‘Keep your promises’

Climate change demonstrators juggle an inflatable globe as they gather outside The Parliament during the climate march in Copenhagen on December 12, 2009. At least 30,000 people marched through Copenhagen, demanding world leaders declare war on the greenhouse gases that threaten future generations with hunger, poverty and homelessness. If all goes well, the 194-nation conference under the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will wrap up on December 18 with a historic deal sealed by more than 110 heads of state and government. AFP PHOTO / Adrian Dennis

The focus is on developing countries, yet again.

The issue, this time, is about their pledges to reduce carbon emissions.

There is a proposal for developing countries, particularly China and India, to accept a mandatory quota of green projects to help them prove that they will deliver on the cuts in carbon intensity they have pledged under the terms of the Copenhagen Accord.

The proposer is the Consilience Energy Advisory Group Ltd, whose main business is giving consultancy advice to governments and companies about issues relevant to the oil, gas, power, freight and emissions trading sectors.

This is an idea that could be explored at the 11th ad hoc working group (AWG) session on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol/9th session of AWG on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention taking place in Bonn, Germany from April 9-11.

The group issued a Press release containing the proposal.

After the disappointing December Copenhagen meeting the two largest developing countries — China and India — pledged to cut their CO2-equivalent per unit of GDP by 40-45 per cent and 20-25 per cent respectively by 2020 compared with 2005 levels.

But while the developed countries that have pledged their own cuts in emissions levels under the Copenhagen Accord are obliged to have these cuts independently audited and verified, the developing countries have so far rejected this external checking.

This is likely to prove a bone of contention at the Bonn discussions.

To get around this the Consilience Energy Advisory Group Ltd is proposing that the climate working group should take the cuts in carbon intensity undertaken by the developing countries and re-express them as a quota of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.

That way the cuts in carbon intensity promised by the developing countries can be validated and certified independently by the CDM auditing process, with which these countries are already very familiar.

“The hard bit has been done: China and India have volunteered to cut their carbon intensity,” says Consilience CEO Liz Bossley. ”A simple extension of the tried and tested CDM can solve the problem of proof. Between them these two countries have already hosted almost 1,300 CDM projects. These projects are routinely validated and certified by so-called Designated Operational Entities, independent companies accredited by the United Nations, without any suggestion of loss of sovereignty.”

Participation in the CDM is now  voluntary. The Consilience proposal would place an obligation on the developing economies to meet their agreed CDM quota by hosting projects within their own borders to generate primary certified emissions reductions (CERs).

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Photo courtesy of New Straits Times’ photo library.

Climate change: It’s up to you now

Is the global warming movement dead?

Ian Katz (Guardian) attempts to offer some answers.

Click here for his comment piece.