Side Events Convened on Friday 17 November

Panelists at the FCCC event on Climate Change Education, Training and Public Awareness (FCCC Article 6): Michael Zammit Cutajar, FCCC Executive Secretary, Jan Pronk, COP-6 President, Co-Chairs Teresa Fogelberg, Netherlands, and Kok Kee Chow, Malaysia, Kevin Grose, FCCC Secretariat, Ep Booneman, VROM, and Svein Tveitdal, UNEP GRID, Norway.

COP-6 President, Minister Jan Pronk of the Netherlands, told a special event on climate change education, training and public awareness that governments and other participants in the negotiating process must work to attract the support and understanding of tax payers and citizens. Teresa Fogelberg, Netherlands, and Kok Kee Chow, Malaysia, co-chaired the event, organized by the FCCC Secretariat, to highlight growing interest in Convention Article 6 on education and public awareness measures. 

FCCC Executive Secretary, Michael Zammit Cutajar, said the only basis for a climate change strategy is the public's understanding of their role in the solutions. He added that insufficient work on Article 6 has been integrated into the agenda of the FCCC and the Subsidiary Bodies.

Minister Pronk said the climate change negotiators would have to return from the Conference to their national parliaments, to explain their success, or lack of it, to the citizens and tax payers who will be asked to change their consumption and production patterns. These were the people who ought to benefit from the efforts of the negotiators. Pronk spoke about the difficult and complex nature of the climate change issue, given the slow nature of the changes involved.

Ep Booneman, VROM, outlined the Netherlands Climate Awareness Campaign, following a video presentation. He spoke of the importance of running communication strategies in parallel with policy developments. The dominant message is: Don't be a fool, don't destroy the climate. Espen Rønneberg, Inter-Regional Advisor for the Small Island Developing States at the United Nations, described the SIDSnet programme, which supports information dissemination for the UN's Barbados Programme of Action. This internet portal provides access to a document centre, decision-support systems for negotiators and others who wish to participate remotely, and access to experts. 

Svein Tveitdal, UN Environment Programme's Global Resource Information Database (GRID), Norway, spoke about UNEP's commitment to bridging the gap between climate scientists, the public and decision-makers. He reviewed GRID, a UNEP website established for COP-6. The content includes a counter that constantly registers increasing GHG emissions.

More information:
http://www.unfccc.int
http://www.grida.no
http://www.sidsnet.org

Contact:
Espen Rønneberg <ronneberg@un.org>

Releasing the power of the market: business perspectives on mechanisms and technology transfer presented by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

Brian Flannery, ICC, reaffirmed the commitment of the business sector to climate change responses and to advancing the widespread use of new technologies. Chair, Janos Pasztor looks on.

More information:
http://www.iccwbo.org

Contacts:
Fiona Dermody <fiona.dermody@iccwbo.org>
Brian Flannery <brian.p.flannery@exxon.com>
Laurraine Lotter <caia@iafrica.com>
Maureen Koetz <mtk@nei.org>
Jonathan Grant <jgrant@ipieca.org>

The potential of wind energy for CO2 emissions reduction 
presented by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and Garrad Hassan

Vicky Pollard, EWEA, with Andrew Fellows, Garrad Hassan.

Andrew Fellows

More information:
IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme: http://www.ieagreen.org.uk
Summary Study Results (PDF) available at: http://www.garradhassan.com/downloads
European Wind Energy Association: http://www.ewea.org

Contacts:
Vicky Pollard <ewea@ewea.org>
Andrew Fellows <fellows@garradhassan.co.uk>

Maurits Henkemans, Netherlands delegation announced that the Governments of Romania and The Netherlands will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on November 21 to reduce an additional 25 million tonnes CO2 through joint implementation activities.

Maurits Henkemans, Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands, explained that his country aims to achieve 50% of its emissions reductions through flexible mechanisms. The Netherlands has taken a lead by purchasing JI-generated credits at a low price, establishing a network across Central and Eastern Europe, and gaining hands-on experience. He warned against high transaction costs and noted that The Netherlands could lose all its investments if JI-generated credits cannot count toward emissions reductions. The Netherlands has recently allocated $200M to integrate JI projects into national environmental policy.

