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Twenty-Eighth Session of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The Twenty-Eighth Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was held April 9-10, 2008 in Budapest, Hungary. The meetings focused on the future of the IPCC, including structure of the IPCC Bureau and the bureau of the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFB), as well as key aspects of its work programme for the next several years.View a Brief History of the IPCC The meeting was the first since release of the Fourth Assessment Report November 2007 and brought together governments, lead authors, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, industry and academia. The IPCC decided to prepare a Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), continue Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI) and Task Group on Data and Scenario Support for Impact and Climate Assessment (TGICA). The IPPC will also retain the current Working Groups structure. View IISD webpage for 28th Session of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change View IISD's Earth Negotiations summary, 28th Session of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change View IPCC webpage for 28th Session of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change In order to enable significant use of new scenarios in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), the Panel requested delivery of the Working Group I report by early 2013 and completion of the other Working Group reports and the Synthesis Report at the earliest feasible date in 2014. Other Reports
The Panel adopted the Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water. Download IPCC Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water (PDF)The IPPC also agreed to the preparation of a Special Report on Renewable Energy, to be completed by 2010. A scoping meeting for the possible special report on renewable energy took place January 21-25, 2008 in Lübeck, Germany. The suggested structure of the special report includes five sections: 
Download IPCC Scoping Paper for the Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (PDF)The Panel also considered a proposal for the use of the funds from the Nobel Peace Prize, which was jointly awarded to the IPCC and Al Gore in 2007. Three activities have been proposed for use of Nobel Prize funds:
Download Proposal for Use of Funds from the Nobel Peace Prize (PDF)The next session of the IPCC is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1-4 September 2008. Visit the IPCC website Source: IISD
Bangkok Climate Change Talks
The Bangkok Climate Change Talks (March 31st to April 4th, 2008) followed the December 2007 meeting of the world's Environment Ministers in Bali, Indonesia.The Bangkok talks were the first formal negotiations for a United Nations climate treaty since the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated 1995-97. Countries have until the end of 2009 to reach a new climate treaty. The aim is for there to be no gap between the end of the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 and beginning new global pact. Visit UNFCCC pages for the Bangkok Climate Change Talks The main objective in Bangkok was to arrive at a work programme for the next two years. Plans are now in place for another seven rounds of negotiations in the next 18 months to tackle global warming. One of the most contentious issues at the Bangkok meetings was a proposal put forward by Japan to set industry-specific emissions reduction targets. China, India and other developing countries objected, saying it was an attempt to shift the burden of responsibility for climate change from rich to poor nations. Developing countries also want rich countries to agree to set national targets first. |
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| Negotiators agreed to postpone in-depth discussion of the Japanese proposal until the August 2008 meeting in Ghana. Negotiators will meet in Bonn June 2008, in Ghana August 2008 and environment ministers meet in Poznan, Poland, December 2008. The Bonn meeting in June, Germany will focus on rich countries transferring clean technologies to developing states. |
 By Fred Curatolo larger version |
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View Reuters Fact box on 2008 Bangkok Climate Talks View April 5, 2008 Associated Press article on Google.com View April 4, 2008 Canadian Press article on Google.com Representatives from Climate Action Network (CAN) International and CAN-RAC Canada also attended the Bangkok Climate Change Talks as observers. Visit Climate Action Network International webpage for the Bangkok Climate Change Talks View Climate Action Network International daily bulletin from Bankok talks CAN made an intervention at the opening plenary of the new Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Climate Convention. It emphasized -
Download CAN International Intervention at Bangkok Climate Change Talks to Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (DOC) Sources: UNFCCC, Reuters, Canadian Press, Associated Press, Climate Action Network International
COP 13 & Kyoto Protocol MOP 3 - Bali, December 2007
The international meetings December 3-14, 2007 in Bali, Indonesia aimed to develop the road map to guide negotiations to create a legally binding framework for the post 2012 Kyoto period. In Bali, the parties aimed for a 'mandate' that describes what the next phase of Kyoto will look like and what the deadline will be for completing negotiations. It is critical that there be no gap between the end of the first Kyoto commitment period and the beginning of a post-2012 agreement. Sources: UNFCCC, David Suzuki Foundation,
Climate Action Network The next two years [2008 & 2009] will be crucial in determining whether the international community is able to stop climate change. The Climate Change Conference in Bali, December 2007 should set the wheels in motion for a negotiation over the next two years. The greatest issue at stake in Bali is whether countries will take on deeper commitments under the Kyoto Protocol's architecture, and continue to expand the carbon market it has created, in the second commitment period. To avoid a gap between Kyoto's first and second phases (the first one ends 2012), we need a new binding treaty by 2009 at the latest. This would allow three years for countries to ratify the agreement. Success at Bali would mean creation of a negotiating mandate similar to the Berlin Mandate which led to Kyoto. This negotiating mandate should lead to a new agreement that builds and expands on the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. The new agreement, which could take the form of a treaty or an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, must set the world on track to limiting global warming to as far below 2°C as possible. To do this, the agreement must include: Deeper absolute targets for Annex I countries: 30% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80-90% below 1990 levels by 2050. The United States, Australia and Canada must do their fair share, and that includes making up for lost time.
