威力彩玩法

EU emissions market reform deal important signal for UN climate conference

German state secretary for environment Jochen Flasbarth said to reform the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) was an important signal for the UN climate conference in Bonn.

EU negotiators reached an agreement aimed at pushing up the price of allowances to emit carbon dioxide, despite widely differing positions between different member states, Flasbarth told the 威力彩玩法.

Speaking in Bonn, he said the agreement represented a compromise between 鈥渧ery different energy policy interests, for example from a coal-oriented country like Poland, a renewables-oriented country like Germany and several nuclear power oriented states.鈥�

聽The deal is now subject to official approval by member states and the European Parliament.

鈥淥ur ambition and what we have achieved so far is more than in other regions with relevant emitters 鈥� China and the US,鈥� Flasbarth said. 鈥淚 believe that now we show we鈥檙e capable of making decisions and implementing them and this is good for the COP.鈥�

However, he added that the EU still lacked the kind of 鈥渇resh dynamic鈥� currently seen in Canadian climate policy, and warned that member states should not see the reformed ETS as a substitute for additional national measures to reach European emission reduction targets.

Higher EU carbon prices would support domestic climate policy, the state secretary said. But to switch from, for example, carbon-heavy coal to cleaner gas, 鈥渁 separate national policy is required.鈥�

鈥淚 foresee that some will see this reform as a solution to it all 鈥� which it is not,鈥澛燜lasbarth stressed.聽

Negotiators progress on technical details of Paris rulebook

Negotiations in Bonn saw 鈥渓ots of progress on the technical and process bits鈥� of rules to implement the Paris Agreement, Camilla Born, senior policy at Advisor E3G said at a press briefing.

鈥淲e鈥檙e getting to the point where negotiators start hitting the limit of their mandates and we start seeing some of the more political issues which the ministers will be taking up in the second week,鈥� Born said.

This involved creating a common system of rules while understanding that some countries would need support because on their own they lack necessary capacities.

German state secretary Flasbarth said there were worrying signs that some parties were trying to 鈥渞e-introduce past disputes in the current talks鈥�.

He said there were 鈥渆normous efforts to resurrect the old division of the world in Annex I countries and non-Annex I countries鈥�, that imply different transparency rules and mitigation efforts for industrialised nations and countries in transition on the one hand, and developing nations on the other.

Regarding the call from developing countries to formally put pre-2020 action back on the agenda, E3G鈥檚 Born said 鈥渨e鈥檝e been a little bit the victim of our own success, because Paris happened earlier than we previously thought.鈥�

Because the agreement had already entered into force, negotiators were now working to complete implementation rules in 2018. 鈥淭his means that we haven鈥檛 had a home, a concrete space, where we鈥檝e been able to talk as much about pre-2020 ambition as we would have liked,鈥� Born said.

She added that the Fijian presidency had begun to create this space with the introduction of informal negotiations at the beginning of the week. 鈥淲e need the Fijian presidency to really grip this, and really identify where these discussions can be had.鈥澛�

Climate Risk Index shows vulnerability of small island states

Fiji, which holds the presidency for this year鈥檚 COP, is ranked third on a list of countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2016.

This year鈥檚 reiterates that small island states and developing countries are hit far harder than industrialised nations, Fiji鈥檚 Permanent Secretary for Local Government, Housing and Environment Joshua Wycliffe said at a presentation of the index on the sidelines of the Bonn conference.

鈥淩ecent storms with intensity levels never seen before have had disastrous impacts on island states,鈥� Germanwatch鈥檚 David Eckstein, one of the index鈥檚 authors, said.

The index ranks the impact of weather events such as storms, floods and heat waves according to the number of human lives lost, and the economic cost of damage per unit GDP.

It indicates levels of exposure and vulnerability, 鈥渨hich countries should understand as warnings in order to be prepared for more frequent and/or more severe events in the future,鈥� the report says.

The three countries most affected in 2016 were Haiti, Zimbabwe and Fiji. For the period from 1997 to 2016, Honduras, Haiti and Myanmar topped the list.聽This was because of exceptionally devastating events: hurricane Sandy in Haiti, hurricane Mitch in Honduras, and cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008.

鈥榃ho鈥檚 Who鈥� of the global coal industry

German NGO Urgewald has launched a database of large coal companies聽on the sidelines of COP23.

Urgewald says its is the first database to include all large coal companies spanning all steps of the value added chain 鈥� from mines to power plants.

It is intended to be a research tool for investors, banks and insurance companies to gauge the 鈥渃oal content鈥� of their portfolios and enable effective coal divestment.

The GCEL provides information on aspects including annual coal production, the share of coal in the companies鈥� turnover or power production, and installed capacity. The website features graphs on global rankings.

Climate protection secures Germany鈥檚 role as technological pioneer 鈥� German climate researchers

A group of German scientists have issued a at COP23, calling for Germany to ensure its status a technological pioneer through climate action.

The statement is framed as a 鈥渕essage to Berlin鈥�, where political parties are currently holding talks to form a new federal government.

罢丑别听 (DKK) comprises leading climate researchers from more than 20 renowned research organisations.

The scientists say the world needs comprehensive climate research and national role models like Germany to succeed in stabilising the climate, and it is Germany鈥檚 own interests to be a pioneer in renewables, mobility and climate policy.

Only an accelerated coal exit can guarantee that both global emissions reduction targets and Germany鈥檚 own short-term targets are met, the statement says.

It also stresses that decarbonisation of both transport and the agriculture sectors are essential for Germany to become largely climate-neutral by 2050.

The DKK sees a price on CO鈧� as the 鈥渦rgently needed accelerator of the energy transition in Germany and the world.鈥�

Conserving and restoring forests for climate protection 鈥� The Bonn Challenge

Forest restoration has developed from a niche issue into a key climate policy focus thanks to the 鈥溾�� a representative of the German environment ministry said presenting the project at the German pavilion.

The international programme, launched by Germany and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Bonn in 2011, aims to restore 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded land worldwide by 2020, and at least 350 million hectares by 2030.

The challenge was 鈥渘ot just another campaign鈥�, but rather an implementation platform, Stewart Maginnis, Global Director of the Nature-based Solutions Group at IUCN said at the presentation in Bonn.

Maginnis admitted it was difficult to quantify the progress so far, as 鈥渙ne doesn鈥檛 reforest overnight鈥� but said an initial progress report in December would provide further details.

Forest restoration pledges are to become part of the UNFCCC parties鈥� determined contributions and, as such, part of the Paris Agreement.