Jaap Verhoef, Senter, an agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands, explained that Dutch-based companies can receive subsidies for investment projects if they contribute to emission reductions. For example, a hydrogen production plant near Rotterdam will receive a $20M subsidy for supplying CO2 to the horticultural industry.

Adriaan Korthuis, Senter, explained how the Government of the Netherlands buys high quality emissions reductions from JI projects through the Emissions Reduction Unit Procurement Tender (Eru-PT) Programme. By selling emissions reductions credits, investors in sustainable energy and energy efficiency projects can increase the return on their investments, thus enhancing their feasibility.

Mihai Cozariuc, Ministry of Water, Forests and Environmental Protection, Romania, recalled his experience of working on JI projects with the Netherlands. He noted a number of benefits for Romania, ancillary to emissions reductions, including capacity building, foreign direct investment, and the transfer of technology.

Discussion: Participants raised questions on: compliance aspects of JI; liability issues; whether private entities can buy ERUs; and how incremental costs are calculated.

More information:
http://www.senter.nl/erupt

Contact:
Maurits Henkemans <l.j.m.blansonhenkemans@minez.nl>
Jaap Verhoeff <pbco2@senter.nl>
Adriaan Korthuis <a.korthuis@senter.nl>
Mihai Cozariuc <cozariuc@mappm.ro>

Baseline approaches for CDM : an informal forum for non-Annex I proposals

Sujata Gupta, TERI, India, and Jayant Sathaye, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, were two of the speakers at an informal forum on non-Annex I proposals on approaches to CDM baselines. Convenor, Fanny Missfeldt, UNEP, announced details of OECD-UNEP plans for an expert workshop on baselines in April 2001. provided suggestions for the future, including the institutionalizion of the workshops as regional programmes.

More information:
UNEP Collaborating Centre on Energy and the Environment: http://www.uccee.org

Certification of forests for CO2 sequestration
presented by Forests Absorbing Carbon dioxide Emissions (Face Foundation)

Hands-on experience of a certification process for carbon sinks projects was explored by a panel of experts at this side event. The panel included Gareth Phillips, Société Général de Surveillance (SGS) responsible for the verification, and Hans Verweij, the Face Foundation. Phillips outlined SGS's certification process, highlighting the importance of socio-economic criteria in project assessment. On the issue of livelihood impacts, Ken MacDicken, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), said that although evidence suggests that sinks projects can benefit communities, the benefits are not assured. He highlighted the importance of social impact assessment in project monitoring and stressed the adoption of consistent, simple and robust methods across the board. Margo Burnham, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), described sinks projects in Belize and Brazil, and shared lessons from the Noel Kempff Mercado Climate Action Project in Bolivia. She concluded that the experience of the AIJ pilot phase had illustrated that burden and costs for future CDM project developers should be alleviated by developing clear criteria and rules for eligible projects.

The Face Foundation, Netherlands, was awarded its first greenhouse gas certificate for a carbon sinks project at an event organized at COP-6.

More information: 
A new programme called the Emissions Reduction Units Procurement Tender (Eru-PT) concerning Joint Implementation has been developed by the Government of the Netherlands. 

The policy briefing, Capturing the value of forest carbon for local livelihoods: opportunities under the Clean Development Mechanism (2000), is available at http://www.cifor.org/news/carbon.htm#sum

Publication on Carbon management and rural livelihoods (2000), IIED at http://www.iied.org 
http://www.tnc.org
http://www.facefoundation.nl

Contacts:
Adriaan Korthuis <a.korthuis@senter.nl> 
Igino Emmer <igino.emmer@facefoundation.nl>
Hans Verweij <hans.verweij@facefoundation.nl>
Ken MacDicken <k.macdicken@cgiar.org>
Gareth Phillips <gphillips@sgsgroup.com>
Margo Burnham <mburnham@tnc.org>

CDM: leading the climate solution
presented by the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI)

Stephen H. Schneider, Institute for International Studies.

