RE: update from Bali

[David Downie]

Dear All: 

 

I am also in Bali and have been since last Monday. Rado's report was spot on. 

 

Regarding the new German pledge, the German NGO and other EU people I spoke to 
here believe Germany can achieve this target, or get close. As many of you 
know, Germany has implemented a number of innovative policies and are 
considering many more. Among the fastest growing climate initiative is the 
expansion of distributed solar in Germany - the result of a handsome reverse 
metering rate guarantees that has taken off across the country and finding 
great popular support.  There is hope, but as of yet no great expectation, that 
this could be replicated

 

That said, even with the EU forging ahead and exerting great leadership in a 
number of areas, the global numbers simply do not add up unless there are 
significant policy breakthroughs in the US, China and India. Even the policy 
that passed out of committee in the senate, and which will not become law in 
its current form, does not come close to meeting the interim 2020 reductions 
needed by Annex 1 parties although it does do a reasonable job with the 2050 
numbers.

 

Other random and complete personal observations:

 

This is the most logistically complex global environmental negotiation I have 
been to in the 17 years I have been going to these (ozone, chemicals and 
climate). The large number of interconnected agenda items and contact groups 
not only make it difficult to follow - for observers, delegates and even the 
Secretariat, but also are impacting prospects for effective deliberations and 
effective results.  This is one reason they will be many more meetings next 
year, to give all the parallel tracks their own space. Still, I would be very 
interested in speaking with someone about doing an article on this issue - how 
the logistical density/complexity has grown and arguments for and against this 
complexity/density impacting outcomes and effectiveness.

 

There is great deal of rhetoric about urgency - but very little urgent 
diplomatic action. Thus, the political talks are extremely depressing-- 
especially compared with the very important agreement in Montreal earlier this 
year on accelerating the HCFC phase-out under the ozone protocol (which to be 
fair, can be traced to a US backed proposal and diligent efforts).

 

At the same time, while the global politics are depressing, there are large and 
increasing efforts at city, state, and corporate levels around the world. Many 
innovative and successful policy experiments and technological developments are 
occurring all around the world. 

 

This is exciting but it also serves to highlight the depressing paradox - 
Nearly all countries agree on what we need to do (in a macro sense) and most 
are aware that technologies and policy options exist to make immediate strides 
to significantly lower GHG emissions (the low hanging fruit involving energy 
efficiency, deforestation, and several other actions is immense) but yet they 
cannot collectively agree to do so which limits the willingness of many to take 
large unilateral action. This is another reason the German and EU 
pronouncements are so important - someone has to go first and show it can be 
done a very reasonable costs.

 

 

My prediction for new treaty in 2009/2010: 30% reductions for Annex 1 by 2020 
and some sector specific agreements for binding policies involving developing 
countries - e.g. HFCs, cement, smelting, refining, deforestation, etc.  that 
can be linked to specific flexibility mechanisms. The agreement on management 
and funding of the adaptation fund (through a 2% tax on CDMs) will be copied in 
some form to create a dedicated resource stream for incremental cost assistance 
or introduction of new technology.

 

After Poland in 2008 and Copenhagen in 2009 the circus might head to Kingston 
in 2010 - start packing your bathers (swimsuits).

 

The 2009 deadline could become 2010, not on paper but in practice. No one wants 
to say it publicly but many delegates, including some aggressive EU folks, that 
it might be necessary to engage the new US administration for longer than 11 
months in order to get a treaty that will work.  Many admit they do not want to 
replicate the Kyoto experience of an artificial deadline contributing to the 
creation of a very suboptimal treaty.  Thus, it might take until 2010 to get an 
architecture for large A-11 reductions, some time of commitments by large 
developing countries, a real deforestation deal, and other aspects of the 
foreseen treaty.

 

As Radoslav noted, the adaptation fund deal is important. The failure to get a 
real deal on avoided deforestation, let alone technology, is a significant but 
not unexpected failure. I agree with him that some developing countries were 
rather bitter about both issues, particular technology, but it also might have 
been the result of the SBI and SBSTA discussions concluding on these issues - 
via acknowledgement of no deal - a

Part-Time Postion - Editor Newsletter on Payment for Ecosystem Services

[Elizabeth Shapiro]

Dear GEP Folks,

This position should be of interest to folks involved in global
environmental policy and politics.  Please forgive any cross-postings!

