After the climate, biodiversity takes centre stage

Without a doubt, 2009 was the year of the climate with the high point being the COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The IDDRI was closely involved in this event, which you were able to follow primarily on our blog. What was learned during these two weeks of high emotion, setbacks and disappointments? The IDDRI gives you its ‘off-the-cuff’ analysis of these two weeks and the Copenhagen deal: What happened? Who won and who lost? What should we make of this declaration? And most importantly, what do we do next? [Download this publication]
This first analysis will be followed by a more in-depth review and a public conference on 27 January 2010.

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. For two years, the biodiversity programme has been expanding to improve its coverage of the global agenda while doing crucial work on several key issues: managing biodiversity globally, the biodiversity economy and ecosystemic services, managing oceans and coastal areas, forests and agriculture.
To this end, the IDDRI has formed a partnership with the Hermès Foundation to jointly organise a series of quarterly conferences designed to analyse the key issues in global biodiversity management. The series will begin on 16 February with the “Biodiversity 2010 and Beyond” conference and will be an opportunity for a panel of prominent international speakers to take a closer look at what is at stake in the 2010 Objectives and explore the prospects for the years to come.
Furthermore, in partnership with AgroParisTech and the Ecowhat research firm, the IDDRI is undertaking a research initiative on the use of economic assessments of biodiversity in the public and private decision-making process. The IDDRI is continuing its efforts in marine and coastal issues, which are now the focus of the international biodiversity agenda. So, 2009 closes with a solid start for research into the stakes of the future implementation of Mediterranean protocol for integrated management of coastal areas, one of the most groundbreaking tools developed in the last few years in biodiversity conservation and ecosystemic services. The project was conducted with the support of the MEEDM (French Ministry of Ecology’s Liteau Programme) and the Mediterranean Action Plan and is being supplemented with a study on the feasibility of applying this legal instrument to other regional oceans, starting with the Indian Ocean at the request of the Indian Ocean Commission and the UNEP.
In addition, starting in 2010 the IDDRI will be taking part in a trans-Atlantic dialogue on ocean management in partnership with the German think tank Ecologic and several North American institutes (Meridian Institute, Duke University and the University of Delaware). All of these initiatives will certainly enrich the debates at the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands being co-organised by the IDDRI in Paris in May 2010.
Lastly, the IDDRI continues to help with the IPBES Project, the international platform on biodiversity and ecosystemic services, in terms of its design and the global negotiations under the auspices of the UNEP. It is expected to be completed in 2010.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

* The Copenhagen Accord: What happened? Is it a good deal? Who wins and who loses? What is next?, by Emmanuel Guérin and Matthieu Wemaere

The two weeks of negotiations in Copenhagen (7-18 December 2009) have been full of twists and turns. The outcome of the first phase, when heads of delegations and Ministers had the leadership, is a set of draft decisions, heavily bracketed, and not recognized by all Parties – especially the US – as a basis for negotiations. It proves the difficulty – if not the impossibility – of making progress towards an agreement through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol (KP) process. The outcome of the second phase, when a small group of heads of State took the lead, is a minimalist agreement, disappointing in substance, and hectic in process. It proves that the pileup of countries redlines did not leave room for an ambitious agreement: the agreement found is somehow the lowest common denominator. This is not the deal we hoped, but given the context, and especially given the perception that States had of their own national interests, this was probably the best possible deal.
[Download Idées pour le débat 08/2009 ]

* Developed Countries 2020 Pledges Fall Short of IPCC Target. What can we do?, by Emmanuel Guérin and Michel Colombier

According to the IPCC, developed countries need to reduce their emissions by -25 to -40% in 2020 compared to 1990 levels to have approximately a 50% chance to limit the temperature increase to 2°C above preindustrial levels. While their 2020 pledges fall short of this target, this paper envisages four — and non exclusive —, including the potential contribution of methane emission reductions.
[Download Synthèse 05/2009 ]

* Equity in Adaptation to Climate Change, by François Gemenne

It took a very long time for adaptation to be acknowledged as a key aspect of the fight against global warming. Funding mechanisms were long overdue when they were finally implemented, and remain heavily discussed. A sufficient amount of funding for adaptation appears today as the sine qua non condition for the participation of developing countries to a global deal on climate. This amount has been estimated at US$ 100 billion at least on a yearly basis, including support for mitigation efforts. However, though equity concerns have been placed at the core of the negotiation on mitigation efforts, they have been little addressed in the discussions on adaptation. As a result of this, the criteria that will be used to allocate the adaptation funding remain unclear and vague, which could be detrimental for the negotiation process as a whole. This paper aims to offer a new perspective on this issue, departing from the traditional perspective inspired by retributive justice.
[Download Synthèse 06/2009]

* Water and Biofuels. Water impacts of French biofuel development at the 2030 time horizon, by Jean-François Bonnet and Daphné Lorne

In 2006, French biofuel production occupied nearly 800,000 hectares, amounting to around 2.8% of agricultural land and supplying 1.8% of the country’s total fuel supply. By 2020, each Member State of the European Union is required to source at least 10% of its national fuel consumption from renewable sources. One of the main goals of this requirement is to contribute to greenhouse gas reductions in the transport sector, all while conserving natural resources. The goal of the present study is thus to propose a prospective assessment of the potential water impacts of different biofuel production scenarios in France through the year 2030. These scenarios, with their contrasting situations regarding agriculture, technology, and environmental priority, put forth a vision of possible futures in biofuel development.
[Download CLIP n° 19]