Convened by India's Tata Energy Research Institute, this event focused on the CDM and its growing acceptance by non-Annex I countries.

TERI has identified the major issues surrounding the design proposals for the CDM as: structure, equity, additionality considerations, baselines, and capacity building. The Institute is proposing a Planet Protection Fund (PPF), with contributions from Annex I Parties, opportunities for host country governments and other entities to submit project proposals to the fund, competitive selection, independent verification and a distribution of Certified Emissions Reductions in proportion to contributions.

The Institute believes that the PPF begins to address: equity concerns around the CDM, voluntary and meaningful participation by developing countries, the need to give fund managers a stake in the success of projects, and funding for a governance structure which respects the need for equal representation from Annex I and non-Annex I countries. Addressing the need for capacity building in developing countries not yet ready to undertake CDM projects, the TERI proposals call for major educational efforts and highly publicized demonstration projects.

Jesse B. Uzzell, Det Norske Veritas.

Contacts:
Dr. R. K. Pachauri <pachauri@teri.res.in>
Leena Srivastava <leena@teri.res.in>
Jesse B. Uzzell <jesse.uzzell@dnv.com>
Sujata Gupta <sujatag@teri.res.in>
Thomas Langrock <shared.klima@wupperinst.org>
Stephen H. Schneider <shs@leland.stanford.edu>

Integrated approaches to technology transfer: the TCAPP experience

Michael Marvin (below left) of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, with Ma Aimin (below right) of the State Development Planning Commission, China. The panel members led a discussion on the US Agency for International Development's Technology Cooperation Agreement Pilot Project (TCAPP). Discussants were pleased with the effectiveness of TCAPP's country-tailored approach to support for relevant projects, the introduction of new technologies, and capacity-building.

Robert Bonnie, ED.

More information:
http://www.nrel.gov/tcapp
http://www.usaid.gov

Contacts:
Griffin Thompson <gthompson@usaid.gov>
Ron Benioff <ron_benioff@nrel.gov>

Equity and climate change
Evolution or revolution: which role for the South?
presented by Jyrki Luukkanen, University of Tampere, Finland

Benito Müller, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, explored the compromises required to tackle equity issues between North and South.

Issues of North-South equity and climate change were the focus of discussion at this event. Ville Haukkala, University of Tampere, launched his book entitled Every human has an equal right…? Equity problems in climate policy and politics (2000). He explained that it offers an analysis of the differences in economic and cultural perceptions of equity including the issues provoked by the Protocol mechanisms. Benito Müller, the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, discussed the procedural "fairness" of the FCCC. He suggested that the Convention is morally complex, with implications for questions of justice and distribution which can only be resolved through compromise. Sunita Narain, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, said the key to understanding the challenge of climate change lies in gaining an insight into the political nature of the negotiations. She stated that the Kyoto Protocol's main failure lies in its focus on economic rather than ecological principles. She spoke about per capita entitlements and underlined the importance of building equity considerations into the design and operation of the Protocol mechanisms. She suggested that taking an intra-entitlement approach together with a global entitlement approach would help solve North-South inequities. Outi Berghäll, Environmental Protection Department, Finland, highlighted the importance of creating an appropriate institutional architecture to advance the Kyoto Protocol. She believes that the underlying causes of the current environmental crises have roots in economic activity, and solutions must therefore address this.

Discussion: Participants discussed the issues of moral equity and the implications for responses to climate change, the politics of trade and climate change, and the role an informed public can play in creating a dialogue on the environment based on fairness and equity.

More information:
Tampere University, Finland http://www.uta.fi
Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy: http://www.wupperinst.org
Centre for Science and Environment: http://www.cseindia.org
Oxford Institute for Energy Studies: http://associnst.ox.ac.uk/energy

Contacts:
Jyrki Luukkanen <jyrki.luukkanen@uti.fi>
Hermann Ott <hermann.ott@wupperinst.org>
Sunita Narain <sunita@cseindia.org>
Outi Berghäll <outi.berghall@vyh.fi>
Benito Müller <energy@sable.ox.ac.uk>
Ville Haukala <ville.haukala@uti.fi>