1. International cooperation Part IV

2. The UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol Session 7

3. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)  Main outcome of IPCC and the Rio Earth Summit (1992), and first international agreement on climate  Choice between 2 possible options:  A global treaty on the atmosphere  A treaty focused on climate change  General objective: the stabilisation of a GHG concentration at a level that would avoid dangerous interference with the climate  Two key priciples:  Common but differentiated responsibility  Respective capacities.

4.  Not binding, no mandatory limits for GHG emissions. Sole obligation: GHG inventory to be submitted each year.  Three important mechanisms:  Mandatory protocols  Countries divided in Annex I countries, Annex II countries (a subset of Annex I) and developing countries  This division has not changed since.  COP to be held every year

5. The Kyoto Protocol  Mandatory update of UNFCCC  Opened for signature in 1997, entered into force 8 years later  Conditions: 55 parties, and 55% of CO2 emissions  176 countries have ratified. Only 37 have to reduce their emissions

7. General design of the Protocol  Fixed term: expires in 2012  Australia and the EU (+ a few small countries) agreed on an extension for the period 2013-2020  General objectives: cut GHG emissions by an average 5% from 1990 (base year)  Underpinning principle: common but differentiated responsibility  Key characteristics:  Distinction between Annex I countries and non Annex I countries  Flexible mechanisms  Heavy emphasis on mitigation, little emphasis on adaptation

8. Kyoto and Europe  One of the major supporters of the treaty  All EU-members’ ratifications deposited simultaneoulsy on 31 May 2002  EU counted as an individual entity  Agreed to a cut of 8% from 1990 levels  EU elected to be treated as a ‘bubble’, and created an EU Emissions Trading Scheme  Differentiated objectives between countries.

9. Different commitments

10. Flexible mechanisms  Innovative aspect of the Kyoto Protocol  Mechanisms relying on the market, rather than on states  Highly criticised as paramount of ‘environmental liberalism’  Three mechanisms:  Carbon market (‘cap and trade’)  Clean Development Mechanism  Joint Implementation

11. The carbon market: The EU Emission Trading Scheme  General principle: maximisation of economic efficiency – at the expense of ethics?  Industries are given quotas of emission allowances  Application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle  Scheme started in 2005, all 27 countries take part  Problems:  Price of carbon highly versatile  Covers about half of the EU’s CO2 emissions  Too many quotas on the market  Third phase 2013-2020, with auctioning and a central authority  Crippled with corruption problems

12. Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)  Aims to combine development and climate, equity and efficiency  Economic efficiency: costs of abatment are cheaper in developing countries  Functioning:  Alternative to domestic reductions  Allow Annex I countries to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries  New carbon credits: Certified Emission Reductions (CERs)

13. Geographical distribution of CDMs

15. Criticism  Reality of avoided emissions  Principle of additionality  Incentive to misrepresent reality  Overpricing and overestimation  Unlimited credits  A country could completely externalise its efforts  Transfer of emissions?  Development objectives ?  Almost no CDM projects in Africa

16. Joint implementation  Similar mechanism as CDM, but in Annex I countries (i.e. In Eastern Europe and Russia)  Provides Emission Reduction Units (ERUs), where 1 ERU = 1 ton of CO2  No new credits  Long and fastidious process

17. Some final words  Kyoto is an agreement between industrialised countries, where developing countries are mostly oberservers:  No limits on emissions  Do not benefit from flexible mechanisms  Treaty focused on mitigation, not adaptation  Kyoto was designed as an experimental protocol, with limited ambitions and a limited timeframe.  It was never foreseen that there would be a gap after the end of the Protocol.