Touching milestones

The COP10 kicked off on December 6 along with the 21st meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies. The COP10 was attended by 167 countries, two observer states, 272 NGOs and intergovernmental organisations, and over 200 media outlets. When the agenda was being set up, the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol weighed heavily on the minds of the organisers. But as it turned out, Russia, in a move that left members surprised and relieved, ratified the Protocol, just before the COP10 began. Nigeria, a member of the OPEC and the most populous country of Africa, and Indonesia, the third most populous country in Asia, also ratified the Kyoto Protocol, bringing the number of countries who had ratified the Protocol to 132.

Discussions at the COP10

Apart from the usual issues that were discussed, namely technology transfer, land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), the financial aspects, national communications, capacity building and UNFCCC Article 6 (education, training and public awareness), there were at least five important issues that stood out:

• Various high-level panel discussions to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the UNFCCC.
• Celebration of the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by Russia in November 2004, which would enable the Protocol to come into effect from 2005 onwards.
• Adoption of the Buenos Aires Work Programme, which mainly focused on Adaptation and Response measures in developing countries and adaptation projects to deal with adverse effects of climate change in developing countries.
• Announcement of the emissions trading scheme in January 2005 by the EU.
• There was a movement forward on the Clean Development Mechanism, with the adoption of increased transparency and better financing of CDM projects.
• There was a discussion on the setting up of a National Authority for CDM in the participating countries.

The euphoria of Russia having ratified the Kyoto Protocol had barely subsided when the negotiations at COP10 started going the way of past COPs: namely, long and unwinding discussions on procedures and matters not directly related to the main task at hand. For example, there was a lot of discussion and disagreement on the EU’s proposal to hold a seminar to discuss various aspects to put Kyoto Protocol into effect, the Clean Development Mechanism and the importance of adaptation measures. The US, on the other hand, wanted only a single seminar, which could be held along with the subsidiary body meetings and should discuss only the exchange of policies and measures without feeding into the discussions of future COPs or future meetings to give effect to Kyoto Protocol. Ultimately, the US’ proposal prevailed and there was consensus for a single seminar. Interestingly, the developing country grouping, G77 plus China, was also skeptical of the seminars proposed by the EU and feared that developing countries could be asked to make commitments, even before the developed countries had started implementing theirs.

There was a great deal of discussion on the future of the Kyoto Protocol and what should be the way forward after the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol of 2008-2012 expired. Should the discussions be held in the Meeting of Parties (MOP1) or should the COP process continue? In the case of the first, the US would not be able to participate because of non-ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, but in the COP format, the US could participate.

The Clean Development Mechanism was also discussed in detail. The issue that came in for a lot of discussion was one of ‘additionality’, which meant that any project under CDM would have to reduce emissions below those that would have occurred in the absence of the project. India criticised this approach because of its complexity and ultimately, this aspect of additionality was left for the COP/MOP1 to be decided in the future. The Asian and African countries also requested that CDM projects should be spread out in all geographies including in their areas.

The adaptation issues to assist developing countries were further highlighted in COP10. Furthermore, adaptation measures were discussed distinctly from response measures that the OPEC countries were interested in. In fact, there was a renewed understanding that adaptation to climate change was critical in developing countries from the point of agricultural productivity, human health, patterns of rainfall, transportation and even economic policy. Such effects were distinct from the response measures that OPEC countries wanted to be discussed, which involved the response of these countries as a result of the world moving away from fossil fuels. Ultimately, the Buenos Aires Work Programme on Adaptation recognised this distinction and included adaptation measures after a push from small island states and other developing countries.

COP10 showed a lot of positives apart from the renewed commitment to give effect to the Kyoto Protocol. The importance accorded to adaptation measures and distinguishing them from response measures of OPEC countries was one of them. The other positives were the announcement of the emissions trading scheme by the EU. Even within the US, there were a number of states like California, which were charting an independent course and framing pro-active climate policies. The courts in the US were also entertaining petitions from local communities, such as the Inuits, who were affected by climate change. Developing countries such as Brazil, China and India had begun submitting their national communications, which gave an idea of the nature of their emissions.

After the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the required number of members, much planning was required. Interestingly, the next steps to implement the Kyoto Protocol would be discussed in the first meeting of Parties or COP/MOP1, which was scheduled in November 2005 and COP10 did not have much role here. However, COP10 did have an important role to discuss and decide the next steps after commitments under Kyoto Protocol were made and effected in the first commitment period of 2008-2012.

Conclusion

COP10 was another milestone in the climate negotiations with the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. This brought to an end the process, which had begun in Kyoto in COP3. COP10 also managed to get many decisions going such as the CDM and the climate funds such as LDC Climate Fund and Special Climate Change Fund. The action plan on Adaptation efforts to help developing countries and small island states also got a leg-up during COP10. COP10 also began a conversation on the post Kyoto world and the structure of institutions under which negotiations would proceed after 2012. Finally, there was more active participation from large developing countries such as Brazil, China and India.

The writer is Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Mass Education Extension and Library Services and Department of Cooperation, Government of West Bengal.