EU Position for the Copenhage Climate Conference

The European Union has published it's Position for the Copenhave Climate Conference.

Here are the Forests related parts.

After having read this paper, you might be interested in reading this article as well...

I. INTRODUCTION

5. WELCOMES declarations on climate change by the Major Economies Forum on Climate and Energy (MEF) and G8 in L'Aquila; WISHES especially to highlight the importance of the outcome in MEF where participating countries, including key developing countries, recognized the scientific view that global warming ought not to exceed 2°C above the pre-industrial level and that peaking of global and national emissions should take place as soon as possible, the recognition by G8 of a global goal of achieving at least a 50% reduction of global emissions by 2050 and that developed countries should reduce their emissions in aggregate by 80% or more by 2050 as part of that goal; WELCOMES ALSO the willingness of all MEF countries to promptly undertake actions whose projected effects on emissions represent a meaningful deviation from business as usual in the mid-term, to prepare low-carbon growth plans, to take steps to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and to establish a Global Partnership to drive transformational low-carbon, climate-friendly technologies.

II. MITIGATION

21. WISHES TO HIGHLIGHT the potential of mitigation actions in agriculture and the need for more emission-efficient agricultural production; UNDERLINES the significant linkages between reducing deforestation, reducing poverty and ensuring sustainable global food production; REITERATES the need to ensure food security; STRESSES therefore the need to adequately consider agriculture in a Copenhagen agreement, and in the long term; UNDERLINES in this context the need to encourage mitigation and adaptation in the agricultural sector in developing countries; COMMITS itself to further exploring the relevant options for such encouragement, taking into account measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) requirements.

III. ADAPTATION

24. NOTES WITH CONCERN that unavoidable climate change impacts will affect the delivery of ecosystem services which can be crucial for resilience against and adaptation to climate change as well as of the regulatory role of ecosystems in the climate system; UNDERLINES coherence and linkages with other international, regional and national programmes, bodies and stakeholders that are implementing adaptation, risk assessment and management and related activities; EMPHASISES in this respect the prompt implementation of the EU strategy on Disaster Risk Reduction in developing countries; RECOGNIZES the potential impacts of climate change on, inter alia, water resources and management, sustainable forest management, land management, health, soil conditions, biodiversity, agricultural production, food security and efforts on disaster risk reduction; therefore STRESSES the need to step up efforts to further exploit synergies between the UNFCCC and other UN Conventions, in particular the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, as well as between the UNFCCC and processes and programmes carried out by United Nations Agencies and other organisations; and URGES all international stakeholders, bodies and institutions involved in adaptation, risk assessment and management and related activities, to cooperate and integrate effects of climate change in their work in line with a Copenhagen agreement.

IV. REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION (REDD), PROMOTION OF CONSERVATION, SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FORESTS AND ENHANCEMENT OF FOREST CARBON STOCKS (REDD+), ACCOUNTING OF LAND USE, LAND USE CHANGE AND FORESTRY (LULUCF), ASSIGNED AMOUNT UNITSs (AAUs), AND COMMITMENT PERIODS

28. REAFFIRMS its conclusions of 8 December 2008; RECALLS the importance of action to reduce deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and also of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+), as well as the EU's objectives of reducing gross tropical deforestation by at least 50% by 2020 compared to current levels and to halt global forest cover loss by 2030 at the latest.

29. STRESSES that REDD+ activities must take into account and avoid creating conflicts with practices of indigenous peoples and local communities and must ensure preservation of biodiversity, ecosystem services and social co-benefits.

30. UNDERLINES that, in general, assistance to developing countries will be necessary in order to produce accurate data and build capacity to establish and implement an effective and reliable framework for including REDD+ in their low carbon growth plans; in this context NOTES the contribution of initiatives such as the EU Action plan on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

31. TAKES THE VIEW that a step-by-step approach, respecting the environmental integrity and the 2°C objective, is appropriate; CONSIDERS that a preparatory phase should involve, inter alia, the development of REDD+ strategies, the establishment of national forest inventories and monitoring and demonstration activities; NOTES that some countries could soon be ready for a second phase which could involve measures related to forest governance including biodiversity conservation, such as land tenure reforms and forest law enforcement accommodated through public funds; CONSIDERS that a third phase should entail a performance-based mechanism where emission reductions are assessed against an independently reviewed and verified national reference level set on the basis of historical trends and projections; CONSIDERS that verified emission reductions could in the medium term be used for compliance subject to strict quantitative limitations and could, in light of experience gained, and after thorough review, in the medium to long term be phased into the international carbon market under the condition that market integrity is preserved, and robust measurement, reporting and verification requirements are met; FURTHER CONSIDERS that the EU should be open to the use of simplified reporting requirements combined with conservative estimates of emission reductions before the third phase of such a performance-based mechanism.

