COP 17 in Durban was dominated by the following crucial issues: whether to extend or replace the Kyoto Protocol (which contained no commitments from developing countries); the management of the Green Climate Fund (to identify how developed countries will meet their long-term finance commitment of $100 billion per year by 2020); rules on REDD+ (UN policy aimed at reducing deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries); and gathering funds for adaptation programmes, including the Fast Start Finance package.
While some countries agreed to a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, the negotiations focussed on a coalition of over 120 countries—including the US, India and China— behind the EU’s climate roadmap, which proposed that a framework with “legal force” should be completed by 2015 at the latest, entering into force no later than 2020. While there was agreement on how the Green Climate Fund should be managed, there was no agreement at Durban on how the money should be raised. A framework for REDD was agreed to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, but there were no explicit guidelines. The UK announced that it had gathered over two-thirds of its $1.5 billion Fast Start Finance committed to at Copenhagen, as well as an additional financial package for Africa.
Terms of Reference
The Committee will investigate what needs to be agreed to at COP 18 in Doha, Qatar. It will also explore whether the UK should take a different approach towards international negotiations, including the pursuit of a fully articulated legally-binding framework through alternative institutions such as the G8, G20 or Major Economies Forum. The Committee invites written evidence from interested parties addressing some or all of the following:
- what should be the UK and EU priorities for COP 18;
- what are the key milestones that need to be achieved in order to deliver a new legally binding agreement by 2015;
- what a legally binding global framework to reduce emissions should look like;
- are the emissions reduction commitments proposed sufficient to keep warming below 2 degrees;
- will sufficient finance be forthcoming for the funds and programmes;
- the development of effective REDD+ safeguards;
- any other issues that should be taken into account by the UK and the EU at the COP 18 negotiations; and
- whether the UK should pursue an agreement to reduce emissions through forums other than the UNFCCC?