Category: Green News

California Governor Gives Green Light to Link Carbon Market to Quebec

 
In a letter dated April 8, 2013 to the state Air Resources Board (ARB), California Governor Jerry Brown approved a proposal to link the California’s cap-and-trade system with Quebec’s program, paving the way for companies to trade carbon permits across borders.

In the April 8 letter, Governor Brown found that the request from the ARB met all necessary state requirements. The ARB, which has been working with Quebec for several years to develop complementary systems, will consider changes to its cap-and-trade program on April 19 that will allow it to link with Quebec.  Quebec is the first region that California has proposed to partner with, which will lay the foundation for a broader system that other governments may join.

ARB staff has said a link with Quebec would expand investments in low-carbon technologies, many of which are being developed in California, and improve market liquidity for carbon allowances by increasing the pool of both permits and companies trading them. According to the Governor’s letter, California will not link systems with Quebec until January 1, 2014.  In the meantime, the ARB and Quebec’s Ministry of Environment will test their auction platforms and trading systems to ensure they are compatible.  Governor Brown has asked the ARB to file a report with his office by November 1, 2013 outlining how the ARB will review and take public comment on changes to a linked program and whether there are any impediments to linkage occurring on January 1, 2014.

Quebec plans to reduce emissions to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 with its cap-and-trade program, which applies to about 75 companies in the province. Under California’s program, carbon emissions from power generators, oil refineries and other industrial plants will be capped and then gradually reduced to 1990 levels by 2020. The system will eventually regulate 85 percent of the greenhouse gases released in California.

Regulators in both California and Quebec are issuing carbon allowances through a combination of free allocations and auctions, each permitting the release of 1 metric ton. Companies must turn in allowances to cover their emissions, and those with more allowances than they need, can sell or trade the excess.



 



	


	





	

		
		
European Commission Launches Green Products Initiative
	


	
	
	

		
 

The European Commission is proposing EU-wide methods to measure the environmental performance of products and organisations, and encouraging Member States and the private sector to take them up.


Currently, companies wanting to highlight the environmental performance of their products face numerous obstacles including the need to choose between several methods promoted by governments and private initiatives. As a result, these companies may be forced to pay multiple costs for providing environmental information and consumers are faced with confusion resulting from excessive labelling that makes products difficult to compare.


For example, a company wishing to market its product as a green product in France, UK and Switzerland would need to apply different schemes in order to compete based on environmental performance in the different national markets. In France, it would need to carry out an environmental assessment in line with the French method (BP X30-323); in the UK, it would need to apply the PAS 2050 or the WRI GHG Protocol; and in Switzerland, it would need to apply the Swiss approach which is currently under development.


According to the latest Eurobarometer on Green Products, 48 % of European consumers are confused by the stream of environmental information they receive, which affects their readiness to make green purchases.  A number of industrial groups have called for a pan-European approach built on EU-wide science-based assessments and Life Cycle Analysis.  This is because of concerns that multiple initiatives at Member State level would run contrary to Single Market principles, confusing consumers and increasing costs for industry.


To address these problems, the European Commission has launched the Single Market for Green Products initiative, which proposes the following actions:


    

  • establishing two methods to measure environmental performance throughout the lifecycle – the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and the Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF);
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  • recommending the use of these methods to Member States, companies, private organisations and the financial community through a Commission Recommendation;
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  • announcing a three-year testing period to develop product- and sector-specific rules through a multi-stakeholder process;
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  • providing principles for communicating environmental performance such as transparency, reliability, completeness, comparability and clarity; and
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  • supporting international efforts towards more coordination in methodological development and data availability.
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The three-year testing period will be launched soon. An open call for volunteers will be published by the Commission on the Product Environmental Footprint and the Organisation Environmental Footprint sites, inviting companies, industrial and stakeholder organisations in the EU and beyond to participate in the development of product-group specific and sector-specific rules. On these sites, some preliminary information is already available about the objectives and expected timing of the test. For more information, please see this link.




 



	


	





	

		
		
Update on China: China Steps into Leadership Role as it takes Action on Climate Change
	


	
	
	

		
 

In his first comments as China’s prime minister, Li Keqiang recently laid out a vision of a more equitable society in which environmental protection trumps unbridled growth and government officials put the people’s welfare before their own financial interests.  While the Prime Minister was short on specifics, his comments represent an encouraging acknowledgment of some of the pressing issues facing China.