32. REITERATES that the accounting rules for the treatment of land use, land-use change and forestry in developed countries in future commitments should stimulate mitigation actions in these sectors and ensure permanence and environmental integrity, while ensuring that early action is recognized and CONSIDERS that these rules should be taken into account in individual countries target setting; EMPHASIZES that the IPCC in its AR4 concludes that in the long-term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit; UNDERLINES in this context the role of sustainably produced wood products as a climate friendly material and therefore proposes to include harvested wood products in the accounting modalities of a Copenhagen agreement, while stressing the need for robust, transparent and consistent data and methodologies.

33. RECOGNIZES that future accounting rules for forest management should provide an adequate balance between further incentives for sequestration, for use of wood products and for biomass energy; STRESSES the need for future accounting rules to secure that the environmental integrity of a Copenhagen agreement is preserved; ACKNOWLEDGES that there are still difficulties associated with methodologies for measuring and predicting LULUCF GHG flows with a high degree of accuracy; WELCOMES further discussions with other Parties on accounting rules for forest management where the EU is open to discuss schemes based on the use of a reference level (bar), which includes an environmentally robust interval (band) while being CONSCIOUS that national circumstances, such as age class legacy effects, may require some flexibility for countries regarding the choice of reference level including allowing for historic data or robust and transparent projections open to independent review and verification; the use of gross-net accounting with a discount could also be considered in these discussions; CONSIDERS that accounting rules need to deal with emissions and removals associated with extreme events (force majeure) to reduce the risk that Parties cannot comply with their mitigation objectives because of such events. CONSIDERS that subject to such flexibility being provided for, accounting for forest management should become mandatory for all Parties taking on quantified commitments in a Copenhagen agreement.

34. STRESSES that any setting up of commitment periods must include a mechanism for incorporating regular reviews of commitments and actions, both with regard to the scale of reduction targets and the nature of commitments and actions including a comprehensive review by no later than 2016 with consideration of future emission reduction requirements and targets in light of the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report.

35. UNDERLINES the importance of AAUs in the common accounting framework under the current commitment period within the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012); NOTES that, during the current commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol a significant amount of unused AAUs are likely to accrue as a consequence of emissions lower than the assigned amount; NOTES that the AAU surplus could affect the environmental integrity of a Copenhagen agreement if it is not addressed appropriately; WISHES TO CLARIFY that the EU will further consider options in view of discussions with other Parties.

36. RECOGNIZES that the starting level for determining allocation of assigned amounts for future commitment periods is important for environmental integrity; CONSIDERS that ambitious emission reduction pathways are needed for all Parties and that the starting level, as well as the treatment of AAU surplus have significant implications for the comparability of efforts by developed countries and should therefore be considered alongside broader criteria for comparability.

VII. CLIMATE FINANCE, GOVERNANCE AND DELIVERY

47. RECOGNIZES that a Copenhagen agreement will require a gradual but significant scaling up of both public and private financial flows to developing countries - including through the carbon market - for adaptation, mitigation, deforestation reduction, technology and capacity-building activities and that current institutional arrangements for climate finance were not designed to handle the disbursal of finance at the pace and scale that will be necessary post 2012; ACKNOWLEDGES that one key to a successful outcome in Copenhagen is to design a more efficient institutional system that is acceptable to all; PROPOSES to draw on the experiences and principles of development cooperation and make use of institutions and channels both inside and outside the UNFCCC, reforming these where necessary; STRESSES that the overall governance structure should be decentralised, country-driven, transparent, allowing effective monitoring, and should fulfil standards for aid effectiveness; WELCOMES the Commission's communication "Stepping up international climate finance: A European blueprint for the Copenhagen deal".

50. STRESSES the need for enhancing efforts to prepare for effective action and avoiding delay of ambitious action due to capacity constraints and to facilitate the integration of climate change issues into national development planning and strategies, EMPHASIZES that capacity building should be a country-driven process and respond to national circumstances; RECOGNIZES that fast-start financing will be required pre-2013, financing to enable capacity building and early actions, including for developing LCDC/LCGPs, readiness for REDD, annual emission inventories, pilot projects, access to energy for poor countries, cooperation in technology research, development and demonstration and immediate adaptation concerns including disaster risk reduction; WELCOMES the establishment of the Climate Investment Funds administered by the World Bank that contributes to such fast start finance.

Read more:  EU Council Conclusions on EU position for the Copenhagen Climate Conference