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482. Defining Loss and Damage: Key challenges and considerations for developing an operational definition
- Author:
- Alexis Durand and Saleemul Huq
- Publication Date:
- 08-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
- Abstract:
- The idea of support for vulnerable countries that experience loss and damage (L&D) from climate change is nothing new, and countries have been proposing such an arrangement from the beginning of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations. Pressure to institutionalize a UNFCCC mechanism on L&D has increased in response to the shortcomings of mitigation policy and the inadequacy of adaptation support for nations and communities already experiencing the worst effects of climate change. At the 18th Conference of Parties (COP) in Doha, the UNFCCC officially invited “all parties… to enhance action on addressing loss and damage” associated with the impacts of climate change and agreed to establish institutional arrangements to address L&D at COP 19. At COP 19 in 2013, the UNFCCC was charged with creating the “institutional arrangements… to address L&D” it had promised a year earlier. This mechanism created, dubbed the “Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage” (WIM), was given the role of addressing L&D from extreme and slow onset events in developing countries “particularly vulnerable” to effects of climate change.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, United Nations, and Loss and Damage (L&D)
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
483. Loss and Damage in INDCs: An investigation of Parties’ statements on L&D and prospects for its inclusion in a Paris Agreement
- Author:
- Victoria Hoffmeister and Saleemul Huq
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD)
- Abstract:
- This paper discusses individual nations’ experiences with Loss and Damage (L&D), their plans to respond, and their calls for international support, as expressed in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). It also considers the developed-developing nation divide that persists in support for addressing loss and damage within the COP and the importance of including L&D in a Paris agreement.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Paris Agreement, Foreign Assistance, and Loss and Damage (L&D)
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
484. Enhancing Climate Change Resilience in Fragile States
- Author:
- Katharina Nett
- Publication Date:
- 09-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and Peace
- Abstract:
- Climate change is increasingly perceived as a threat to human security and a challenge to the problem-solving capacity of states and societies, particularly in fragile states. While there is substantial literature on climate change adaptation in conflict-affected contexts, much less attention has been paid to how to enhance resilience in contexts of fragility and low state capacity. This paper argues that in order to effectively address the complex, in- tertwined risks resulting from the interplay of state fragility and climate change, a compre- hensive approach to resilience is needed that encompasses both climate change adapta- tion and state-building. An analysis of the climate change adaptation strategies and instru- ments of the UNFCCC and the EU shows that while there are some promising first ap- proaches, donors and international organisations working in the field of climate change adaptation need to build their adaptation strategies on a thorough understanding of the fragile context and take more action to adjust their policy instruments to the special needs of fragile states.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Environment, Governance, Fragile States, and Resilience
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
485. Emissions Trading in the Presence of Price-Regulated Polluting Firms: How Costly Are Free Allowances?
- Author:
- Bruno Lanz and Sebastian Rausch
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
- Abstract:
- We study whether to auction or to freely distribute emissions allowances when some firms participating in emissions trading are subject to price regulation. We show that free allowances allocated to price-regulated firms effectively act as a subsidy to output, distort consumer choices, and generally induce higher output and emissions by price-regulated firms. This provides a cost-effectiveness argument for an auction-based allocation of allowances (or equivalently an emissions tax). For real-world economies such as the Unites States, in which about 20 percent of total carbon dioxide emissions are generated by price-regulated electricity producers, our quantitative analysis suggests that free allowances increase economy-wide welfare costs of the policy by 40-80 percent relative to an auction. Given large disparities in regional welfare impacts, we show that the inefficiencies are mainly driven by the emissions intensity of electricity producers in regions with a high degree of price regulation.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Regulation, Electricity, Pollution, and Price
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
486. Women and Climate Change: Impact and Agency in Human Rights, Security, and Economic Development
- Author:
- Mayesha Alam, Rukmani Bhatia, and Briana Mawby
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
- Abstract:
- Climate change is a global challenge that burdens all of humanity, but not equally. The world’s poor, the majority of whom are women, are encumbered disproportionately. The distinct impacts of climate change on men and women are exacerbated in settings that are also affected by violent conflict, political instability, and economic strife. As the world struggles to grapple with rapid onset disasters as well as respond to slower degradation caused by climate change, it is critical to ensure that the plight of women is firmly on the agenda of concerns, and that women – from different backgrounds – are able to lead in negotiations and participate in the design and implementation of programs. This report comes at an important time of international observance when new commitments to action will be made, coinciding not only with the fifteenth anniversaries of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) and the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, but also in anticipation of the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 conference in Paris in late 2015. In an effort to remedy the dearth of existing literature on women and climate change, this report makes an important contribution by covering a wide variety of issues; highlighting both impact and agency; mapping examples of solutions that have proven to be successful; and holding relevance to policy- makers, practitioners, scholars, and students. The findings of the report are based on and buttressed by a thorough examination of international conventions and protocols; national action plans; journal articles and other scholarly publications; reports by government and multilateral agencies; policy briefs and guidance notes, as well as civil society reports. The analysis is also informed by and draws upon a series of consultations with experts from around the world in research, advocacy, program design and implementation, and global leadership positions. As a result, the study represents an interdisciplinary endeavor with far-reaching practical applicability.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Human Rights, Women, and Economic Development
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
487. Pathways to 'The future we want': financing mitigation and adaptation
- Author:
- Haroldo Machado Filho and Thiago de Araújo Mendes
- Publication Date:
- 02-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
- Abstract:
- Haroldo Machado Filho and Thiago Mendes introduce the reader to the complex architecture of international funding available for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. In a very consistent manner, the authors propose an analysis on the institutional and political context in which the creation and maintenance of these financial mechanisms occur. Emphasizing the truly global spatial scale of climate change, Machado Filho and Mendes highlight the importance of international cooperation to promote the transformation to a low-carbon world and with more resilient societies to climate change. However, the authors show that the negotiations in multilateral forums aimed at the question of financing have been marked by slow decision-making and the absence of clear rules that guide the implementation of the agreements.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, International Trade and Finance, and Climate Finance
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
488. Anticipating Climate Mitigation: The Role of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs)
- Author:
- John Steinbruner
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
- Abstract:
- Global warming is likely to force assertive redirection of global energy markets in order to achieve a prudent standard of mitigation; the resulting process of energy transformation will fundamentally alter prevailing policies and institutional relationships. Efficiency gains and renewable technologies—wind, solar, and biomass—will presumably make substantial contributions, as will carbon sequestration to some extent. But at the moment it seems quite apparent that global mitigation cannot be achieved without a very substantial expansion of nuclear power generation. While current light water reactor technology will likely play a role, this paper argues that smaller modular reactors (SMRs) of innovative design, with innovative institutional arrangements, could contribute to meeting energy demands in a more safe and secure manner. Though many SMR designs are currently being developed, it is doubtful that any of them will be brought to the point of serial production by their current developers under currently projected market conditions. Completed prototype development would almost certainly have to be a public sector initiative undertaken in support of eventual mitigation. This paper explores the potential of developing international structures whereby multiple states and entities could develop several SMR prototypes and serial manufacturing hubs. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor development process could prove to be a useful analogue to the arrangements necessary to support such large-scale SMR development and deployment.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Nuclear Power, Energy, Nuclear Security, and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
489. Challenges to Developing a Global Satellite Climate Monitoring System
- Author:
- Mariel Borowitz
- Publication Date:
- 07-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
- Abstract:
- Satellites are critical to the ability to understand and address climate change, due to their unique ability to provide comprehensive global monitoring of the environment. More than 30 nations have been involved in satellite Earth observations, with more than 200 satellite instruments operating in 2014 alone. However, gaps remain in the ability to adequately monitor global climate change, due in part to a lack of international consensus on the definition of an adequate monitoring system. This paper examines ongoing international efforts to identify the requirements of a global satellite climate monitoring system, including high-level efforts by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS), as well as efforts to define more detailed technical requirements being undertaken by GCOS, WMO, and the European Space Agency (ESA). Comparing the distinct processes and interim results of these groups highlights the lack of international consensus on the definition of an adequate global climate monitoring system. Developing such a system is a complex, multifaceted challenge, which requires expert technical knowledge of climate science and satellite capabilities as well as attention to political concerns for sovereignty and long-term international cooperation. The paper examines the adequacy of the current satellite monitoring capabilities by developing a comprehensive dataset including all unclassified Earth observation satellites operating or planned between 1990 and 2020. This analysis shows that within each international effort, gaps in the type of data collected are present. Even when some data is collected on a particular variable, it is not necessarily done in a way that meets technical requirements for climate assessment and forecasting. A lack of free and open data sharing compounds this challenge, further decreasing the amount of data contributing to international climate monitoring efforts. The lack of consensus on the requirements of a global climate monitoring system makes it difficult for nations to use international coordination mechanisms to plan and prioritize future satellite systems. The paper concludes by providing a series of recommended steps to improve harmonization among international efforts. This includes coordinating the bottom-up method used within GCOS with the top-down method used at WMO to identify concrete recommendations that will allow nations to prioritize investments that improve climate monitoring and/or improve the efficiency of the existing system. It recommends consolidating international efforts to define technical requirements to avoid duplication and facilitate prioritization among user groups with regard to which variables should be collected and what technical requirements must be met. A more systematic and integrated approach to system definition will make it possible for nations to shift and/or increase investments in satellite technology to better address agreed-upon needs and priorities.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Science and Technology, Governance, Satellite, and Monitoring
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
490. Green Transformation towards Sustainable Development?
- Author:
- Lisa-Marie Althaus
- Publication Date:
- 05-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Development and Peace
- Abstract:
- Both the concept of sustainable development (SD) and the new green transformation concepts (GTC) aim for the integration of environmental protection and development. Previous comparative research on these GTC is not based on theoretically founded crite- ria that are related to the established development paradigm of SD. The study closes this research gap by providing a conceptual comparison of different GTC versions as pub- lished by UNEP, the OECD, and the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). The analysis reveals that GTC concepts are indeed based on central goals and principles of SD. Unlike the concept of SD, the GTC acknowledges planetary boundaries as limits to growth. However, the more economy-focused concepts of UNEP and the OECD do not only disregard important social goals but also concerns of intergenerational equity and the globality principle of SD. In contrast, the WBGU focuses on civil society participation and both intra- and intergenerational equity by aiming for decisive institu- tional changes. It is shown that this GTC partly extends beyond the scope of SD and thus could mark an important step with regard to the further development of the concept.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Climate Change, Development, Economics, Green Technology, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus