E3G

chinadialogue: In Accra, the fog slowly lifts

By Jennifer Morgan

This simple yet effective approach would use revenue generated by the climate-change regime to fund its own needs. It would, of course, require a decision to use that new source of funding for climate purposes, rather than other needs in the economy (such as health care), but it avoids the intractable debate about increasing official development assistance (ODA). The European Union will decide on the third phase of its Emissions Trading System this autumn, and the increased use of auctions and their revenue for climate-change purposes is on the table. Since the EU has yet to outline its proposal for financing in international negotiations, it is vital that finance ministers understand the link between national debates and international expectations and needs.

Sectoral mechanisms, a key issue about which there has been much confusion, were also discussed in Ghana. Many countries were unsure about the intentions of countries, such as Japan, which propose the sectoral approach. But the workshop helped clarify country positions and showed where difficulties might arise. It is clear now, for example, that industrialised countries must take on national caps and not substitute them with sectoral commitments. The next US administration looks as if it will support this national cap approach, although the level of effort in the targets is under discussion.

In developing countries, where national caps are unlikely, sectoral approaches could be useful in identifying sectors for greater efforts to reduce emissions, such as the power industry. The meeting in Accra showed a growing interest in sectoral-crediting mechanisms that would link developing-country sectoral actions with the carbon market. It would be necessary, however, to invest quickly and robustly in the capacity to measure, monitor and verify such emissions if this were to go ahead. The sectoral approach could also come into the discussions around technology transfer.

Many observers have tended to focus on the negotiations around the Bali Action Plan, but attention should also be given to debates under the Kyoto Protocol, which may foreshadow all the negotiations to come. In Accra, a set of texts were agreed that outline the options on all the issues under negotiation in the treaty. As the Kyoto negotiations are about strengthening targets and reviewing the means to meet those targets, all of the flexible mechanisms (such as emissions trading, the Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation), as well as the land-use change and forestry rules, are being discussed. In fact, there are specific outlines of proposals emerging on the carbon market, sectoral mechanisms, crediting for developing-country actions and deforestation. These texts make clear the decisions that countries will have to make in just over a year in Copenhagen. They are, however, far from fully outlined, understood or agreed; this points to the massive amount of work to be done.

Accra was one of a number of meetings on the road to Copenhagen, but it was useful because it began to identify the choices for politicians in the post-2012 agreement. Through the fog of the Bali Action Plan and the Kyoto Protocol, proposals are emerging that negotiators can examine. The challenge is to ensure that stakeholders and governments across the world can also see them, and are able to participate in making these crucial choices.