Climate Change

Sectoral approaches: complementary measures for reducing GHG emissions

Further to the high-level workshop on sectoral approaches on 16 April, organised in partnership with the French government before the Major Economies Meeting (MEM), IDDRI is continuing its work debating the issue and mobilising the stakeholders concerned.

After clarifying during this meeting what can be expected of the different types of sectoral agreements as regards the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, IDDRI’s work will now look at the content of the international financing “package”; measures that should support sectoral public policies in developing countries, especially in the energy sector, in order to remove barriers to investment.

In addition, IDDRI contributed to producing the annex on sectoral approaches for Tony Blair’s “Breaking the Climate Deadlock” initiative, to be published in late July. Finally, within the framework of its support to Michael Zammit Cutajar, vice-chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action under the UNFCCC, IDDRI is preparing the group’s meeting, to be held in Accra (Ghana) from 21 to 27 August, which should provide the opportunity to take stock of the political attention given to sectoral approaches.

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PUBLICATIONS

• Book

* ESCRIME White Paper: Studies of Climate Change,
The English version of Livre Blanc: Etudes des simulations climatiques, produced by IPSL and Météo France, is available on line.
It was published with the financial support of the IDDRI Foundation, as part of the ESCRIME project.
The ESCRIME project aims to draw together the analyses conducted on the many different climate simulations carried out within the framework of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, with a particular focus on those conducted using models developed by the French community.

>>> See the web page for the book

• Idées pour le débat

* L'aide publique au développement : vers une collaboration franco-sud-africaine, by Thierry Giordano.
This article presents the arguments in favour of a possible high level dialogue between France and South Africa on international cooperation issues and, more specifically, official development assistance.

>>> Download Idées pour le débat 11/2008

* A surprising world, by Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
The English version of an article ("Um mundo surpreendente") by the former Brazilian President in the book published in May 2008, Brasil globalizado: o Brasil em um mundo surpreendente, by F.H. Cardoso, O. de Barros, & F. Giambiagi, (pp. 3-62).
Article distributed by IDDRI during the conference “La démocratie en Amérique Latine à l'heure de la globalisation”.

>>> Download Idées pour le débat 10/2008

* Etats des lieux et enjeux de la révision du système EU ETS, by Matthieu Wemaëre.
This document takes stock of the negotiations underway at the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament with a view to the adoption by both institutions of the Directive to amend the EU ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme).

>>> Download Idées pour le débat 09/2008

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OBSERVATORY

A selection of sustainable development highlights by IDDRI and the Courrier de la Planète, with the support of AFD as part of their partnership for the yearly edition of Regards sur la terre.

* Europe: biofuel certification called into question
7 May / The European ministers failed to adopt common criteria on biofuel production, which is expected to cover 10% of transport consumption by 2020. Although there is general agreement on the idea of certification, the debate pits supporters of highly structured national sectors (France, Germany, new member States) against those in favour of supply based on imports (Netherlands, United Kingdom, Scandinavian countries).

* Freshwater biodiversity ecoregions mapped
8 May / The World Wildlife Fund and the Nature Conservancy, two major environmental NGOs, launched the first global mapping project for freshwater biodiversity ecoregions, the result of information gathered over 10 years by more than 200 scientists. The aim is to provide the necessary scientific knowledge to actors working in wetland conservation in the field, especially by pinpointing the regions with the richest biodiversity.

* 9th Conference of the Parties to the CBD
19 - 30 May / The 9th United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity met in Bonn, reiterating the importance of biodiversity and the real threats facing it. The 168 members committed to negotiating an international treaty by 2010 on the use of genetic resources, something eagerly awaited by the Southern countries, despite the systematic opposition to the creation of a marketing regime of this kind from Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

>>> All the highlights of the last few months

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