Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement Flashcards
Direct effects of climate change
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Rising maximum temperatures
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Rising minimum temperatures
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Increased precipitation
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Reduced sea ice concentration
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Ocean acidification
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Increased sea surface temperature (SST
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Rising sea levels
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Thawing permafros t
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Etc
Indirect effects of climate change
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Increase in hunger
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Water scarcity
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Health risks due to heatwaves
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Increasing spread of pests and pathogens due to additional transmission
paths (e.g. invasive species) as well as vector behavior change
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Loss of biodiversity
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Economic implications of dealing with damage related to climate change
Action time line to address climate change
- 1979: First World Climate Conference (WCC)
- 1988: Set up of the IPCC
– leading international body for the assessment of climate change provides scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio economic impacts. - 1990: 1 st IPCC’s assessment report
– call for a global treaty on climate change
– UN General Assembly started negotiations on a framework convention - 1992: Earth Summit in Rio
– e.g. UNFCCC: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
– UNCBD: UN Convention on Biological Diversity and
– UNCCD: UN Convention to Combat Desertification - 1994: UNFCCC enters into force
- 1995: First Conference of the Parties (COP1) in Berlin
- 1997: Adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in December at COP3 (milestone of UNFCCC)
- 2005: Kyoto Protocol enters into force
- 2010: COP16, Cancun:
– Agreement on a follow up treaty for Kyoto
– Agreement on a package to help developing nations to deal with climate change, e.g. mitigation, adaptation, technology & finance (e.g. set up of the Green Climate Fund) - 2012: COP18, Doha:
– Stressing of the need to increase ambitions to cut GHGs & help vulnerable countries to adapt
– Agreement to continue Kyoto Protocol - 2015: COP 21, Paris:
– A new climate agreement was adopted: Paris Agreement
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Objective:
“stabilization of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”
– Treaty is considered legally non binding
– Sets no binding limits on GHG emissions for individual countries
– Developed countries should lead the way: reduce emissions!
– Regular reports on climate change policies and measures, incl. annual inventory of their GHG emissions
– Directs new funds to climate change activities in developing countries
– Technology and knowledge exchange
– Developing countries report on their actions to mitigate climate change and to adapt to its impacts
Conference of the parties (COP)
COP -The supreme decision making body of the UNFCCC
– Yearly conferences formal meeting of the UNFCCC
Parties to assess progress in dealing with climate change
– First task in the 90ies: to nego tiate the Kyoto Protocol
– From 2005: COPs also served as the “Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol” (CMP)
→ also parties that are not parties to the Protocol can participate in Protocol related meetings as observers
- 1994: UNFCC entered into force
- 1995: COP1 Berlin
- 1997: COP3 Kyoto
- 2015: COP21 Paris
- 2022 : COP27 Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Kyoto Protocol (COP3)
- Commitment for stabilisation GHG
– Benchmark: usually 1990 emission levels
– central principle: “common but differentiated responsibility” - 1 st commitment period: 2008 2012 (Kyoto I): Reduction of an average of 5% to the 1990 levels by 2012
– Only 18% of global emissions were covered - 2 nd commitment period: 2013 2020 (Kyoto II): Reduction of at least 18% to the 1990 levels from 2013 - 2020
– Only 15% of global emissions are covered
Kyoto protocol: main challenges
*Some of the countries with highest emissions do not participate
– No binding targets in second period: Russia, Japan, New Zealand
– No ratification: USA, Canada
–> Countries can leave agreement whenever they want
- Protocol is binding, but still there are “no real sanctions”
– non compliance penalties
– If, at the end of this period, a Party’s emissions are still greater than its assigned amount, the enforcement branch will declare the Party to be in non compliance and require the Party to make up the difference between its emissions and its assigned amount during the second commitment period , plus an additional deduction of - Instruments on achieving CO 2 targets, e.g. emission trading are insufficient…
COP 21: Follow up agreement on the Kyoto protocol
- COP 21, 2015, Paris: A new climate agreement
was adopted - Contains climate targets for all member
countries of the UNFCCC (UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change) - On 5 October 2016, the threshold for entry
into force of the Paris Agreement was achieved (55 countries accounting for
more than 55% of global emissions) - Now: ratified by 194 Parties (193 States EU) representing over 97 % of global emissions.
