Summary

Professor Hironori Hamanaka, Chair of the Board of Directors, IGES, presided over the side event and noted the urgency and significance of reconciling gaps between developed and developing countries to reach a comprehensive and effective agreement in 2009.

Mr. Hiroshi Ohiki, President of COP3 and Japan Center for Climate Change Actions, pointed out the need to recognize rapidly changing economic circumstances and respective capabilities of different countries since 1997, when the Kyoto Protocol was adopted.

Dr. Ancha Srinivasan, IGES, presented the main findings from IGES consultations on the post-2012 climate regime. He noted that the Copenhagen agreement must be not only effective, but also realistic, practical and simple. He stressed the need to recognize and support climate actions of developing Asia in a more systematic manner than before, and to reach an agreement at Poznan especially on adaptation financing, and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries. The need to bolster institutional capacities of developing Asia to adopt low carbon technologies appropriate to national resource endowments (e.g. low quality coal), and to ensure that new investments in energy and infrastructure do not climate protection goals was also emphasized. The need for inclusion of risk transfer instruments in adaptation frameworks, and for reform of the market mechanisms to support NAMAs was also stressed.

Dr. John Drexhage, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Canada summarized the findings of IISD dialogue process in which the four pillars of the Bali Action Plan were assessed from a Canadian perspective. He pointed out that the experiences of Canada, which enjoys relatively high economic growth and has export-oriented economy, may prove a vital way forward for major developing countries in Asia. He noted the need for a robust global carbon market to keep mitigation costs to a minimum. He stressed that effective adaptation approaches would require enhanced cooperation between development and climate communities. He also mentioned that a fundamental change in thinking is necessary to “climate-proof” investments in developing countries that are undergoing rapid urban growth. Panel Discussion

Ambassador Adrian Macey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand, noted that undue emphasis on labels such as Annex I and non-Annex I, and developed and developing countries can become a real obstacle to move the negotiations forward. He pointed out that South Africa’s proposal on voluntary pledges for GHG emission reductions by developing countries could be a good model for new type of commitments. He emphasized the need for ensuring that mitigation and supporting actions in the future regime are measurable, reportable and verifiable.　

Mr. Agus Purnomo, Head of the National Council on Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Indonesia, stressed that the future climate regime would not be effective if it fails to be development-friendly, and emphasised the importance of making development, finance and trade regimes climate-friendly. He stressed the need for combining public funds and market mechanism sources, and proposed a new financial mechanism to be funded by shares of proceeds from transaction of all carbon credits. The need for developing simple indicators for measuring, reporting and verifying actions on mitigation, finance, technology and capacity building was pointed out.

Mr. Toshiro Kojima, former vice minister of Ministry of the Environment, Japan, stated that goal setting would be a vital component to address climate change. In particular, he stressed the importance of setting a clear and concrete ultimate objective, setting the volume of global emissions reduction in 2050, and setting the target year when emissions would peak. He argued that large emitters in the past, present and future should take responsibilities and pay compensation, given the fact that most of vulnerable countries are small emitters. He noted the need for social innovations. With regard to sectoral approaches, he mentioned that further clarity is essential to move forward.

Ambassador Rae Kwon Chung, Republic of Korea, argued that there is a substantial gap in perception on historical and future responsibilities between developed and developing countries. He emphasized that many developing countries are already taking climate actions not necessarily because of climate change concerns but for enhancing their energy security or reducing air pollution. He stressed that we must agree on three basic principles to move the negotiations forward: (1) do not request others what you do not want to do; (2) do not talk about what others should do, and focus on what each country will do; and (3) each country should come up with commitments comparable to respectable capabilities. He noted the need for enhancing CDM to engage developing countries more effectively and proposed the concept of creating an international registry of NAMAs through which mitigation actions by developing countries would be formally recognised and tradable credits would be awarded.

Ms. Ulrika Raab, Swedish Energy Agency, pointed out that necessary technologies for effective mitigation already exist and that focus in the future regime should be on mechanisms for technology deployment and financial support. She emphasised the importance of carbon markets and stressed the need for a strong political message at Poznan that we have a resolve to address climate change.

General Discussion

Participants noted the need for bringing agriculture into negotiations on the future climate regime, as the sector offers many opportunities for GHG mitigation and adaptation. The discussion also focused on ways to reduce perception gaps on sectoral approaches among developed and developing countries. Participants agreed that sectoral approaches are realistic only in certain sectors and that further work is necessary to develop proposals to offset the costs of reducing emissions from the conversion of peat lands into agriculture. The need for enhanced financial flows by the private sector to support climate actions in developing countries was also stressed.