2007 Bali Climate Conference Resources
Stay informed about Bali: Links The UNFCCC's Bali Climate Conference website IISD's Earth Negotiations Bulletin for the Bali Climate Conference Climate Action Network Canada - Bali Climate Conference pages ECO - Climate Action Network's daily newsletter for the UN Climate Negotiations The Fossil of the Day Awards Blogs
David Suzuki Foundation's Bali BlogGreenpeace Canada's Bali Blog Sierra Club of Canada's Bali Blog ForestEthics' Bali Blog 
The Bali climate negotiations were supposed to end Friday, December 14th, but spilled into the evening of Saturday the 15th, finally concluding amidst high drama. The 190 countries worked overtime to agree to a 'Bali roadmap' to guide activities over the next two years. The main document is the Bali Action Plan, which applies to all countries and launches negotiations for a post-2012 global climate agreement or amendment to the Kyoto Protoccol to be guided by scientific analysis of emission cuts needed to avoid dangerous climate change. Visit United Nations Climate Change Conference website for December 3-14, 2007 Bali, Indonesia (all documents available for download) The Bali outcomes include an agreement that sets a range of further emission reduction targets for the 38 industrialized countries that agreed to targets under the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol (The conclusions adopted by The Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG)). There were also a number of other significant achievements from the negotiations including:
The Bali Action Plan proclaims that "deep cuts" will be required in global emissions of greenhouse gases to respond to the "urgency" of the global warming crisis. However, to the disappointment of the European Union and others, including the NGO community, the text does not specify targets, leaving that issue for negotiations over the next two years. The agreement was softened to satisfy the United States.The Bali Action Plan talks nearly collapsed at the last minute when India and China insisted on stronger promises by wealthy countries to help provide "green" technology to developing nations. When tougher language was added to the agreement, the United States refused to accept the deal - sparking a wave of criticism from almost every other nation at the conference. Speaker after speaker demanded the U.S. not be allowed to kill the deal single-handedly. Under immense pressure, the US capitulated and accepted the language, allowing the deal to go ahead. Download Decision -/CP.13 Bali Action Plan (PDF)The agreement reached by the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG) set targets for deep cuts in emissions by the 38 wealthy countries that have ratified the Kyoto Accord, including Canada. The United States has not ratified Kyoto, so was not represented in negotiations on this agreement. There were, however, suggestions that Canada was acting for the US in opposing binding targets. In the final negotiating session, Canada's Environment Minister John Baird spoke against the ambitious target for wealthy countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020. But with support only from Russia, he found himself virtually isolated, withdrew his objection, and agreed not to block the consensus position. This sparked a lengthy burst of applause from other countries. This significant step means that the richest countries - all except the US - have now set ambitious new targets for emissions reductions. Download Conclusions adopted by the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex 1 Parties under the Kyoto ProtocolMinister Baird's withdrawal of Canada's objection to more stringent targets for wealthy countries may have been influenced by the almost 100,000 Canadians that signed an online petition during the last few days of the Bali negotiations, calling on Prime Minister Harper to stop obstructing UN climate change talks in Bali. View December 14, 2007 Avaaz.org press release 
Overall, the Bali negotiations resulted in an agenda for the key issues to be negotiated for the post 2012 Kyoto period. These are: action for adapting to the negative consequences of climate change, such as droughts and floods; ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; ways to widely deploy climate-friendly technologies and; financing both adaptation and mitigation measures.The December 2007 UNFCCC conference in Bali was attended by approximately eleven thousand participants, among them the Secretary-General of the United Nations and six heads of state. Hundreds of civil society participants attended, including over 50 Canadians. Youth delegates from around the world provided commentary in awarding the Fossil of the Day award, and monitoring the words and actions of their countries' negotiators. Download December 15, 2007 UNFCCC Secretariat press release (PDF)View December 15, 2007 Climate Action Network Canada press release View December 14, 2007 Avaaz.org press release View December 15, 2007 Environment Canada press release Other news coverage of outcomes from the Bali Climate Negotiations: Globe and Mail December 15, 2007 NPR December 15, 2007 Canada.com December 15, 2007 New York Times December 16, 2007 Toronto Star Editorial December 16, 2007