I have been working as editor of the Community Forum newsletter (see
below) for the last few years at the same time that I have been doing the
field work and writing for my dissertation. It is a great job for a
graduate student, or faculty member for that matter, who needs a bit of
extra income. It would normally take me about 20-30 hours every six weeks
and could be done from anywhere that has an internet connection. The
newsletter has a fairly wide readership and editing it is a great way to
contribute to the on-going discussions and debates concerning
community-based conservation and/or payment for ecosystem services!

Take care,

Liz Shapiro

Terms of Reference ~ Community Forum Associate

Overview

The Community Forum, a newsletter of the Ecosystem Marketplace, connects
suppliers of ecosystem services around the world and all those who work
and interact with them. The aim is to serve as a catalyst for
disseminating information regarding international payments for ecosystem
services (PES) within the community context through: highlighting new
community-based PES initiatives; summarizing current debates and trends in
PES; reviewing innovative tools and resources for practitioners to use in
the local context; and, providing links to relevant funding and
educational opportunities. Our goal is to develop a global network of
ecosystem service providers that will help make the work of communities
and their support institutions more effective. Presently, the Community
Forum is producing a newsletter once every six weeks. Past issues of the
Community Forum are available at
http://ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/static/signup.php.

Duties and Responsibilities

-Review relevant sources of PES information and cull 8-12 articles on
topics of PES and communities for each edition, including articles in
Spanish and other languages, as appropriate
-For each article, write a brief (approximately 100 word) description and
provide links to the article or news item
-Frequency: Initial request of one edition every 6 weeks.
-Contribute to Community Portal website by suggesting articles and
information to be posted on the site, and giving suggestions and feedback
as the site continues to develop
-Participate in periodic conference calls with other team members

Qualifications

- Familiarity with the basic concepts and practices of community-based
conservation and payment for ecosystem services.
- English and Spanish fluency.  Working knowledge of other languages a plus.
- Excellent writing skills.
- Must be computer literate and have experience conducting internet-based
research.

Compensation

Payment will be made per edition, inclusive of all work contributed to the
Community Portal and participation in conference calls. Compensation will
be determined based on experience and qualifications.

About the Ecosystem Marketplace

The Ecosystem Marketplace is a leading source of information on markets
and payments for ecosystem services. The Ecosystem Marketplace provides a
coordinated and informative platform for buyers and sellers of ecosystem
services to meet and communicate and seeks to improve the quality and
value of ecosystem transactions by providing up-to-date information, news,
and expertise. For more information on the Katoomba Group's Ecosystem
Marketplace, go to www.ecosystemmarketplace.com.
The Community Portal is a tab on the Ecosystem Marketplace aimed at
increasing the knowledge base and accessibility of information on
environmental markets and transactions for communities in developing
countries. The Portal highlights information to help communities in the
process of development and implementation of PES projects in a variety of
media formats. The Portal will be launched in early 2008.

Contact

To apply, please e-mail a letter of interest, CV and a short writing
sample to Beto Borges and Rachel Miller.

Beto Borges
Director, Communities and Markets Program
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(707) 400-6714

Rachel Miller
Program Associate
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(202) 298-3000



-- 
Elizabeth Shapiro
Doctoral Candidate
Environmental Science, Policy & Management
137 Mulford Hall, #3114
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114
Tel: (805) 259-9912 (USA)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Pasante de Doctorado
Ciencia, Política y Manejo Ambiental
Universidad de California, Berkeley
044 (951) 102-66-16 (celular de México)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

-- 
Elizabeth Shapiro
Doctoral Candidate
Environmental Science, Policy & Management
137 Mulford Hall, #3114
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114
Tel: (805) 259-9912 (USA)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Pasante de Doctorado
Ciencia, Política y Manejo Ambiental
Universidad de California, Berkeley
044 (951) 102-66-16 (celular de México)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Community Forum ToR 12-07.doc
Description: MS-Word document

National Case Study exercise

[Kate O'Neill]

Dear all,

Way back at the start of our Fall semester, I sent out a query about  
doing national case study exercises in GEP-type classes. So, I'm  
following up with a quick recap of what we did (with help from  
several on this list). The exercise went well, and really engaged the  
students. I'm happy to share our materials with anyone who would like  
to see them.


