to agricultural and soil management strategies could change the rate at which carbon is sequestered and released from the soil. This report outlines the scientific underpinnings of carbon sequestration, then focuses on current understanding of - and uncertainties relating to - greenhouse gas reduction from carbon sinks, and concludes with some policy recommendations.

The report estimates the up to 25 per cent of carbon reductions required to slow increases in global temperatures could come from changes to land management practices that positively affect carbon soil and vegetation sinks. However, significant uncertainty still remains as to the permanence of such reduction measures. Additionally, the report emphasises the importance of ensuring that other goals, such as local social objectives and sustainability, are met when changing land management practices.

As a comprehensive guide to the role of land management in carbon sequestration, this report outlines the scope for enhancing sinks and methods of assessing sinks. While the section on the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol is somewhat out of date, overall the report is a thorough primer to the issue.

The Kyoto Protocol sets out binding targets for emissions of greenhouse gases from developed countries. It recognises that such targets can in part be achieved by reducing emissions released into - and removing greenhouse gases from (sequestration) - the atmosphere. This report outlines policy and potential practice of carbon sequestration and land management activities, known as Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) activities.

The authors, Bernhard Schlamadinger and Gregg Marland, explore whether LULUCF activities provide the same long-term benefit for the climate system as does reducing emissions from fossil fuel combustion, and sketch out the development of international negotiations on LULUCF issues. They outline the consensus negotiated so far, and examine the ambiguities of the Kyoto Protocol, issues yet to be resolved, and decisions yet to be made. They conclude that while the potential for increasing carbon stocks in the terrestrial biosphere might be limited compared to total greenhouse gas emissions, their impact could be considerable in relation to the reductions necessary for compliance in the first commitment period (2008-2012).

The report provides a thorough introduction to carbon sequestration, afforestation and reforestation issues under the Kyoto Protocol. It would be of interest to anyone looking for a primer in LULUCF and sinks issues in the context of global climate change.

Concerns over climate change may soon force drastic reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. In response to this challenge, it may prove necessary to render fossil fuels environmentally acceptable by capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide until other inexpensive, clean and plentiful technologies are available. In this Science review article, Klaus S. Lackner gives a detailed overview of the various options available for carbon sequestration, highlighting the pros and cons of each.

On 9 May 1992, the world’s governments adopted the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Five years later, on 11 December 1997, governments took a further step forwards and adopted the landmark Kyoto Protocol.

Building on the framework of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol broke new ground with its legally-binding constraints on greenhouse gas emissions and its innovative "mechanisms" aimed at cutting the cost of curbing emissions. Today, 186 countries (including the European Community) are Parties to the Convention, more than most any other environmental treaty, and the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol is expected soon.

This guide, prepared in the tenth anniversary year of the adoption of the Convention, explains in detail the commitments of both the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, along with the "rulebook" for their implementation.

This is the full text of the Framework Convention, which was adopted at the United Nations Headquarters, New York on 9 May 1992. The convention was open for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 4 to 14 June 1992, and thereafter at the UN Headquarters in New York, from 20 June 1992 to 19 June 1993. By that date the Convention had received 166 signatures. The Convention entered into force on 21 March 1994.

Several factors influence the costs of greenhouse gas mitigation. This report illustrates the importance of one such factor — international emissions trading — in reducing the costs of carbon control. The authors argue that an international greenhouse gas emissions trading regime will significantly lower global mitigation costs.

The Third Assessment Report of the IPCC's Working Group 1 builds on past assessments and incorporates new results from the past five years of climate change. It descibes the current state of udnerstanding of the cliamte system, and provides estiamtes of its projected future evolution and their uncertainties.

Many hundreds of scientists from around the world participated in the preparation and review of the report, which states that "there is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities".

This report, by Richard Newell and William Pizer of the independent nonprofit research institute Resources for the Future, highlights an important variable that often goes unexamined in current climate change models: uncertainty in future interest rates. Climate models incorporate discount rates to compare costs and benefits over time-in essence, they tell us how high future benefits need to be to justify spending today. Most climate models choose one rate and hold it constant over the time horizon of the model.

This study questions that conventional approach, arguing that future rates are uncertain. The authors demonstrate that acknowledging uncertainty about future interest rates leads to a higher valuation of the future benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions today — regardless of the initial rate one chooses. The authors conclude that, by ignoring uncertainty, current approaches used in economic modelling may be consistently undervaluing the future benefits of current climate change mitigation efforts. The report shows that including the effect of interest rate uncertainty in climate models could raise valuations of mitigation efforts by as much as 95 per cent relative to conventional discounting at a constant rate.