Update from Cancun

Bolivia's rates of deforestation highest under Morales

Here in Cancun at COP16, Bolivia is definitely trying to present itself as the moral guardian of forests and Mother Earth. However data by FAO and other sources and compiled on Mongabay (link is in the title bar) show that under the Morales Presidency (Morales was elected in 2006) rates of deforestation in Bolivia have jumped significantly. Currently, Bolivia is deforesting at a rate of approximately 840 hectares per day. This rate is in stark contrast to President Morales's eco-grandstanding. President Morales has sent a knee to the groin of Cancun climate change negotiations (as he did in a soccer match recently). Hopefully he gets a REDD card here....

President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa addresses COP16

COP16 Cancun 1 (Jackson Channels JohnO)

TFG Briefing Note on Proposed AB 32 REDD regulations

TFG has produced a short 1-page briefing note on the key highlights contained in the recently proposed AB 32 rules. There is a pdf link from the blog title, and it is reproduced below (except the quantitative box in the pdf).
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TFG Briefing Note on Proposed CA AB 32 Regulations
(November 2010)

Summary: In October 2010, the California Air Resource Board (ARB) released draft regulations to implement AB 32, California’s global warming law. ARB will vote on these regulations on December 16, 2010. The proposed regulations and accompanying staff report bolster prospects for up to 74 million tons (CO2 equivalent) in compliant demand for emission reductions from reducing deforestation in developing countries (REDD). The proposed regulations are the largest, most advanced global outlet for compliance REDD credits from nested projects or jurisdictional policies.

How can offsets enter the CA cap and trade system?
Offsets can enter California’s system either through ARB approved protocols or ARB approved programs. All ARB approved protocols have been developed by the Climate Action Reserve, are for domestic offsets, and are eligible for early action crediting. ARB approved programs will include linked programs with partner compliance entities (such as the Western Climate Initiative) and sector-based offsets. Currently, REDD is the only offset category explicitly designated as eligible for sector-based crediting.

How many potential REDD credits?
The new proposed regulations allow for 8% of a compliance entity’s obligations to be met with offsets. Of these, sector-based credits will likely be restricted to 25%/25%/50% of the offset limit for 1st/2nd/3rd compliance periods, respectively. This translates into a maximum REDD offset demand of 74.3 million tons of CO2 from 2012 to 2020 (see chart).

Sector-based offsets: jurisdiction-scale developing country offsets
To be eligible for sector offsets in California’s program, an entire sub-national jurisdiction’s sector such as cement or forestry, must have emissions below a crediting baseline. The crediting baseline itself must be below a historical average of emissions for that sector in that jurisdiction. REDD is the only category explicitly proposed for sector-based credits in the regulations. More detailed rules will be needed in coming years and these will likely be informed by the Governors Climate & Forests Taskforce (GCF).

Proposed California Sectoral Requirements for REDD
1. Historical deforestation emissions must be calculated for “gross” deforestation over the past 10 years.
2. Jurisdictions & ARB must approve plans to lower emissions below historical emissions by 2020.
3. Forest carbon inventories must follow IPCC guidance, likely at Tier 2 or higher.
4. Jurisdictions that use nested-REDD projects must have accounting systems to reconcile nested project-based GHG reductions with sector-level accounting.
5. Jurisdictions must plan to retire and ensure permanence of the REDD credits.
6. Mechanisms must be in place for public consultation and participation in the program design.

latest (July 9, 2010) UNFCCC negotiating text released

The latest (July 9, 2010) consolidated negotiating text has been released and is hyperlinked in the title of the blog.

The UNFCCC is continuing forward, even as the US gives up the race.

The REDD text is mostly in Chapter 6. Not much new, some specific language for SBSTA to develop modalities for baselines (Paragraph 6 of the section) and modalities for verifying changes in forest carbon stocks and emissions (paragraph 10) as well as more specifics on safeguards (para 11).

US trying to make good on REDD Pledge

Reuters reports on the MEF talks (hyperlinked in blog title):

Excerpt:
At Monday's meeting, the United States issued a document to participants that said its climate-related appropriations for 2010 total $1.3 billion and that the Obama administration has requested $1.9 billion for fiscal year 2011.

The funds include support for the U.S. administration's pledge to provide $1 billion for the U.N. program Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.

European Commission: Climate Policy Post-Copenhagen

The European Commission released a report on how to move forward after Copenhagen. It is a fairly uninteresting report, with no major surprises. The things we found interesting are:
1) ...the Bonn meeting should bring the developed country targets and developing country actions submitted under the Accord into the formal UN negotiating process.
2) The EU's objective for Cancun should therefore be a comprehensive and balanced set of decisions to anchor the Copenhagen Accord in the UN negotiating process, and to address the gaps. There should also be a formal decision on the listing of developed country targets and the registration of developing country actions, including the methods to account for these. All the decisions should come under an "umbrella" decision to provide the overall political framework.
3) Very little mention of REDD in the 12 page document, despite REDD+ having its own mechanism in the Accord as well as a meaningful SBSTA decision.
4) The Commission will assess the merits and drawbacks of alternative legal forms, including of a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol.
5) Among the most difficult negotiations in Copenhagen were those on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). Transparency is key to ensure mutual trust and demonstrate the effectiveness and adequacy of targets and actions. The Climate Change Convention and its Kyoto Protocol provide basic standards of MRV, through national communications and inventories. The Copenhagen Accord requires the strengthening of this system. This must be one of the priorities in the work to anchor the compromises in the Copenhagen Accord in the UN process.

The full title of the report is:
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
International climate policy post-Copenhagen: Acting now to reinvigorate global action on climate change
{SEC(2010) 261}