Martina Bosi, International Energy Agency (IEA), explained that the study “Exploring Options for Sectoral Crediting Mechanisms” (SCMs) focuses on three options: sectoral policies; rate-based sectoral baselines; and fixed sectoral limits. She said all SCMs need baselines and reliable data. She stated that the extent of environmental benefits will depend on the design of the mechanism.

Cédric Philibert, IEA, outlined future international cooperation on emissions reductions including quantitative and non-quantitative approaches, indicating that they could involve: fixed binding targets; dynamic binding targets with price caps; technology agreements; and carbon taxes. In considering international energy technology collaboration, he highlighted clean coal technologies in China where technology transfer has occurred through, inter alia, patent acquisitions and the involvement of development banks.

Debra Justus, OECD, in outlining the integration of wind power into electricity systems, discussed no-cost supply uncertainties and quick set-up. She said wind electricity generation has grown where research and development have been coupled with supporting policies, and where “push and pull” technologies have been employed for supply and manufacturing. She highlighted lessons learned, including that market-changing policies must engage stakeholders throughout the commercialization chain, and that technology development forms a continuum from research to development.

Discussion: Participants asked questions related to the difficulty of taking a sectoral approach to emissions reductions, the political feasibility of SCMs, broadening the scope of the CDM, and the need to provide challenges and incentives for the industry to reduce emissions.

Hans-Jochen Luhmann, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, underscored the urgent challenge of cutting emissions by 2050 and indicated that global emissions are estimated to increase by 50% by the end of the Kyoto period due to emissions from developing countries and the US.

Jörg Dürr-Pucher, German Environmental Aid, said the Kyoto Protocol’s merits include incentives to save energy and develop cleaner technologies. He identified the need for: a global quantified climate sustainability target; the integration of developing countries and the US; and a globally effective economic incentive for companies and governments to reduce emissions.

Lutz Wicke, European School of Management, stated that the 550 ppm concentration level requires the GCCS to cap global annual emissions to 30 billion tons from 2013 onwards. He said the GCCS is based on immediate equal per capita distribution allocated to national governments under strict rules. He said the allocation corresponds to the estimated emissions in 2015 but that it necessitates corrections to avoid destroying industrialized countries’ economies.

Christoph Böhringer, Centre for European Economic Research, noted that an integrated assessment of long-term emissions abatement strategies shows that the GCCS is economically efficient, and leads to lower carbon concentrations than other scenarios and to an approximate temperature rise of 2.6C.

Discussion: Participants discussed adaptation needs and the distribution of benefits from the GCCS among developing countries. They noted that the EU’s 2C target would require a lower cap than the current GCCS proposal.