Protocols Flashcards
Describe what the EU ETS is?
The EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) is a cornerstone of the European Union’s climate policy and a key mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Established in 2005, it is the world’s first and largest cap-and-trade system for limiting emissions from specific sectors, including energy, industry, and aviation within the European Economic Area (EEA). Where a cap is set on the total amount of GHG emissions that can be emitted by the sectors it covers, and companies can buy or sell emission allowances depending on their needs. The system covers around 40% of the EU’s total GHG emissions, making it a vital tool in the EU’s broader climate strategy.
What does the term “Loss and Damage” refer to in the Climate Convention?
Refers to the impacts of climate change that are beyond what can be adapted to or mitigated. It acknowledges the severe and unavoidable consequences of climate change, particularly in vulnerable developing countries, including damage to infrastructure, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
What is the fundamental climate goal of the Paris Agreement?
The fundamental climate goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C. This goal aims to significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change by keeping global warming within manageable limits. Additionally, the Paris Agreement seeks to enhance the ability of countries to adapt to climate impacts, foster climate resilience, and ensure that financial flows support low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways.
What does the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, tend to?
- energy use & energy resources
- emission trends
- domestic pressure
- level of economic development
- historical responsibility
- vulnerability to climate change impacts
What is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate, UNFCCC?
- establishes principles, legal framework for international climate negotiations
- meets every year in a Conference of the Parties (COP)
- UNFCCC:s COP:s resulted in the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement
What does the Kyoto protocol include?
The Kyoto Protocol set legally binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European Union to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2% below 1990 levels during the first commitment period (2008-2012). These countries were known as “Annex I” countries.
Developing countries, or “Non-Annex I” countries, were not required to meet binding targets, recognizing their lower historical emissions and development needs.
Three so-called flexible mechanisms:
- Emission trading - Countries with surplus emission allowances could sell these allowances to other countries that were struggling to meet their targets. Like the EU ETS.
- Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): Annex I countries could invest in emission-reduction projects in developing countries and earn Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), which could be used to meet their own targets.
- Joint Implementation (JI): Countries could earn Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) by investing in projects in other Annex I countries that reduced emissions.
What does the Paris Agreement include?
The Paris Agreement set a long-term goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. This was a more ambitious target than previous agreements, reflecting growing concern about the severe impacts of even small increases in global temperatures.
Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, where only developed countries had binding targets, the Paris Agreement uses a bottom-up approach. Every country, both developed and developing, must submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)—their own plans for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
NDCs are non-binding but must be updated/informed every five years, to the UNFCCC, with the expectation that countries will set increasingly ambitious targets over time.
Parties can also inform UNFCCC on Needs of, or provision of Climate Finance funds, Technological development, Capacity building efforts
In the present Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) there is a distinction between conditional versus unconditional contributions. Describe what unconditional contributions are
Unconditional contributions are the climate mitigation and adaptation actions a country commits to achieving on its own, without relying on external support like international financing, technology transfer, or capacity-building.
If future climate work primarily relies on unconditional contributions, the progress might be more gradual, as countries will depend only on their own capacities. This approach could limit the ambition of climate action in developing countries where resources are more constrained.
In the present Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) there is a distinction between conditional versus unconditional contributions. Describe what conditional contributions are
Conditional contributions refer to the additional climate actions that a country promises to undertake, provided it receives international support in the form of financial assistance, technology transfers, or capacity-building from developed countries or international bodies.
If future climate work increasingly focuses on conditional contributions, achieving more ambitious global climate targets becomes possible. However, this approach depends on reliable and sufficient support from wealthier nations and international mechanisms. Failure to provide such support could delay or prevent the full realization of conditional pledges, slowing global progress on climate change.