The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 th of November 2016 (however, starting from 2021)
- To this date the Paris Agreement is signed by 197 and ratified by 193 States
COP21: some key points of the agreement
Targets_
* Long term temperature goal (Art. 2)
- Rise in global temperatures is limited to no more than 2 2°C (1.5 1.5°if possible)
- Global peaking and ‘climate neutrality’ (Art 4)
- Reduction of GHG emissions (mitigation)
- From 2050 a balance shall be reached between
CO2 emissions and CO2 absorption (sinks such as forests, storages) - BUT: Greenhouse gas emissions continue to peak!
Mechanism:
* Collective responsibility: Commitments from 193 Parties to cut or limit GHG emissions
* BUT: the voluntary commitments to decrease GHG emissions made by all countries NDCs: nationally determined contributions ) are too low to achieve the 2ºC goal
* However, commitments were enormously important
came from all countries regardless of income level, reflecting a new sense of shared responsibility
* Financial commitments of developed countries to help the poorest countries suffering from climate change
Regular assessments:
* The signatories agreed to convene every 5 years to take stock, revisit their pledges and steadily increase them
* The provision makes it clear that Paris is only the foundation for future efforts
Transparency:
* Requires regular and transparent reporting of every country’s carbon reductions
* Crucial because the pledges at the heart of the agreement are voluntary and unenforceable
Intended nationally determined contribution
- Paris Agreement (Article 4, paragraph 2): each Party has to prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that it intends to achieve
- Next round of NDCs (new or updated) being submitted by 2020 and every five years thereafter (e.g. by 2020, 2025, 2030
- NDCs submitted by Germany in 2015: 55% in 2030 compared to 1990
– German Climate Action Plan 2050
– NDC update submitted December 2020 - NDCs for the EU: at least 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
by 2030 compared to 1990
– European Green Deal
Main challenges of Paris Agreement
- Major emitters: The reduction of global GHG emissions depends primarily on only a couple of major emitters USA & China make up 40% of global GHG emissions
- Withdrawal: It’s possible to withdraw from the agreement as was shown by the U.S.
- NDCs: The combined efforts in the Parties’ NDCs fall short of reaching the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement
- Finance: Financial support to developing countriesn remains below expectations
Flexible market mechanisms of Kyoto protocol and Paris Agreement
Kyoto protocol includes 3 flexible market based mechanisms:
International Emissions Trading
- trade with emission rights/certificates
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
- measures in developing countries
Joint implementation (JI)
- project related cooperation with industrialized countries to reduce emissions
Paris Agreement also refers to mechanism
* Direct bilateral cooperation (Art. 6.2): countries can acquire emission reductions from transferring countries
- Guidance on Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs)
- Multilateral crediting mechanism(Art. 6.4): mechanism to mitigate GHG gas emissions and support sustainable development -> creation of global carbon market
– CDM projects can apply to be registered as Art. 6.4 activities (A6.4ERs) - Non market based approaches (Art. 6.8): framework for non market approaches (NMAs) to sustainable development
Clean development mechanism (CDM)
- Certified Emission Reductions (CER) for climate protection projects , conducted by developed countries in developing countries
– Allows emission reduction (or removal) projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to 1t CO2
– can be traded and sold, used by developed countries to meet their reduction targets - Idea : stimulate sustainable development & profit
– Developing countries: investments in sustainable technologies
– Developed countries: tradable CERs; projects are often cheaper in developing countries
– Source of income for the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund
Joint implementation (JI)
- Allows industrialized countries to earn emission reduction units (ERUs) from an emission reduction or emission removal project in another Annex B Party
– Host Party benefits from foreign investment and technology transfer
– Investing party gets the credits - A JI project must provide a reduction in emissions by sources , or an enhancement of removals by sinks
CDM/JI benefits and cons/challenges
Benefits:
– Significant GHG emission reductions in some sectors (e.g. waste management)
– Raised awareness on climate change, GHG emissions capacity building
– New market/jobs (e.g. project development) & push for some markets (China,
– 10 year experience
– International oversight under UNFCCC parties highest geographical coverage
Concerns/challenges_
– Do CDM projects indeed lead to additional emission reductions?
*… acc. to estimations of the WWF 20% of CDM projects do
– Often too high reference scenarios & additionality is difficult to prove
→ trade of theoretical reduction against real emissions
– Questionable CDM projects, e.g. coal power plants
– Risk of double counting