Traditionally, China has been used as a carbon scapegoat and excuse for inaction by countries such as Canada and the U.S., whose per capita emissions are much higher.  However the tables are turning with China beginning to take a leadership role in addressing climate change.  China’s emergence as a climate leader means that Canada and other countries can no longer point their fingers at China as an excuse for not taking action to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions.


China to roll out Cap & Trade in 2013


As the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, China is preparing to gradually roll out cap-and-trade pilot programs in seven major cities and provinces starting in 2013.  This initiative is part of a larger goal to reduce carbon intensity – or the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of economic output – by 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2020.


In November 2011, the Chinese government decided to implement cap-and-trade pilots in two provinces and five cities (including Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen) beginning in 2013 with the final goal of implementing a nationwide exchange program by 2016.  In less than two years, officials have designed and started to implement seven trading trials that cover around one-third of China’s gross domestic product and one-fifth of its energy use.  If successful, the schemes could demonstrate that an emissions trading system will be an effective way for China to manage its greenhouse gas emissions.  In addition, China’s activities may spur policy makers in other countries such as the US to act.


Bloomberg New Energy Finance previously estimated that the regional pilots would cumulatively cover 800 million to 1 billion tonnes of emissions in China by 2015, meaning that the market would become the world’s second largest after the European Union.  It has been reported that at the beginning, regional and city-wide markets will remain separate with unique rules and criteria. For example, some of the markets will cover factories and industrial operations exclusively, while others will focus on power generation or non-industrial sectors.


The first trades took place in September 2012 in Guangdong province, when four cement-manufacturing companies invested several million dollars to acquire carbon pollution permits (allowances). The Guangdong scheme is expected to cover more than 800 companies that each emit more than 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year across nine industries, including the energy-intensive steel and power sectors.  These firms account for more than 40% of the power used in the province.  The Guangdong carbon market alone will regulate some 277 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2015.


China plans to open six further regional emissions-trading schemes in 2013, in the province of Hubei and in the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen.  It plans to expand and link them until they form a nationwide scheme by the end of the decade. A nationwide scheme could then link to international markets.


Until now, China’s experience with carbon trading has been limited to the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol.  While China’s political system could let a carbon market grow faster than anywhere else because changes can be implemented quickly, the carbon market faces challenges in China.  In particular, China needs to develop and enforce proper legislation and regulations to measure, report and verify carbon emissions from industrial sites.  It also needs to build an effective framework to oversee the reporting and trading of carbon credits.


At this stage, the most urgent issue that needs to be addressed is how China collects and analyzes data on carbon emissions.  The credibility of China’s statistics on energy use and carbon emissions has been questioned partly because of the large discrepancies between numbers calculated using top-down data and numbers calculated using bottom-up data.  Without accurate numbers, the first transaction of the Guangdong trading scheme was based on expected future carbon emissions, rather than historical data.  Improved statistical methodology and political action will be required to boost the reliability of carbon emissions data in China.  China will also need specific laws to ensure transparent reporting and strong enforcement to prevent fraudulent or misleading claims about carbon emissions.


Chinese Carbon Tax on the Horizon 


On the climate front, the Chinese government appears to be on the verge of taking a critical step which has been demonized by politicians in Canada and the USA – that is, implementing a carbon tax.  Although the carbon tax is expected to be modest, China plans to also increase coal taxes.


According to Jia Chen, head of the tax policy division of China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF), China will proactively introduce a set of new taxation policies designed to preserve the environment, including a tax on carbon emissions.  In an article published on the MOF web site in February 2013, Jia wrote that the government will collect an environmental protection tax instead of pollutant discharge fees, as well as levy a tax on carbon emissions.  The local taxation authority will collect the taxes, rather than the environmental protection department.  The article did not specify the level of carbon tax or when the new measures will be implemented.  In 2010, MOF experts suggested levying a carbon tax in 2012 at 10 yuan per tonne of carbon dioxide, as well as recommended increasing the tax to 50 yuan per tonne by 2020.  These prices are far below the 500 yuan (US $80) per tonne that some experts have suggested would be needed to achieve climate stability.


