1 / 26

The International Climate Change Regime: The Kyoto Protocol

The International Climate Change Regime: The Kyoto Protocol. International Climate Change and Energy Law Spring semester 2013 Dr. Christina Voigt. Quiz. Which legally binding international agreements exists in the field of climate change ?

shiloh
Download Presentation

The International Climate Change Regime: The Kyoto Protocol

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The International ClimateChange Regime:The Kyoto Protocol International ClimateChange and Energy Law Spring semester 2013 Dr. Christina Voigt

  2. Quiz • Whichlegally binding internationalagreementsexists in thefieldofclimatechange? • Where do wefindtheultimateobjectiveofthe UNFCCC? • Whatare ”Annex-Icountries”? • Whatare ”non-Annexcountries”? • What is the COP?

  3. InstitutionalStructure Secretariat Art. 8 UNFCC, 14 KP COP, art. 7 CMP, art. 13 KP UNEP/WHO UNFCCC KP IPCC SBSTA Art. 9 UNFCCC SBI Art. 10 CDMEB Art. 12 KP JISC Art. 6 Compliance Committee art. 18 KP Annex I: OECD + EiT Annex II: OECD Non-Annex: developingcountries Groups: EU Umbrella: USA, CAN, NO, AUS, NZ, RF, UK G77 and China (subgroups: AOSIS and LDC, African Group) EIG: Sveits, MX, South Korea OPEC BASIC: Brazil, India, China, South Africa (AWG-LCA) ADP FacilitativeBranch Enforce-mentBranch (AWG-KP)

  4. Strongercommitmentsneeded! …. Art. 17: Protocolnecessary (more specificobligations) UNFCCC

  5. Enteredintoforce 16.02.2005, Members: 192 States and the EU • Sets quantified emissions limitation and reduction obligations (QELRO) for Annex-I Parties (37 States) • Art. 3.1 KP: overall emissions from Annex I Parties shall be reduced to at least 5% below 1990 levels within 2008-2012 (First Commitment Period) • AssignedAmounts (Annex B) • Art. 3.1 KP: AnnexI Partiesshall not exceedtheirAssignedAmounts) Kyoto Protocol - CPI

  6. Countries included in Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol and their emissions targets Kyoto Protocol

  7. Rulesfocuson: • Commitments:legally binding individualemissions targets and general commitments • Implementation:domesticmasures and threenovelimplementingmechanisms (flexibilitymechanisms) • Minimizingimpactsondevelopingcountries • Accounting, Reporting and Review • Compliance:Compliance Committee to assess and dealwith problems ofnon-compliance Kyoto Protocol

  8. Flexibility Mechanisms • Geographic location ofabatementmeasures is climatically irrelevant • Aim: global cost-effectiveness and reductionofcompliancecosts • Assignedamounts (AU) can be divided up intounits (AssignedAmountUnits – AAUs) allowingAnnex I Parties (37 + EU) to participate in theflexibilitymechanisms • Unitscreate a tradablecurrency (1 unit= 1 t CO2 eqv.)

  9. 4 Types of Mechanisms: • Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Art. 12 • Resulting in Certified Emissions Reductions – CERs • Non-Annex I/ Annex I Projects • Joint Implementation (Art. 6) • Resulting in Emission Reduction Units – ERUs • Annex I /Annex I Projects • International Emissions Trading, Art. 17 (allows for trade withAAUs, ERUs, CERs) • Joint Fulfillment of Commitment (Art. 4) FlexibilityMechanisms

  10. CPII – How didwegetthere? • What is it?: Doha Amendmentpursuant to Art. 3.9 KP, adopted in Doha, December 2013 • First commitmentperiodexpired 31.12. 2012 (not theProtocol!) • Developingcountriesdemandeddevelopedcountries to continuewiththe KP (But: USA?) • In Durban 2011: EU plussomeotherAnnex-I countriesagreed to a CPII… • …to putpessureondevelopingcountries in the ADP.

