This event examined the changing role of the UNFCCC in international climate governance. John Drexhage, IISD, said nation states are increasingly playing a greater role in climate policy, stressing that change will be significant regardless of whether or not we see a binding accord.

Deborah Murphy, IISD, highlighted recent research on “rethinking climate change governance.” Murphy explained four issues addressed by the project: policy linkages; the role of nation states; the role of non-state actors; and efficient use of resources. Among others, she noted: concerns about the proliferation of finance mechanisms; the value of knowledge and expertise from non-state actors; and that nation states may be an “obstacle to progress.” On non-state actors and finance, Drexhage questioned the role of the private sector in making decisions about appropriate investment.

Michael Grubb, Climate Strategies, said the question of whether nation states are an “obstacle” to climate governance bears some thought. He highlighted their importance in the context of implementation, especially with respect to MRV and in the treatment of double counting. He said we need top-down structures that are created from the bottom up.

Benito Müller, University of Oxford, discussed why we need the UNFCCC. He stressed that we need both top-down and bottom-up regimes, emphasizing that international institutions are needed to compensate for imbalances in geographic and thematic allocation of funds.

Franz Tattenbach, IISD, stressed that the UNFCCC negotiations should not get in the way of implementation. He questioned why climate change has become a de facto proxy for sustainable development, positing that this may be because climate change has become such an important issue that policy making in other areas must be framed in terms of climate change.

Amb. Lumumba Di-Aping, Sudan, said rights to existence and development are at the heart of why the UNFCCC negotiations are making very little progress. He added that the UNFCCC is unable to sustain momentum because it lacks the permanency that other organizations have.

Participants discussed funding options and the efficiency of having one funding structure for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

This event introduced a vision by GGGI to promote green growth in developing countries. Lord Nicholas Stern, GGGI, introduced the Institute as a new and effective body established in Seoul, Korea to tackle climate change in developing countries. He emphasized GGGI’s goal to consider the development ambitions of developing countries before introducing any green growth initiatives.

Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Seung-soo Han, GGGI, noted that seven out of the ten highest emitters in the world are from the Asia Pacific region. He discussed the concept of a green economy wherein developing nations shift from relying on fossil fuels to promoting renewable energy growth. Han said Korea adopted an initiative called “Low Carbon Green Growth” in 2008 as its vision for a new era, explaining it established legal, institutional, and administrative infrastructures for green growth. He noted that central and regional governments and the private sector are now joining hands to promote a “green revolution at every corner of society.” He explained that under Korea’s National Strategy for Green Growth and its Five-Year Action Plan, his government hopes to be one of the world’s seven largest green economies by 2020 and one of the world’s five largest green economies by 2050.

Tae Yong Jung, GGGI, emphasized the importance of building local knowledge and capacity to ensure the sustainability of green economies within developing countries. He said local ownership by countries is essential to the success of green growth.

On in-country projects, Mattia Romani, GGGI, said in the five to six months since GGGI was established, it has supported three projects, in Brazil, Indonesia and Ethiopia. He said lessons learned from their engagement in the three countries will improve their support for other developing countries. Deddy Hadriyanto, Indonesia, thanked GGGI for supporting the East Kalimantan government’s low carbon growth strategy. Eldana Sadvakassova, Kazakhstan, said support from GGGI will allow Kazakhstan to apply green growth into their development strategy.

Rae-kwon Chung, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), emphasized the need for governments to drive green growth. He said it will not happen automatically and that political leadership is essential to its success. He said GGGI is a “think and action tank” that could provide support to developing countries who want to adopt green economies.

Inger Andersen, World Bank, welcomed the efforts by GGGI in supporting poor countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. She said it is important to target poor vulnerable countries as they suffer the most and the earliest from climate change. She said the Bank integrates a green growth element into their work. Andersen congratulated GGGI and welcomed them as a partner in tackling climate change.

Participants discussed various issues related to GGGI, including how the Institute will complement UNEP green growth initiatives and the role of agriculture in green growth.