It is not anticipated that China’s plan will have a significant impact on global climate change, although the tax may have some beneficial impact within China itself, where air pollution is a serious problem.  A paper from the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning suggests that a small tax could still raise revenue and provide an incentive to reduce emissions, thus bolstering China’s renewable energy industry.


To conserve natural resources, the government will push forward resource tax reforms by taxing coal based on prices instead of sales volume, as well as raising coal taxes.  A resource tax will also be levied on water.  In addition, the government is also looking into the possibility of taxing energy intensive products such as batteries, as well as luxury goods such as aircraft which are not used for public transportation.




 



	


	





	

		
		
European Parliament Approves New Rules for Monitoring GHG emissions, including Forestry and Agriculture
	


	
	
	

		
 

On March 12, 2013, the European Parliament approved two new laws to improve EU rules on monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including those from forestry and agriculture.  It is expected that the Council will adopt these laws, after which they will be published in the Official Journal and enter into force.


Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, said: “These new rules will help Europe develop robust evidence-based climate policies and keep better track of progress towards meeting our emission targets. They improve transparency, coordination and the quality of data reported, and forest and agriculture emissions will now be accounted for in a harmonised way. We hope that these new rules will also set an example in the context of the international climate negotiations and serve as a benchmark for transparency of climate action by other countries.”


Monitoring Mechanism


The Monitoring Mechanism Regulation enhances the current reporting rules on Member States’ GHG emissions in order to meet requirements arising from current and future international climate agreements, as well as the 2009 climate and energy package. In particular, the revised Monitoring Mechanism aims to help the EU and Member States keep track of progress towards meeting their emission targets for the period 2013-2020 and to facilitate further development of the EU climate policy mix. The EU and Member States already cooperate to monitor and report GHG emissions, producing annual GHG inventories which are used to assess progress towards meeting Kyoto Protocol emission targets. In addition, information is compiled on GHG projections and on policies and measures to reduce emissions.


The revised rules aim to improve the quality of data reported and introduce some new elements, such as:


    

  • reporting of emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF);
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  • reporting of Member States’ adaptation to climate change;
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  • reporting of Member States’ and the EU’s low-carbon development strategies;
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  • reporting on financial and technical support provided to developing countries, and commitments arising from the 2009 Copenhagen Accord and 2010 Cancún Agreements;
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  • reporting on Member States’ use of revenues from the auctioning of allowances in the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS). Member States have committed to spend at least half of the revenue from such auctions on measures to fight climate change in the EU and third countries.
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LULUCF


The second law approved by the European Parliament establishes common rules for accounting for GHG emissions and removals of carbon from the atmosphere resulting from activities related to land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF).  This represents a first step towards incorporating the forestry and agriculture sectors – the last major sectors without common EU-wide rules on GHG emissions – into EU climate policy. Forests and agricultural lands cover more than three-quarters of the EU territory and naturally hold large stocks of carbon, preventing its escape into the atmosphere. If their capacity to “trap” carbon were improved by just 10 percentage points (for example through improved forest or grassland management), this would remove the equivalent of annual emissions of 10 million cars from the atmosphere.


This decision requires Member States to report on their actions to increase removals of carbon and decrease emissions of greenhouse gases from forests and soils. While the law does not currently include national emission reduction targets for these sectors, such targets may be introduced at a later stage once the accounting rules have proven robust.


More information is available from the European Commission

 



	


	





	

		
		
RGGI Proposes Tightening its Regional CO2 Emissions Cap by 45%
	


	
	
	

		
 

Following a comprehensive two-year program review, the nine Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the United States’ first market-based regulatory program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, released an updated RGGI Model Rule and Program Review Recommendations Summary in February 2013.