In the end, we (the TAs and myself) chose 8 cases (a difficult  
choice, based in part on our respective expertises) - China,  
Australia (big shout-out to John Howard for scheduling the election  
in time to make it into their final papers), India, Brazil, Nigeria,  
Japan, Small Island Developing States and War-torn Societies, divided  
among the 4 discussion sections of the class (I covered the EU  
myself). We allowed the groups to organize themselves, and didn't  
impose a tight format on them; they seemed to collaborate well,  
sharing resources and findings and were not overburdened by the  
logistics of preparing a formal group presentation. Over the course  
of the semester, they had to complete three mini-assignments on their  
cases, culminating in a final paper in which I got them to analyze  
the domestic determinants of environmental problems, politics, policy  
outcomes, and two class periods devoted to discussing their findings.  
They got to compare cases in two ways - first in section (the China- 
India section in particular found this very illuminating) - and  
second in class, where I divided them into groups consisting of  
representatives from each country group, to teach each other  about  
the different countries and compare notes. We also spent a session on  
more formal "comparative politics" analysis, and a bit more time on  
methods and sources. At the end, they were full of useful suggestions  
on what else to do next year (e.g. a role playing game simulating  
international negotiations) and wanted more class time on the  
exercise and longer papers... So, definitely an excercise I'll  
repeat. If there was any problem, it was a lack of good recent  
secondary sources that the students could trust, so I'll put more  
time into that upfront next year.


So thanks to all those who gave me input on this exercise (and to my  
TAs for doing a great job organizing the groups! at least two of them  
are on this list),


best,

Kate


***
Kate O'Neill
Associate Professor
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Division of Society and Environment
UC Berkeley
Mail: 207 Giannini Hall, MC 3114, Berkeley CA 94720
Office: 129 Giannini Hall
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Re: biodiversity conventions

[John Wiener]

Dear Tony (and hello to all the great GEP-Ed correspondents) --

For broad and very informative coverage of the biodiversity issues, 
to back up the conventions and student research needs, there is a 
very good set of volumes:


United Nations Environment Programme, 1995, Global 
Biodiversity.  Cambridge U. Press.  Chapter 13 has thorough review of 
"measures for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of its 
components".


This is very similar to an IPCC volume, with enormous depth and many 
contributors.


In response to the lack of coverage of an important set of issues, 
see,  Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity - A Complementary 
Volume to the Global Biodiversity Assessment, 1999. UNEP and 
Intermediate Technology.


Joyous holidays and solstice to all --




At 03:14 AM 12/12/2007, you wrote:

Dear GEP-Ed,

To fill in for somebody who became ill, I volunteered to teach a 
module this January on international conventions related to climate 
and biodiversity. I know painfully little about the latter. Can 
anybody suggest some basic introductory and/or interesting readings 
on the convention on biodiversity, CITES, and  any other related 
conventions? I know this is asking a lot, but if people could point 
me to their syllabi or readings dealing with the basic issues around 
MEAs in general, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!


Tony Patt

--
Anthony Patt
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Schlossplatz 1
A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: +43  2236 807 306
Fax: +43  2236 807 466
Mobile: +43 664 438 9330
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

RE: biodiversity conventions

[Wil Burns]

Two recent good books are Cambridge's Biodiversity Conservation, Law and
Livelihoods: Bridging the North-South Divide (2007) and Environmental Policy
Instruments for Conserving Global Biodiversity (Springer 2007). Louka's
Biodiversity and Human Rights (2002) is also good. wil

 

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Wallace, Richard
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 7:03 AM
To: Anthony Patt; GEP-Ed
Subject: RE: biodiversity conventions

 

Tony:

 

Simon Lyster's book _International Wildlife Law_ (Grotius Publications,
1985) is the best historical overview, though it has nothing on the CBD or
anything else more recent than its publication date.

 

Cheers,

 

Rich

 

--

 

Richard L. Wallace, Ph.D.

Chair, Environmental Studies Program
Ursinus College
P.O. Box 1000
Collegeville, PA 19426
(610) 409-3730
(610) 409-3660 fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

http://academic.ursinus.edu/env

 

It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we
busy about?