Climate Change at Recent G8 Summits & MeetingsThe G8 Group is an unofficial forum of the heads of the leading industrialized democracies (Russia, the U.S., Britain, France, Japan, Germany, Canada and Italy), where the European Commission is also represented and fully participates. The history of the Group, which initially had consisted of seven members, began in November 1975 & Canada joined the Group a year later.G8 is not an international organization. It does not rest on an international agreement and does not have formal admission criteria, a charter or a permanent secretariat. Its decisions are formulated as the political commitments of the member states. Source: G8 Presidency 2006
G8 Environment Ministers March 2007 Meeting
Environment ministers of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized nations, and officials from leading developing countries met in Potsdam, Germany March 15-17, 2007 to prepare for a June G8 summit at which climate change will be a major topic.Besides environment ministers from the G8, the meeting also included representatives from China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Yvo de Boer, indicated progress had been achieved and noted a broad consensus on the causes of global warming. German Environment Minister Sigmar noted that consensus was reached on many issues, including a general acceptance of the scientific explanation for the causes of global warming. The ministers agreed that industrialized countries are responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions; on the need to help developing countries control their emissions; and that industrialized countries need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions more than mandated by current agreements. The fact that the delegates were able to find common ground reflects a significant shift in the position of the US, which for years has questioned the reliability of scientific findings showing man-made pollution is responsible for the planet's warming. The US now supports the conclusions of a February 2007 UN report stating that humankind is to blame for global warming. The US also, however, was a source of dissent at the meeting, refusing to support carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction targets and remaining opposed to a global carbon emissions trading scheme similar to that of the European Union, which allows companies in energy-intensive industries to trade carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. A group of 40 German and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) presented a joint G8 policy paper at the summit that focused on climate change policy, but also includes demands related to biodiversity, investment policy, intellectual property rights, development in Africa and debt cancellation. No formal negotiations were conducted in Potsdam; delegates were laying the groundwork for the G8 summit in June in the northern German town of Heiligendamm and for the UN's climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2007. View the March 17, 2006 Deutsche Presse-Agentur article on Monsters and Critics View the March 18, 2007 Canadian Press article on Canada.com View the March 17, 2007 article on Bloomberg.com Download the G8 NGO policy paper, Testing the Credibility of the Powerful: Concrete Action for Environment and Development! (PDF)Sources: Reuters, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Canadian Press, Bloomberg.com
2006 G8 Summit
Russia took over the G8 Presidency from Britain on January 1, 2006. At the 2005 G8 summit, political leaders vowed to "act with resolve and urgency" on climate change. Climate change was, however, sidelined by the issue of energy security in the 2006 summit, held in St. Petersburg, July 15 - 17, 2006. The shift in emphasis raised concerns and alarm bells in global civil society and in academic circles. The G8 Presidency sets the priorities for G8 summits.Visit the official 2006 G8 website The 2006 G8 Statement on Global Energy security does encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, but favors continued reliance on oil and other fossil fuels. Also of concern is the identification of nuclear energy as one way to address global climate change. View the G8 statement on Global Energy Security Visit the Civil G8 website View the Civil G8's statement on Global Energy Security View a statement by the national science academies of the G8 nations and Brazil, China, India and South Africa on Energy Sustainability & Security Visit the University of Toronto Munk Centre for International Studies' G8 Information Centre
For his year-long presidency of the Group of Eight industrial nations (G8), British Prime Minister Tony Blair has put climate change at the heart of the agenda.Following the G8 Summit held July 6-8, 2005, in Gleneagles, Scotland, leaders of the G8 countries issued a joint communiqué and a "plan of action" on Climate Change, Clean Energy, and Sustainable Development (see G8 Outcomes link below for a summary).
Download the G8 Leaders joint communiqué (PDF)Download the UN Framework on Climate Change July 8, 2005 press release (PDF)View the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change Summary of the G8 Summit View Manitoba Wildlands' news items on the July 2005 G8 Summit: G8 Summit and Climate Change - July 4, 2005 Leaked Climate Change Document 'Watered Down' - July 7, 2005 G8 Summit Outcomes - Climate Change - July 26, 2005 |
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2002-2008