ECN wants to develop a formula that can combine an effective approach to climate change with traditional development aid. Economic development, the fight against poverty and climate aid are as yet seen as separate issues, according to Xander van Tilburg from Policy Studies.
A lack of trust between the wealthy and poor countries: that is what the climate negotiators in Copenhagen ultimately foundered on according to ECN Policy Studies researcher Xander van Tilburg. “The industrialised nations’ approach was focused on market opportunities and concerted action, while developing countries were a little too insistent in saying: If you want us to limit our emissions, then show us the money. We are not the ones responsible for the current greenhouse effect and our priority is economic development.” The COP15 conference was concluded with the agreement that billions of dollars will be needed for climate measures up to 2020. How this money is going to be raised and spent remained unclear, however.
Only tackling greenhouse gas emissions in industrialised nations is simply not enough
Coordinating agendas
If the industrialised nations do manage to raise the climate billions, it is crucial that they have a clear spending plan at the ready. It is not the kind of amount ‘you can put to work easily’, says Van Tilburg. According to him, the dilemma involved has been evident for a while now, but the UN summit served to underline its importance: combating or mitigating CO2 emissions in developing countries is absolutely necessary if we are to stay within the target two-degree rise in temperatures. Only tackling greenhouse gas emissions in industrialised nations is simply not enough.
The question we are faced with now is: how can climate policy in developing countries be integrated with policy aimed at reducing poverty and at economic development. A ‘one size fits all’ model of climate aid is not going to work. Economic development, the fight against poverty and climate aid are still seen as separate issues. Van Tilburg: “At the very least, these agendas should be coordinated, and perhaps even integrated.”
The Akosombo Dam is Ghana’s most important power station but
it has been running on low capacity for a few years now owing to
drought (possibly an effect of climate change). (Photograph: ckoukkos).
Low Carbon Development Strategies (LCDS)
In order to achieve this, experts are developing what are known as Low Carbon Development Strategies (LCDS). According to the ECN policy researcher, these could form a basis for an integrated climate and development policy. “It is a framework that sets out conditions for economic growth aimed at a more environmentally friendly future, through measures relating to renewable energy, energy efficiency and responsible forest management, for instance.” Such an LCDS can be compared to the Netherlands’ climate programme ‘Clean and Efficient’ (Schoon en Zuinig).
At the end of 2009, research into combining traditional development aid and climate measures lead to the project Paving the Way for LCDS. The aim of the project, which runs to the middle of 2010, is to gain a deeper understanding of the LCDS concept and an initial assessment of the chances of implementing these kinds of strategies in developing countries. Van Tilburg: “When it comes to the actual implementation, we still have a lot of questions. Will economic development have priority over climate policy? Can national and international interests be served at the same time? And can the instrument be applied across the board?”
That is why ECN has started a pilot test, with the support of the Dutch Ministries of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment and of Economic Affairs. The most important questions that will be explored are whether the LCDS concept can meet both the wishes of the industrialised and the developing countries, whether it can be put into practice in an effective way and how you can develop a progressive scheme for designing such a strategy.
Indonesia and Ghana
In the framework of the Paving the Way for LCDS project, a team of four people has been formed in both Indonesia and Ghana, who will be working with a four-person ECN team to find out which climate-friendly measures these countries have already taken, what means they have at their disposal and which specific capacities are lacking. Ultimately, the aim is for the national governments to formulate the plans themselves and for the various relevant stakeholders to be involved in the process from the beginning. This will make it less likely for the strategy to be ignored and increase the chances of it being translated into actual policies.
In the beginning of February, the ECN team left for Indonesia to kick off the project over there. Virtually directly afterwards, the team will fly on to Ghana to do the same thing there. Later in the year, the project leader Van Tilburg will visit these places again to talk to a range of stakeholders including ministries, private donors, development agencies and end-users. According to Van Tilburg, all of this should lead to a framework that ‘lays the basis for a kind of LCDS handbook’.
If the teams in both countries succeed in ‘selling’ the importance of the LCDS concept locally, then it might just form the essential link between upcoming climate investments and contemporary foreign development policy.
Contact
Xander van Tilburg
ECN Policy Studies
Phone: +31 22 456 4863
E-mail: Xander van Tilburg
Info
Read more about International Energy and Climate Policy.
Text: Jorinde Schrijver
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