The changes outlined in the Updated Model Rule and Program Review Recommendations Summary are aimed at strengthening the program by making the following improvements:


    

  • A reduction of the 2014 regional CO2 budget (the RGGI cap) from 165 million to 91 million tons – a reduction of 45%. The cap would decline 2.5% each year from 2015 to 2020.
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  • Additional adjustments to the RGGI cap from 2014-2020, which will account for the private bank of allowances held by market participants before the new cap is implemented in 2014. From 2014-2020 compliance with the applicable cap will be achieved by use of “new” auctioned allowances and “old” allowances from the private bank.
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  • Cost containment reserve (CCR) of allowances that creates a fixed additional supply of allowances that are only available for sale if CO2 allowance prices exceed certain price levels ($4 in 2014, $6 in 2015, $8 in 2016, and $10 in 2017, rising by 2.5 percent, to account for inflation, each year thereafter.)
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  • Updates to the RGGI offsets program, including a new forestry protocol.
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  • Requiring regulated entities to acquire and hold allowances equal to at least 50% of their emissions in each of the first 2 years of the 3 year compliance period, in addition to demonstrating full compliance at the end of each 3 year compliance period.
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  • Commitment to identifying and evaluating potential tracking tools for emissions associated with electricity imported into the RGGI region, leading to a workable, practicable, and legal mechanism to address such emissions.
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The original RGGI cap was set at 2009 emission levels, with the expectation that emissions would grow. However, emissions have dropped dramatically because of the use of natural gas and other efficiencies in the RGGI states, reducing the demand for the permits. This resulted in depressing the RGGI permit price for carbon credits to under US $2, which is far below the projected US $20-$30. It is anticipated that the lower cap will stimulate interest and raise RGGI permit prices in the next auction. Analyses indicate that the proposed program changes will result in a modest increase in allowance prices, with allowances expected to be priced at approximately US $4 ($2010) per allowance in 2014 and rising to approximately US $10 ($2010) per allowance in 2020. In addition, analysts expect that the proposed program changes will reduce projected 2020 power sector CO2 pollution more than 45% below 2005 levels.


With the release of the Updated Model Rule, the RGGI states now plan to revise their CO2 Budget Trading Programs through their individual state-specific statutory and regulatory processes. Each RGGI state seeks to complete their state specific processes such that the proposed changes to the program would take effect on January 1, 2014. A summary of the program review is available online.

 



	


	





	

		
		
U.S. Consumers are taking into account companies’ actions on climate change when purchasing
	


	
	
	

		
 

According to a recent report from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, since 2008, approximately 25% percent of U.S. consumers have either rewarded or punished companies for those companies’ actions related to climate change. The report, “Americans’ Actions to Limit Global Warming in September 2012” (available online), indicates that a significant portion of the consumer market continues to care about the position of companies on climate change. The report also concludes that individuals who have not used purchasing power to either reward or punish companies in the past year plan to increase personal acts of consumer activism in the next year.


The report indicates that in the 12 months leading up to the September 2012 survey, about one in three adults rewarded a company that took steps to reduce emissions.  In addition to rewarding companies for taking actions to reduce climate change impacts, 24% of those surveyed in September 2012 indicated that they had at some point in the past year chosen not to purchase products by companies that oppose steps to reduce climate change.


When asked to contemplate future behavior, 52% of individuals surveyed expressed the intent to either reward or punish companies sometime in the next year for the companies’ action or inaction to reduce climate change. Since researchers from Yale and George Mason began collecting data four years ago, slightly more than half of Americans have consistently reported plans to use purchasing power to either reward or punish companies. In November 2008, consumers indicated the greatest willingness (58%) to either buy or not buy based on a company’s actions on climate change. In the economic recession of 2010, willingness to utilize purchasing power to support global warming action fell to 51%. Since then, consumer support for utilizing purchasing power has remained at just over half of the surveyed American adults.


The Yale and George Mason researchers also studied three other prongs of climate actions by citizens: (1) saving energy, (2) citizen behavior, and (3) communication behavior. Even though a majority of American adults report that they always or often set their thermostats below 68 degrees and take other actions like replacing traditional light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, the researchers noted a decline in Americans’ belief that certain energy-saving actions can reduce climate change. Americans are less confident today than four years ago that their individual actions will reduce their contribution to climate change. While Americans may be less optimistic about their individual impact on global warming, the report’s authors observed that a growing number of Americans say they contacted a government official in the past year to support mitigation of climate change. In the next year, the report indicates that more Americans intend to urge government officials to take action on climate change.


Overall, the Yale and George Mason polling data indicate that Americans continue to be concerned about global warming and are willing to use political and consumer activism to push for action on global warming.




