Environment projects

Climate change projects

Tackling climate change through the 1992 UN Framework Convention, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the post-2012 regime: promoting verification and implementation

Researcher: Larry MacFaul
Present Funder: Various consultancy contracts
Previous funder: Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

VERTIC's climate change project promotes the development and maintenance of effective and workable monitoring systems in the UN climate change regime, including the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), its 1997 Kyoto Protocol and proposals for the post-2012 regime.

The climate change regime architecture includes monitoring, reporting, review and compliance systems. The monitoring and review systems encompass both GHG emissions estimates, information on  policies and measures and finance mechanisms.  Both developed and developing countries take part in these processes but to differing extents, due to these countries’ respective capacities.

These systems perform a crucial role in the effective functioning of the climate change regime. They can assess overall and individual party's progress towards treaty goals. These systems allow countries to demonstrate what action they are taking on climate change and can help build trust and foster confidence in the treaty. They can also facilitate and promote efforts and give parties and other entities the opportunity to learn from and assist each other in the development of best practice in tackling climate change.They are also fundamental to the operation of the Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms.

The Bali Action Plan, launched at the UN climate change conference in 2007, has re-focused attention on the role of these systems in the climate regime by identifying a range of actions by countries that should be measurable, reportable and verifiable.

Negotiations are currently underway on mitigation, adaptation, technology and financing and what shape the post-2012 regime should take. An agreement on the strengthened climate change regime is to be reached at the next UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, December 2009.

Project activities include:

• developing analysis and recommendations for an effective and workable climate change regime architecture
• examining the role of MRV in options for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)
• promoting the development and implementation of the climate change treaty at the UNFCCC conferences and other international and national climate change meetings, and liaising with national governments, international organizations and civil society
• writing and providing input to publications and giving presentations in conferences
• organizing and participating in international capacity building workshops on treaty development, implementation and negotiation. This has included work in Africa and Europe.

Publications and online resources