-  Henry David Thoreau

  _  

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Anthony Patt
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5:14 AM
To: GEP-Ed
Subject: biodiversity conventions

 

Dear GEP-Ed,

 

To fill in for somebody who became ill, I volunteered to teach a module this
January on international conventions related to climate and biodiversity. I
know painfully little about the latter. Can anybody suggest some basic
introductory and/or interesting readings on the convention on biodiversity,
CITES, and  any other related conventions? I know this is asking a lot, but
if people could point me to their syllabi or readings dealing with the basic
issues around MEAs in general, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

Tony Patt

 

--

Anthony Patt

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

Schlossplatz 1

A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria   

Phone: +43  2236 807 306

Fax: +43  2236 807 466

Mobile: +43 664 438 9330 

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

 

RE: biodiversity conventions

[Wil Burns]

Anthony (and anyone else that needs them)

 

I have a large number of biodiversity articles and book chapters in PDF.
Just contact me and let's figure out what you need. wil

 

Dr. Wil Burns, Editor in Chief

Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy

1702 Arlington Blvd.

El Cerrito, CA 94530 USA

Ph:   650.281.9126

Fax: 708.776.8369

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

http://www.jiwlp.com  

 

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Wallace, Richard
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 7:03 AM
To: Anthony Patt; GEP-Ed
Subject: RE: biodiversity conventions

 

Tony:

 

Simon Lyster's book _International Wildlife Law_ (Grotius Publications,
1985) is the best historical overview, though it has nothing on the CBD or
anything else more recent than its publication date.

 

Cheers,

 

Rich

 

--

 

Richard L. Wallace, Ph.D.

Chair, Environmental Studies Program
Ursinus College
P.O. Box 1000
Collegeville, PA 19426
(610) 409-3730
(610) 409-3660 fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

http://academic.ursinus.edu/env

 

It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we
busy about?

-  Henry David Thoreau

  _  

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Anthony Patt
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5:14 AM
To: GEP-Ed
Subject: biodiversity conventions

 

Dear GEP-Ed,

 

To fill in for somebody who became ill, I volunteered to teach a module this
January on international conventions related to climate and biodiversity. I
know painfully little about the latter. Can anybody suggest some basic
introductory and/or interesting readings on the convention on biodiversity,
CITES, and  any other related conventions? I know this is asking a lot, but
if people could point me to their syllabi or readings dealing with the basic
issues around MEAs in general, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

Tony Patt

 

--

Anthony Patt

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

Schlossplatz 1

A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria   

Phone: +43  2236 807 306

Fax: +43  2236 807 466

Mobile: +43 664 438 9330 

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

 

RE: update from Bali

[Wil Burns]

I concur with Neil, and even more disconcerting is the fact that the German
proposal is tepid in comparison to what is necessary to stabilize greenhouse
gas concentrations, i.e. a reduction of 4 GtCy-1 by 2050, which is about an
80% reduction from current levels. And if we don't reach reductions of
approximately 20% below current levels by 2025, we will almost invariably
pass that critical 2C threshold for temperature increases in which the IPCC
"burning embers" really start to seethe. Of course our own government
continues its execrable ways at the meeting, simultaneously inveighing
against the Chinese and Indians for not assuming commitments, while working
behind the scenes to convince them not to take on such commitments. Do these
guys have no shame? Well, why do I even ask?

 

 

Dr. Wil Burns

Senior Fellow, International Environmental Law

Santa Clara University School of Law

500 El Camino Real, Loyola 101

Santa Clara, CA 95053 USA

Phone: 408.551.3000 x6139

Mobile: 650.281.9126

Fax: 408.554.2745

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

SSRN Author Page:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=240348

International Environmental Law Blog:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/intlenvironment/

 

 

 

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Neil E Harrison
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 7:08 AM
To: Radoslav Dimitrov; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Global Environmental
Education; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: Chris WODSKOU; David Matthew Brock; Raphael Lencucha; rafael chichek
Subject: RE: update from Bali

 

Radoslav: 

 

An interesting take on the meeting that we outsiders don't get from other
sources. I don't set much store by the German commitment: it is easy talk
but means almost nothing until they translate that into real action. Given
the recent implementation cock-ups in the EU on related policies including
the distribution of carbon credits - a stupid idea in itself - I'm not going
to hold my breath that they will reach the target or even make a good start
on necessary economic and behavioral changes. 

 

Cheers, 

 

Neil 

-Original Message-
From: Radoslav Dimitrov [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5:08 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Global Environmental Education;
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: Chris WODSKOU; David Matthew Brock; Raphael Lencucha; rafael chichek
Subject: update from Bali

Dear colleagues, 

 

Cheers from Bali! 