  11. Kyoto CP II • Second commitmentperiod (2013-2020) for KP Annex- countries, minus CA, RUS, NZL, J • Objectiveofreducing GHG emissions by at least 18% below 1990 (translationofvoluntarypledgesintoQUELROs– nostrengtheningofcommitments), IPCC suggested range of 25-40%) 15% of global emissions • Party may «propose an adjustment to decrease» its QUELRO, review in 2014 • Whendoes it enterinto force? (provisionalapplication/implementationconsistentwithnationallegislation or domesticprocesses)

  12. Kyoto CPII • Limit oncarry-overofsurplusallowances (Russia ca. 13Gt CO2 eq.), politicaldeclarations to not purchase CPI surplusses • Participation in theflexibilitymechanism (in particular CDM) for non-Parties (butno transfer or aquisitionofCERs)

  13. ADP ADP: Durban Platform for Enhanced Action a) Etablert av COP 17 i Durban b) Mandat: (1/CP.17) “Also decides to launch a process to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties, through a subsidiary body under the Convention hereby established and to be known as the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action” and: “Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action shall complete its work as early as possible but no later than 2015 in order to adopt this protocol, legal instrument or agreed outcome with legal force at COP 21 and to enter into force in 2020.

  14. Durban Platform • Establishment of a new body to negotiate a global agreement (Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action) by 2015 to come into effect and be implemented from 2020; • The form and substance of a new agreement were not decided • Parties opted for three options - ‘protocol, legal instrument or agreed outcome with legal force’

  15. Legal Form • What is a ”Protocol, another legal instrument or an agreedoutcomewith legal force under the Convention”? • ”Deal” betweenthe EU (legally binding agreement/commitment) and India (legally binding outcome) • ”outcomewith legal force”: not a legal instrument under the UNFCCC: amendment, annex, protocol • Legal force = legally binding or somethingdifferent? outcomethat is not legally binding? COP decision?

  16. ADP (after Doha) • Twoworkstreams: increasingambitionbefore 2020/comprehensiveclimateagreement in 2020 • Resurfacingofthe «Fire-Wall», China: mentioningofequity, CBDRRC and Rio+20/USA: no! • Principlesofthe Convention apply, buthow? • Universalityofapplicationbut not uniformityofcontent

  17. WhatNow? • Bridgingthe Gaps: • Emission Gap (UNEP Emission Gap report: • Implementpledges: 1 Gt • Business as usual: 10 Gt • Legal Gap: Whendoes KP CPII enterinto force? Will there be a global agreement by 2015? Will it be legally binding? • Equity Gap: What is equity and whoshould be doingwhat?

  18. What is Equity, Art. 3 UNFCCC? • Definition: Thequalityof being fair or impartial; fairness; impartiality • Synonyms:impartiality, fair-mindedness, fairness, justness, evenhandedness, justice, objectivity • In the international discourse: equity and fairness used interchangeably

  19. Equity and Equality • Equalityofsovereignstates is a fundament in Public International Law • Equality: Same rights and duties, noarbitrarydiscriminationamongequals • Problem: States differ! Differentiation and positive discrimination (affirmative action) is necessary in order to treat different statesequally.

  20. The PrincipleofCommonbutDifferentiatedResponsibilities …..and respectivecapabilities! • Rio Declaration: “In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.” • Framework Convention on Climate Change; “…parties should act to protect the climate system “on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.”

  21. The PrincipleofCommonbutDifferentiatedResponsibilities …..and respectivecapabilities! • How to interpret in 2013/2015/2020 and beyond? • Based on which criteria should differentiation be made? • Why? • How politically feasible is that? • …and how effective?

  22. Top Fossil Fuel Emitters (Absolute) Top four emitters in 2011 covered 62% of global emissions China (28%), United States (16%), EU27 (11%), India (7%) The growing gap between EU27 and USA is due to emission decreases in Germany (45% of the 1990-2011 cumulative difference), UK (19%), Romania (13%), Czech Republic (8%), and Poland (5%) Source: CDIAC Data; Le Quéré et al. 2012; Global Carbon Project 2012

  23. Per capitaemissions

  24. …and respectivecapability? The ten largest economies in the world, measured in nominal GDP (millions of USD)

  25. Alternative measures of “Responsibility” Depending on perspective, the importance of individual countries changes Cumulative emissions from 1751; Production is also called Territorial; GDP: Gross Domestic Product Source: CDIAC Data; Unstats; Le Quéré et al. 2012; Global Carbon Project 2012

  26. The PrincipleofCommonbutDifferentiatedResponsibilities …..and respectivecapabilities! • How to interpret in 2013/2015/2020 and beyond? • Based on which criteria should differentiation be made? • Why? • How politically feasible is that? • …and how effective?

More Related