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| De Duurzaamsite / Nieuws 2005 |
United Nations Climate Change Conference agrees on future critical
steps to tackle climate change
From UNFCCC medialist
Montreal, 10 December 2005 - The United Nations Climate Change
Conference closed with the adoption of more than forty decisions that
will strengthen global efforts to fight climate change.
Reflecting on the success of Montreal 2005, the Conference President,
Canadian Environment Minister Stéphane Dion said: “Key decisions
have been made in several areas. The Kyoto Protocol has been switched
on, a dialogue about the future action has begun, parties have moved
forward work on adaptation and advanced the implementation of the
regular work programme of the Convention and of the Protocol.”
Richard Kinley, acting head of the United Nations Climate Change
Secretariat said: “This has been one of the most productive UN
Climate Change Conferences ever. Our success in implementing the
Kyoto Protocol, improving the Convention and Kyoto, and innovating
for tomorrow led to an agreement on a variety of issues. This plan
sets the course for future action on climate change.”
Key decisions were made that outline the path to future international
action on climate change. Under the Kyoto Protocol, the process for
future commitments beyond 2012 got underway. A new working group was
established to discuss future commitments for developed countries for
the period after 2012. It will start work in May next year.
Under the Convention, a dialogue on strategic approaches for long-
term global cooperative action to address climate change was also
launched. A series of workshops is planned to develop the broad range
of actions needed to respond to the climate change challenge.
During the first week of the conference, the rulebook of the 1997
Kyoto Protocol was adopted, the so-called ‘Marrakesh accords’.
Richard Kinley called this “an historic step”, which had set the
framework for implementation of the Protocol. “There is now
certainty for a sustained and effective global carbon market. One of
the main successes was the strengthening of the clean development
mechanism. Under this unique mechanism, developed countries can
invest in sustainable development projects in developing countries,
helping the developing nations to improve the quality of life for
their citizens while also allowing developed nations to earn emission
allowances”, UN Climate Secretariat’s acting head said.
In Montreal, developed countries committed themselves to fund the
operation of the clean development mechanism with over USD 13 million
in 2006-2007. The process for methodologies under the clean
development mechanism (CDM) was simplified and its governing body
strengthened.
In addition to this, the second Kyoto mechanism - Joint
Implementation - was launched. Its governing body was set up. Joint
Implementation allows developed countries to invest in other
developed countries, in particular central and eastern European
transition economies, and thereby earn carbon allowances which they
can use to meet their emission reduction commitments.
A major break-through was the agreement on the compliance regime for
the Kyoto Protocol. The compliance committee with its enforcement
and facilitative branches was elected. This decision is key to ensure
that the Parties to the Protocol have a clear accountability regime
in meeting their emission reductions targets.
Adaptation to the impacts of climate change was also an important
focus of the conference. It adopted a five-year work programme on
adaptation to climate change impacts. This programme paves the way
for concrete steps to identify impacts and measures to adapt to
climate change. To this end, the conference also agreed on a one-
year process to define how the Adaptation Fund will be managed and
operated. This unique fund will draw on proceeds generated by the CDM
and will support concrete adaptation activities in developing
countries.
Technology was at the centre of discussion on efforts to reduce
emissions and adapt to climate impacts. Countries agreed on further
steps on promoting the development and transfer of technologies. One
technology that raised particular interest was carbon capture and
storage - a technology that involves storing carbon underground. It
is estimated to have the potential of reducing the costs of
mitigation by up to 30% . The discussion was based on a special
report recently published by the IPCC. Parties agreed to move forward
with deeper analysis of this technology.
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