 

A few minutes ago, Germany's Minister received a two-minute ovation after
announcing Germany's unilateral commitment to reduce emissions by 40 percent
by 2050, and said that the motto of this conference should be changed from
"You first" to "Me, too."   I am writing from Plenary. New Zealand's
Minister for Climate Change Issues just stated that New Zealand would like
to see a new annex to the Kyoto Protocol that deals with deforestation. Here
there is a strong push on reduced emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation (REDD). The meeting is unusually hectic and of stunning
complexity. There are thirty different contact groups and informal
consultations on various issues: tech transfer, adaptation, the three
different post-2012 processes, etc etc. Even large delegations complain of
overload and inability to follow all discussions.

 

Some substantive updates: One success yesterday was agreement on the long
awaited Adaptation Fund. 2) Failure of the talks on technology transfer
(under the SBI). Many are really angry about it. 3) Still complete stalemate
on key elements of the Bali Roadmap. Bitter disagreement on whether to
include text on the 25-40 percent range of emission reductions by 2020. The
Bali Roadmap is supposed to be on purely procedural issues of launching and
organizing the post-2012 negotiations. Instead, the Europeans are fighting
hard to include in the text substantive elements such as the the 25-40 %
cuts. My personal view is the EU is shooting themselves in the foot:
generating long fights over substance is putting the horse before the cart
and poses the risk of preventing the launch of the negotiations in the first
place. 

 

Canada is in a really tough spot. They cornered themselves in a very
difficult negotiating position when they demanded binding commitments from
developing countries AND at the same time requested special treatment and
"differentiation" based on national circumstances. A lot of hype about this.
People here are saying "Canada simply isn't powerful enough to be able to
maintain such strong positions." The NGOs just won't let go, making Canada
the laughing stock. 

 

These are only a few of the overwhelming number of issues here. 

 

Regards, 

 

Radoslav S. Dimitrov, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Political Science

University of Western Ontario

Social Science Centre

London, Ontario

Canada N6A 5C2

Tel. +1(519) 661-2111 ext. 85023

Fax +1(519) 661-3904

Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

 





 

RE: update from Bali

[Neil E Harrison]

Radoslav: 
 
An interesting take on the meeting that we outsiders don't get from
other sources. I don't set much store by the German commitment: it is
easy talk but means almost nothing until they translate that into real
action. Given the recent implementation cock-ups in the EU on related
policies including the distribution of carbon credits - a stupid idea in
itself - I'm not going to hold my breath that they will reach the target
or even make a good start on necessary economic and behavioral changes. 
 
Cheers, 
 
Neil 

-Original Message-
From: Radoslav Dimitrov [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5:08 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Global Environmental Education;
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: Chris WODSKOU; David Matthew Brock; Raphael Lencucha; rafael chichek
Subject: update from Bali


Dear colleagues, 

Cheers from Bali! 

A few minutes ago, Germany's Minister received a two-minute ovation
after announcing Germany's unilateral commitment to reduce emissions by
40 percent by 2050, and said that the motto of this conference should be
changed from "You first" to "Me, too."   I am writing from Plenary. New
Zealand's  Minister for Climate Change Issues just stated that New
Zealand would like to see a new annex to the Kyoto Protocol that deals
with deforestation. Here there is a strong push on reduced emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). The meeting is
unusually hectic and of stunning complexity. There are thirty different
contact groups and informal consultations on various issues: tech
transfer, adaptation, the three different post-2012 processes, etc etc.
Even large delegations complain of overload and inability to follow all
discussions.

Some substantive updates: One success yesterday was agreement on the
long awaited Adaptation Fund. 2) Failure of the talks on technology
transfer (under the SBI). Many are really angry about it. 3) Still
complete stalemate on key elements of the Bali Roadmap. Bitter
disagreement on whether to include text on the 25-40 percent range of
emission reductions by 2020. The Bali Roadmap is supposed to be on
purely procedural issues of launching and organizing the post-2012
negotiations. Instead, the Europeans are fighting hard to include in the
text substantive elements such as the the 25-40 % cuts. My personal view
is the EU is shooting themselves in the foot: generating long fights
over substance is putting the horse before the cart and poses the risk
of preventing the launch of the negotiations in the first place. 

Canada is in a really tough spot. They cornered themselves in a very
difficult negotiating position when they demanded binding commitments
from developing countries AND at the same time requested special
treatment and "differentiation" based on national circumstances. A lot
of hype about this. People here are saying "Canada simply isn't powerful
enough to be able to maintain such strong positions." The NGOs just
won't let go, making Canada the laughing stock. 

These are only a few of the overwhelming number of issues here. 

