Extra - Newsletters

December 2009 - Special edition COP15

ECN Policy Studies carries out energy studies in the field of energy and climate change. The objective is to enhance insights in energy consumption, energy markets, objectives of energy policy and policy instruments and to contribute in a significant and independent manner to better policy decisions in the field of energy.

The printable version of the newsletter can be downloaded here.

In this issue:

Enabling MRV
Transport in the post-2012 regime
What do technology proposals cost?
Evaluating the EU ETS
Making a difference on CO2 capture and storage'
A climate for collaboration: EU and US climate and energy policies
ECN Policy Studies’ side-events at COP15

Enabling MRV in Copenhagen

In the negotiations at Copenhagen and beyond measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) holds a promi-nent position. Many questions related to MRV still remain open, including which function it will have, which may include building trust between Parties, assessing the progress to the UNFCCC overall objective of avoiding dangerous climate change, giving incentives for mitigation actions, enabling matching of support and actions, and tracking support and actions. ECN, in collaboration with the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, is finishing a report that focuses on measuring GHG emissions and the related reductions in developing countries. Conclusions state that GHG inventories in developing countries can be compiled at a Tier 1 level, but moving towards a higher level of data would be helpful, particularly in key emission categories. Determining GHG reductions from individual actions with reasonable certainty has several challenges such as determining baselines and emission factors, similarly to CDM. Another conclusion of the report is that although some actions may not be translatable to GHG reductions these may prove important in achieving emissions reductions; for these other indicators such as input or process indicators should be used for MRV.

Transport in the post 2012 regime

The post-2012 Climate Agreement opens a new window for ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction actions. It is becoming increasingly important for the transport sector in developing countries to contribute to such mitigation efforts. Globally, governments and experts are discussing instruments that support mitigation efforts by developing countries. The proposals fall under two general categories:

• Generating Emission Reductions that count against mitigation targets for developed countries. This includes continuing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) beyond 2012, but with certain modifications to enhance the scale of emission reductions, lower barriers and reduce transaction costs.
• Generating Emission Reductions that can be reported directly by developing countries to UNFCCC. The instrument being discussed for this purpose is Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NA-MAs).

The CITS project implemented by the Asian Development Bank, in cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank, is a first step to help ensure that the transport sector can benefit from the revised/new climate change mitigation instruments under a post-2012 Climate Change Agreement. The CITS project is a contribution to the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport.

The CITS project is implemented over the period September 2009 - April 2010 and has the following out-put:

1. Synthesis of information on the greenhouse gas reduction and co-benefit potential of transport interventions and existing and planned climate change mitigation instruments;
2. Four case studies from the Asian and Latin American regions, illustrating suitable NAMAs and CDM projects in the transport sector, documented in a synthesis report by ECN;
3. Development of an informal network spanning both developed and developing countries of transport organizations to help guide the discussion on detailed guidelines for post 2012 climate instruments.

Financial assessment of the technology proposals under the UNFCCC

Technology and finance are key issues in the run up to the Copenhagen climate negotiations, but both is-sues remain abstract and consequences are hardly thought through. The Nordic Council, a collaboration of Nordic country negotiators, has asked ECN and UK-based think tank E3G to assess what a technology agreement could look like in practice, and how much it would actually cost. Using many assumptions, the team made a translation of the legal text to an operational version. In order to make an estimate of the costs, for instance, capacity building was interpreted as a very concrete academic exchange programme. The study grouped the technology-related submissions to COP15 and their financial implications into three concrete technology packages. These packages outline different levels of ambition consistent with the potential outcomes of the COP15 negotiations in Copenhagen, December 2009. The assessment combines bottom-up costing of the individual elements with a top-down analysis of the necessary financial support.

The output of the project is a compact report for negotiators and senior decisions makers, presented in a side event to the negotiations in Barcelona at the beginning of November 2009.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

ECN’s senior economist Jos Sijm has published a paper that evaluates the performance of the EU ETS during the first lustrum of its existence (2005-2009).The paper draws valuable lessons from experiences with allowance allocation, market dynamics and sectoral coverage. These lessons may be useful, in particular for other regions or countries interested in setting up and developing their own emissions trading scheme. The overall conclusion: given the difficulties, the European Commission has done an amazingly good job!

CCS: allowing it to make a difference

Many view CO2 capture and storage (CCS) as an essential mitigation option. Others feel it is a dangerous distraction from a truly sustainable energy system. For CCS to be regarded as a benign and mature technology, it needs to be safe, reduce emissions, acceptable to the public and appropriately regulated. ECN Policy Studies aims to play an independent role in the field of CCS. Public perception of the technology should be addressed through engagement, not by means of convincing. Developing countries should be involved from the beginning through capacity building. Policy needs to be in accordance with current structures and underpinned by good data - e.g. on the potential of low-cost CCS in the CDM. If CCS readiness is to be considered, it should not be greenwashing.

Projects and recent publications include:

• Progress on including CCS in the CDM: paper accepted in International Journal of GHG Control.
• CCS-Africa: capacity building and needs identification on CCS in Southern Africa. Follow-up of ear-lier project in 2007 planned for 2010. See www.ccs-africa.org.
• NearCO2: aims to develop communication and community engagement strategies for CCS projects: www.communicationnearco2.eu
• CCS readiness: do we need a globally agreed definition of what constitutes a CCS-ready power plant? On October 22nd, for the Global CCS Institute and ICF International, ECN hosted a Roundtable on the topic.

A climate for collaboration: US and EU climate and energy policies

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US and ECN have co-published a paper analysing US and EU lessons learnt and opportunities in energy and climate policy. This paper aims to improve mutual understanding between the EU and US with regard to climate change and energy policy, suggesting specific opportunities for transatlantic cooperation in this area. A background on the environmental, legislative and economic contexts of the EU and US as they relate to climate policy establishes the context. This is followed by an overview of how cap & trade, renewable energy and sustainable transportation policies have taken shape in the EU and the US. Some observations and lessons learnt within each of these areas are highlighted. Building on these insights, recommendations are made regarding the carbon market, possibilities for new technologies to bridge the valley of death and best practices and standards.

ECN Policy Studies' side-events at COP15