"Buildind capacities within countries - Building trust between countries" (LP)

IDDRI and its Learning Platform initiative (independent forum for the exchange of policy expertise and experiences between developed and developing countries) organise a side event during COP17 (17^th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC]).

Presentation:

Almost all key countries are now committed to serious climate actions. However, we are facing twin challenges: individually, each country must implement policies to reach existing targets; collectively, we have to raise the ambition levels of climate actions. The Learning Platform is an initiative launched by IDDRI, in partnership with many stakeholders, in Europe and developing countries. It aims to address these challenges. By exchanging experiences and expertise on policy implementation. And by facilitating mutual understanding. This side event will present the main achievements of the initiative so far, in Europe, China and India. It will also discuss more generally how to build capacities within countries, and trust between countries, to meet the climate challenge.

This side event is the opportunity to promote the Learning Platform toward the policy makers’ community, with the following objectives:
- Present the first results of the platform obtained in China and India;
- Invite new countries to join the initiative in the future, as from 2012;
- Advertise the platform towards new funders to allow its further deployment.

It will gather high level officials (ministerial rank) from China, India, Brazil, South Africa and European Member States. Each associated country will provide an overview of its domestic climate policy and underscore the political utility of this Learning Platform, in relation with the national process of climate policy design, implementation and monitoring.

The prospective agenda of the event is:
1- Welcome and short presentation of the Learning Platform and its international and national context
2- Country presentations, by top-level officials in charge of national climate policy
3- Presentation of the main outcomes obtained in China (support to Emissions Trading Schemes design)
4- Call for new countries to join the Learning Platform, and conclusion

Participants:

- Laurence Tubiana (Director, IDDRI)
- Connie Hedegaard (European Commissioner for Climate Action, EU)
- Xie Zhenhua, China (Climate Minister, Head of China’s COP17 delegation, Vice Chair, National Development and Reform Commission of China)
- Rajendra K. Pachauri, India (Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute)
- Lord Nicholas Stern, UK (Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics)
- He Jiankun, China (Vice Chairman, China Expert Committee on Climate Change, Vice President, China Energy Research Society, Former Executive Vice President, Tsinghua University, Director of Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, Tsinghua University)
- Emilio La Rovere, Brazil (Executive Coordinator of the Center for Integrated Studies on Climate Change and the Environment)
- Jabu Moleketi, South Africa (Chair, Development Bank of South Africa, former Deputy Minister of Finance, to be confirmed)
- Serge Lepeltier, France (Ambassador for Climate Change, former Minister of the Environment)

>> Download the presentation

>> Find out more on the Learning Platform initiative