 



	


	





	

		
		
Ontario Ministry of Environment seeks input on Greenhouse Gas Discussion Paper
	


	
	
	

		
 

On January 21, 2013, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) released a discussion paper entitled Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions in Ontario. The purpose of the paper (available online): is to support discussions and gather feedback on the development of a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction program. In addition, these discussions will elicit information to support Ontario’s intention to obtain equivalency with the developing federal greenhouse gas regulations in certain sectors (including natural gas‐fired electricity generation), meaning that Ontario industries will not be subject to duplicate requirements.


In 2007, Ontario introduced its Climate Change Action Plan which includes the following GHG emissions reduction targets:


    

  • 6% below 1990 levels by 2014,
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  • 15% below 1990 levels by 2020, and
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  • 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
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Ontario estimates that current initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will deliver 60% of the reductions needed to reach the 2020 reduction target. While a GHG emissions reduction program alone will not close the gap, it will play an important role in moving Ontario towards its goal of being 15% below 1990 emissions levels by 2020.


The program elements presented for discussion in the paper have been developed based on a set of key principles aimed at balancing Ontario’s economic and environmental interests. These principles include:


    

  • Achieving absolute reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in a cost‐effective way that considers competitiveness and supports achieving equivalency with the federal government.
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  • Simplicity, consistency, transparency and administrative efficiency.
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  • Striving to treat sectors and facilities equitably.
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  • Taking into account early action by industry leaders.
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  • Using accurate and verified emissions data to support policy development.
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  • Promoting development and deployment of clean technologies.
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  • Considering broad alignment with other emissions reduction programs of similar rigour that provides opportunity for linking in the future.
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  • Considering integration with other provincial environmental policies.
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The paper indicates that Ontario’s program would initially limit GHG emissions from fossil fuel-fired electricity generators and large GHG emitters in certain industries, including petroleum refining, chemicals, steel, cement and pulp and paper. The paper also indicates that the program would limit emissions from facilities in these sectors (other than the electricity generation sector) to the level of their current total emissions, with the limit declining thereafter by 5% over five years. Although it does not explicitly advocate a cap-and-trade system, the paper does suggest that the MOE will consider the use of emissions trading mechanisms to establish a carbon price and provide businesses with options on how to achieve reductions at the lowest cost.


In addition, the paper proposes that Ontario’s program would be in place one year prior to federal regulation of greenhouse gases from industry. A one year window will provide time for the province to negotiate and finalize an equivalency agreement with the federal government to ensure there is a single regulator for greenhouse gas emissions in the province.


Ontario acknowledges that other North American jurisdictions are also taking action to address emissions of GHGs. It notes that Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia all have or are developing regulations to reduce greenhouse gases. It also notes that in the USA, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative limits emissions from electricity generation in north-eastern states, while California has introduced a broad greenhouse gas emissions trading regime with an intention of linking to Quebec’s program.


The MOE will accept submissions on the discussion paper until April 21, 2013. For further information, please refer to the Environmental Registry: Here

 



	


	





	

		
		
RinkWatch Initiative brings the Climate Change issue right into Canadian backyards
	


	
	
	

		
 

Researchers at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario have launched an initiative involves to help track climate change by recruiting volunteers to report on their outdoor rinks. RinkWatch (rinkwatch.org) is an innovative citizen science-driven project that has already signed up hundreds of volunteers since the web site was launched in early January 2013.


In 2012, scientists in Montreal warned that there will be fewer outdoor skating days in the future. Their predictions are based on the results of data taken from weather stations across Canada over the last fifty years. In some regions, scientists warn that one day, there may be no more backyard rinks at all. This is particularly poignant for those who remember the story of how Wayne Gretzky learned to play hockey on the backyard rink his father made for him in Brantford, Ontario.


This warning prompted a group of geographers at Wilfrid Laurier University to create RinkWatch, where outdoor rink enthusiasts across North America and around the world can tell the geographers about their rinks.  The web site asks volunteers to pin the location of their rinks on a map, and then each winter record every day that they are able to skate on it.  The geographers will then gather all the information and use it to track the changes in our climate. The RinkWatch web site will provide regular updates on the results. Participants will also be able to compare the number of skating days at their rink with rinks elsewhere.


Robert McLeman, an associate professor of geography and environmental studies at Wilfred Laurier explained the rationale behind the project: “Everyone understands what’s going on in their backyard. The winters are different now than they were 20, 40, 60 years ago, and these [rinks] are things that they make a connection with personally.” McLeman says the project was modeled on the efforts of birdwatchers, who have been conducting backyard bird counts for many decades.