Regards, 


Radoslav S. Dimitrov, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Western Ontario
Social Science Centre
London, Ontario
Canada N6A 5C2
Tel. +1(519) 661-2111 ext. 85023
Fax +1(519) 661-3904
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

RE: biodiversity conventions

[Wallace, Richard]

Tony:

 

Simon Lyster's book _International Wildlife Law_ (Grotius Publications,
1985) is the best historical overview, though it has nothing on the CBD
or anything else more recent than its publication date.

 

Cheers,

 

Rich

 

--

 

Richard L. Wallace, Ph.D.

Chair, Environmental Studies Program
Ursinus College
P.O. Box 1000
Collegeville, PA 19426
(610) 409-3730
(610) 409-3660 fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

http://academic.ursinus.edu/env

 

It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are
we busy about?

-  Henry David Thoreau



From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Anthony Patt
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5:14 AM
To: GEP-Ed
Subject: biodiversity conventions

 

Dear GEP-Ed,

 

To fill in for somebody who became ill, I volunteered to teach a module
this January on international conventions related to climate and
biodiversity. I know painfully little about the latter. Can anybody
suggest some basic introductory and/or interesting readings on the
convention on biodiversity, CITES, and  any other related conventions? I
know this is asking a lot, but if people could point me to their syllabi
or readings dealing with the basic issues around MEAs in general, I
would really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

Tony Patt

 

--

Anthony Patt

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

Schlossplatz 1

A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria   

Phone: +43  2236 807 306

Fax: +43  2236 807 466

Mobile: +43 664 438 9330 

[EMAIL PROTECTED]

 

update from Bali

[Radoslav Dimitrov]

Dear colleagues,

Cheers from Bali!

A few minutes ago, Germany's Minister received a two-minute ovation  
after announcing Germany's unilateral commitment to reduce emissions  
by 40 percent by 2050, and said that the motto of this conference  
should be changed from "You first" to "Me, too."   I am writing from  
Plenary. New Zealand's  Minister for Climate Change Issues just stated  
that New Zealand would like to see a new annex to the Kyoto Protocol  
that deals with deforestation. Here there is a strong push on reduced  
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). The  
meeting is unusually hectic and of stunning complexity. There are  
thirty different contact groups and informal consultations on various  
issues: tech transfer, adaptation, the three different post-2012  
processes, etc etc. Even large delegations complain of overload and  
inability to follow all discussions.


Some substantive updates: One success yesterday was agreement on the  
long awaited Adaptation Fund. 2) Failure of the talks on technology  
transfer (under the SBI). Many are really angry about it. 3) Still  
complete stalemate on key elements of the Bali Roadmap. Bitter  
disagreement on whether to include text on the 25-40 percent range of  
emission reductions by 2020. The Bali Roadmap is supposed to be on  
purely procedural issues of launching and organizing the post-2012  
negotiations. Instead, the Europeans are fighting hard to include in  
the text substantive elements such as the the 25-40 % cuts. My  
personal view is the EU is shooting themselves in the foot: generating  
long fights over substance is putting the horse before the cart and  
poses the risk of preventing the launch of the negotiations in the  
first place.


Canada is in a really tough spot. They cornered themselves in a very  
difficult negotiating position when they demanded binding commitments  
from developing countries AND at the same time requested special  
treatment and "differentiation" based on national circumstances. A lot  
of hype about this. People here are saying "Canada simply isn't  
powerful enough to be able to maintain such strong positions." The  
NGOs just won't let go, making Canada the laughing stock.


These are only a few of the overwhelming number of issues here.

Regards,

Radoslav S. Dimitrov, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
University of Western Ontario
Social Science Centre
London, Ontario
Canada N6A 5C2
Tel. +1(519) 661-2111 ext. 85023
Fax +1(519) 661-3904
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biodiversity conventions

[Anthony Patt]

Dear GEP-Ed,

To fill in for somebody who became ill, I volunteered to teach a  
module this January on international conventions related to climate  
and biodiversity. I know painfully little about the latter. Can  
anybody suggest some basic introductory and/or interesting readings  
on the convention on biodiversity, CITES, and  any other related  
conventions? I know this is asking a lot, but if people could point  
me to their syllabi or readings dealing with the basic issues around  
MEAs in general, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!


Tony Patt

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Anthony Patt
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Schlossplatz 1
A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: +43  2236 807 306
Fax: +43  2236 807 466
Mobile: +43 664 438 9330
[EMAIL PROTECTED]