Climate Action 2011-2012

Kyoto Protocol (CMP) as early as possible and in time to
ensure that there is no gap between the first and second
commitment periods.
Change The Bali Road Map? ouT
oF The quesTion
Durban will be crucial to the Kyoto Protocol, taking into
account that the first commitment period expires in 2012.
If Parties fail to define further commitments for Annex I
Parties under the Kyoto Protocol there will be a gap that
could undermine this rules-based instrument. In addition, the
COP and CMP in Durban will be the first major conferences
ather parties adopted the Cancun Agreements, which renewed
trust in the multilateral process. We will therefore also be
challenged to make these agreements operational.
The challenge now is to make
these agreements operational.
The success of the Durban Conference depends on the
parties’ constructive work, based on the agreement and
commitments currently in place. Unfortunately there are
some strange messages suggesting another unacceptable goal.
The Bali Road Map had been agreed in order to enhance
action, respecting common but differentiated responsibilities,
while ensuring the comparability of efforts among developed
country parties. However, contrary to what was agreed under
the Bali Road Map, some countries have expressed preference
for a new model of international regime on climate change,
based on only one new track. This is not in line with the
process agreed four years ago. Something like that could
represent a very dangerous new approach, which could
undermine the multilateral rules and institutions that have
been created over the past fourteen years. Other countries
still would like to preserve a rules-based international regime,
but not exactly the existing Kyoto Protocol. In a nutshell,
these countries are in favour of all big economies committing
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on quantified
targets, similarly to the model that today is applicable to
developed countries. Meanwhile, another group of countries
are opposing Kyoto focused on the idea that all parties,
developed or developing countries, could unilaterally define
their mitigation actions, based on an approach similar to and
originally thought out for developing countries under the Bali
Action Plan.
There are countries who have expressed the intention of
moving away from Kyoto to present mitigation pledges
under the Convention track. It is difficult to accept that a
country is abandoning Kyoto in order to do more.
poliTiCally RelevanT TeChniCal
issues
The Government of Brazil continues to work with a view
to ensure a second commitment period for Annex I Parties
under the Kyoto Protocol and to implement the Cancun
Agreements. It simply intends to implement the road map
that has been agreed four years ago. The biggest challenge is
to make this scenario politically feasible, in order to make it
operational from a technical basis. The AWG-KP has been
able to achieve a technical negotiation document which is a
Rio de Janeiro’s night skyline seen from the Sugarloaf.
181 climateactionprogramme.org
© Mark Goble