COP 18: Bridging the Gulf Between Science and Reality

In theory the slew of recent climate studies should inspire the delegates that have assembled for the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP 18). In practice the 194 nations that are meeting in Doha, Qatar, are getting bogged down by the same old arguments.

A Short History of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP)

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is an international environmental treaty negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The UNFCCC was opened for signature on May 9, 1992, after an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee produced the text of the Framework Convention as a report following its meeting in New York from April 30 to May 9, 1992. It entered into force on March 21, 1994. As of December 2012, UNFCCC has 194 parties.

Yvo de Boer's Comments and Predictions Post COP 17

Ex U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer had some very positive things to say about last year's climate talks. As we are getting into the final stretch of COP 18 it is interesting to look back on COP 17 in Durban. On January 6, 2012, Environmental Leader published an article detailing de Boer's views.

The former executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change said that Durban sent a strong message to business that the world’s governments are serious about tackling climate change. He said that the Durban climate talks indicate that it is time for businesses to start preparing for a low-carbon economy. He also said that market-based mechanisms such as carbon trading will continue and he further expected that there will be clear reporting guidelines on GHG emissions.

COP 18: WBCSD on Establishing a Global Carbon Market

Recently the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) resurfaced work that it undertook back at the start of the Long-term Cooperative Action (LCA). The discussion on LCA includes a broad range of issues including the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA), the New Market Mechanism (NMM) and more recently, the Framework for Various Approaches (FVA).

The WBCSD has published a paper entitled “Establishing a Global Carbon Market,” it looks at how the substance of the Kyoto Protocol carbon market can be applied much more broadly to an evolving world of various approaches.

California's Cap-and-Trade Leadership

On Wednesday November 14, California held its first auction to sell carbon credits. For six years that state has been working on its cap-and-trade system, more than six years in the making. Finally California has imposed a limit on the amount of carbon emissions and this limit will be reduced over time so that by 2020 the state can cut emissions by 15 percent as compared to 1990 levels. Companies that exceed their limit are forced to buy credits from projects that cut greenhouse gas emissions. Almost all of the 23.1 million credits California has distributed to utilities and big industry for 2013 compliance have been free

Cap-and-trade puts market mechanisms to work on behalf of the environment. This approach to emissions reductions is a model for the rest of the nation. It was market driven forces that caused the build-up of climate change causing greenhouse gases. It therefore stands to reason that similar market mechanism can be brought to bear to reduce emissions and curtail warming.