While volunteers may not think of it as science, that is exactly what they will be doing – making regular, systematic observations about environmental change in their own backyards. These efforts will not only help science achieve a broader understanding of the effects of climate change, but it will engage the public in climate changes issues at a very grassroots level.




 



	


	





	

		
		
Canada Missing out on Growing Global Environmental Market
	


	
	
	

		
 

Despite the slow recovery of the global economy and a lack of political will for addressing environmental and climate change issues, a report by the Environmental Business Journal estimates that the annual value of the global environmental market was $866 billion in 2011, up 4% from the year before. While the US, Western Europe and Japan remain the three largest and most mature environmental markets, growth in the global environmental market in 2011 was led by Africa (up 10%), followed by the Middle East and the rest of Asia (both up 9%). In terms of business sectors, the largest is solid waste management, followed by water utilities and treatment. Recycling, green building, energy efficiency and other areas under the resource recovery and clean energy categories are all growing at faster rates than the overall economy in most nations.


In Canada, there is a large untapped potential for environmental markets.  A report released by Sustainable Prosperity in November 2012 estimates that Canada’s combined environmental marketplace is worth between $462 million and $752 million annually.  The wide gap between the high and low estimates is due to a lack of transparency and the definition of “environmental market”. In the report, an environmental market is defined as a market having a buyer, a seller and the exchange of an environmental attribute.  57 markets were covered in the report and it is anticipated that the value of the Canadian environmental marketplace will increase as new programs such as Quebec’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system develop. Sustainable Prosperity’s analysis indicates that markets addressing biodiversity and habitat conservation, water quality, water quantity, climate change, and air quality can provide environmental benefits inexpensively if they are well-designed markets. For investors, they also represent an opportunity for exposure to a new and growing asset class.  These markets may represent a significant financial sum as a whole, but most of the individual ones are small and underdeveloped in terms of their infrastructure and scope. Greater certainty in terms of environmental policy and regulatory flexibility to allow for the increased use of markets would help attract the necessary capital from the private sector to expand and grow Canada’s environmental marketplace.




 



	


	





	

		
		
UN Climate Talks Conclude with an Agreement on the “Doha Climate Gateway”
	


	
	
	

		
 

The United Nations’ annual global climate negotiations – or Conference of the Parties (COP) 18 – took place in the City of Doha, Qatar from November 26 to December 8, 2012.  As the country with the highest per capita emissions in the world at 50 tonnes per person, Qatar was an interesting choice of venue.  Negotiations ran a day over schedule, but concluded with an agreement on the “Doha Climate Gateway”.  According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the agreement marks the beginning of discussions on a legally binding international agreement to cap emissions at scientifically acceptable levels (restricting warming to a two degree Celsius increase in global average temperature).


At COP 17 in Durban, South Africa, the parties agreed to create a treaty by 2015 which would come into force by 2020. The objectives at COP 18 were to move the collective agreement forward at an appropriate rate to meet the 2015 deadline.  Following the talks, the parties agreed to the following:


1.       The Kyoto Protocol was officially extended for a second commitment period from January 1, 2013 to 2020. A number of previous signatories, including Canada, have withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol, which now covers only 15% of the world’s emissions. Its primary participants are the European Union, Norway and Australia.


2.       The final text of the agreement “encourages” developed nations to pay $10 billion a year to 2020 to help developing nations access clean energy and implement climate change adaptation measures. The agreement is not legally binding and does not ascribe blame to developed nations for “loss or damages” experienced as a result of events related to climate change.


Developing countries and observers expressed disappointment with the lack of ambition in outcomes in terms of mitigation and finance by developed countries, but most agreed that the conference had paved the way for a new phase of focusing on the implementation of the outcomes from negotiations under the ad hoc working groups.


An important achievement outside of COP was that 25 members of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition agreed to significantly reduce emissions of short-lived pollutants, including soot, methane and ozone, and excluding carbon dioxide. It is estimated that this agreement could reduce the expected temperature increase by 0.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, a fraction of the four to six degrees forecast by the end of the century if we stay on the current emissions path.


COP 19 will be hosted by Poland in 2013.