|
Mandate
At the Third Hemispheric Meeting of Energy Ministers in Caracas, Venezuela (January, 1998), Ministers recognized the key role technologies play in managing environmental aspects related to energy and exhorted hemispheric cooperation in order to achieve successful results in this field.
Energy Ministers therefore agreed to "activate the working group on climate change for purposes of exchanging information and analysing activities and mechanism for cooperation among the countries of the Hemisphere, in the light of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the decisions made at the III Conference-of the Parties held in Kyoto, Japan as well as of the results of the discussion to be held at the meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November, 1998 ".
At the Santiago Summit of the Americas in April, 1998, Heads of State underscored "the importance of working together to further fulfilment of the agreement reached at the Conference in Kyoto, Japan, and to promote its ratification in our countries." Furthermore, in the Plan of Action, Heads of State agreed that Governments will-.
In light of their commitments in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the decisions made at the 7hird Conference of the Parties in Kyoto, Japan, and in view of the Fourth Conference of the Parties to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November, 1998 :
- Encourage the Parties to work toward achieving the objectives and goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- Recognize the key role that technology plays in managing the environmental aspects related to energy, and encourage the exchange of technology, information and experiences, as well as share views on the Clean Development Mechanism.
Responding to the Mandate
Based on the mandate given by both the Energy Ministers in Caracas and Heads of State in Santiago, a Hemispheric Working Group on Climate Change has been set up under the guidance of the Hemispheric Energy Steering Committee. It was agreed that Canada (Ms. Jean Cooper, Senior Director, Energy Policy Branch, Natural Resources Canada) and Argentina (Ms. Cristina Massei, Environmental Chief, ENRE) would be the co-chairs of the Working Group.
It was also agreed, at the first meeting of the Working , Group in Lima, Peru (February 10,1999) that future activities should take into account international discussion on climate change in other fora.
The Working Group on Climate Change can provide a unique and useful forum to examine climate change-related issues from an energy perspective in the Summit of the Americas context. Specifically, the Working, Group’s objective is to facilitate discussion, exchange information and analyze activities and mechanisms for cooperation among countries of the Americas on climate change, including the implications and opportunities for our energy sectors and energy technologies. The need for sustainable growth of our economies will be central to the group's work.
The Working Group will take the outcomes of the UNFCCC negotiations into account in its discussions and activities. but is NOT Intended to be a parallel negotiating forum.
Deliverables
The Working Group will discuss issues of common interest related to climate change and energy in the context of sustainable development. The Group will identify areas for exchange of information and potential activities in the energy sector, including, for example, energy technologies, to address climate change and, where possible, to propose next steps.
The Working Group will report to the Hemispheric Energy Steering Committee/Energy Ministers on its activities.
Moving forward
At its first meeting in Lima, the Working Group on Climate Change identified the following activities(1) to move forward:
1 Workshop to exchange information and views on opportunities and implications of the Kyoto Protocol for the energy sectors of the Americas, with a focus on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). From an energy perspective, the following issues, for example, could be examined: sustainable development and technology transfer.
2. Methodological workshops on:
i) Presentation and sharing of experiences on the potential use of energy to help countries of the Americas meet their sustainable development, focussing on renewables and energy efficiency.
ii) Development of appropriate energy-related emissions factors and greenhouse gas emissions inventories for the energy sector.
3. Roundtable discussion of countries' experiences and views on:
i) opportunities and implications for the energy sector of the Kyoto Protocol.
ii) Energy and energy-related technology activities to address climate change.
The Working Group identified the exchange of views and Information on the CDM from an energy perspective as a priority, building on the outcomes of other events, such as the IEA-sponsored CDM workshop in Brazil, the OLADE Environment Conference and the Latin American Environment Ministers in Peru.
The following two items were also identified as work that could be under-taken by the Working Group(2):
a) Methodological workshop on systems to obtain information on energy sources and related greenhouse gas emissions.
b) Workshop to exchange information and increase understanding on methodologies for developing energy and related emissions scenarios, under changing circumstances.
Next StepsIndividual Working Group members will make best efforts to further elaborate the proposed activities. The proposals will then be submitted to the Working Group for its review and approval.
__________
1The activities are to be undertaken subject to availability, of resources.
2Subject to the availability of resources.
|
