Copenhagen 101: Just the Basics

• What is the UNFCCC?
• Why is the Copenhagen meeting called a COP?
• What is the goal of the COP?
• How are the negotiations structured?
• How does the actual work of the Conference get accomplished?
• Who are the key UN figures in the UNFCCC negotiations?
• Who are the key US figures in the UNFCCC negotiations?
• What are the main negotiating bodies in the UNFCCC?
• What are the Key Terms and Concepts one should know before the Copenhagen Meeting?

What is the UNFCCC?

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that the U.S. ratified in 1992.   The convention established a long-term objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere and set a voluntary goal for developed countries of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2000, but contained no mandatory limits.  Recognizing that stronger action was needed, participating countries negotiated the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC in 1997.

Why is the Copenhagen meeting called a COP?

Each year, a Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC is convened, where environment ministers (equivalent to U.S. cabinet members) from around the world meet to discuss developments in the convention and coordinate international actions to combat global warming.  This year’s meeting will be the 15^th meeting of the Parties to the UNFCCC and it will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 7^th through 18^th.

The meetings will be organized by the Secretariat of the UNFCCC, hosted by the Government of Denmark and coordinated by the Danish Ministry of the Environment.  It is expected that the two-week sessions will be attended by 15-20,000 participants: more than 190 government delegations headed by the Ministers for the Environment or Climate Change, international institutions, environmental, business and research non-governmental organizations, and media.

What is the goal of the COP?

Representatives from around the world will meet to negotiate a global agreement to limit greenhouse gases.  The Copenhagen climate talks mark the endpoint of a two-year process which began in Bali, Indonesia, in 2007.  Countries have agreed that in Copenhagen, an ambitious climate change deal will be reached to address the effects of climate change.  The agreement will be based upon the Bali Action Plan which describes the foundation of the agreement as finance, technology transfer, adaptation, mitigation, shared vision and reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).  The final agreement should be fair, ambitious and binding.

How are the negotiations structured?

There are two different negotiating tracks working to draft a new agreement at the COP: a Kyoto track for countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and a Convention track for those countries who are not a party to Kyoto (the U.S. is in this track).

Kyoto Track [Ad-hoc Working Group on further commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP)]: At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2005, Parties to the Kyoto Protocol initiated a process to consider further commitments by Annex I Parties for the period beyond 2012.  The resulting decision established an open-ended ad-hoc working group of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol to conduct that process and report to each session of the Conference and Meeting of Parties on the status of this process.
Convention Track [Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA)]: The United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2007 culminated in the adoption of the Bali Road Map, which consists of a number of forward-looking decisions that represent the various tracks that are essential to strengthening international action on climate change.  Central to the Bali Road Map is the establishment of a two-year process to enable full and effective implementation of the Convention. This is taking place in a new negotiating group called the AWG-LCA, which has been charged to reach an agreed outcome by 2009 in Copenhagen.

How does the actual work of the Conference get accomplished?

Much of the actual negotiations do not take place in large groups.  As the need arises, smaller working groups splinter off in to what we in the U.S. would call committees, but are called Subsidiary Bodies under the UN process.

SBSTA and SBI: The Convention established two permanent subsidiary bodies: the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). These bodies give advice to the COP and each has a specific mandate. As its name suggests, the SBSTA’s task is to provide the COP with advice on scientific, technological and methodological matters. The SBI gives advice to the COP on all matters concerning the implementation of the Convention.

Who are the key UN figures in the UNFCCC negotiations?

Who are the key US figures in the UNFCCC negotiations?

What are the main negotiating bodies in the UNFCCC?

Each Party to the Convention is represented at sessions by a national delegation, consisting of one or more officials empowered to represent and negotiate on behalf of their government.  In addition to individual parties, groups of parties negotiate together to increase their negotiating strength. Below is a list of traditional negotiating bodies:

Group of 77 and China: Developing countries generally work through the Group of 77 to establish common negotiating positions.  The G-77 was founded in 1964 in the context of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and now functions throughout the UN system.  It has over 130 members. The country holding the Chair of the G-77 in New York  (which rotates every year) often speaks for the G-77 and China as a whole.  However, because the G-77 and China is a diverse group with differing interests on climate change issues, individual developing countries also intervene in debates as do groups within the G-77, such as the African UN regional Group, the Alliance of Small Island States and the group of Least Developed Countries.

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is a coalition of some 43 low-lying and small island countries, most of which are members of the G-77, that are particularly vulnerable to sea- level rise.  AOSIS countries are united by the threat that climate change poses to their survival and frequently adopt a common stance in negotiations.  They were the first to propose a draft text during the Kyoto Protocol negotiations calling for cuts in carbon dioxide emissions of 20% from 1990 levels by 2005.

Least Developed Countries (LDC): The 49 countries defined as LDCs by the UN regularly work together in the wider UN system.  They have become increasingly active in the climate change process, often working together to defend their particular interests, for example with regard to vulnerability and adaptation to climate change.

European Union (EU): The 27 members of the EU meet in private to agree on common negotiating positions.  The country that holds the EU Presidency - a position that rotates every six months - then speaks for the European Community and its 27 member states.  As a regional economic integration organization, the European Community itself can be, and is, a Party to the Convention.  However, it does not have a separate vote from its members.

The Umbrella Group is a loose coalition of non-EU developed countries which formed following the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol.  Although there is no formal list, the Group usually consists of Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the U.S.

The Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) is a recently formed coalition comprising of Mexico, the Republic of Korea and Switzerland.

What are the Key Terms and Concepts one should know before the Copenhagen Meeting?

UNFCCC negotiations are a jargon and concept-heavy process.  Many have compared learning all the terminology of the UNFCCC to learning a new language.  But like learning a new language, you can become proficient by understanding a few key terms and concepts while picking up a broader understanding as time goes on.  Below is a list of key UNFCCC terms and concepts.

Bali Action Plan (BAP): The Bali Action Plan, adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP) as decision 1/CP.13, launched a comprehensive process to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action now, up to and beyond 2012, in order to reach an agreed outcome and adopt a decision at its fifteenth session in Copenhagen in December 2009. The Bali Action Plan is centered on four main building blocks – mitigation, adaptation, technology and financing.

Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR): The principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ evolved from the notion of the ‘common heritage of mankind’ and is a manifestation of general principles of equity in international law. The principle recognizes historical differences in the contributions of developed and developing States to global environmental problems, in this case historical GHG emissions, and differences in their respective economic and technical capacity to tackle these problems.

Developed vs. Developing (and Annex I vs. Annex II): The groupings within the UNFCCC were created in 1992 when the convention was signed and ratified by its members (U.S. included).  The convention listed three different groups:

Annex I Countries (industrialized countries): Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America.

Annex II Countries (countries that agreed to help finance climate efforts in developing countries): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America

Developing Countries (countries that will receive support in decarbonizing their economies)
Recently, there has been much debate about the groupings of the UNFCCC Convention.  Some argue (the U.S. included) that these groups are out-of-date and countries with emerging economies such as Brazil, China and India should be responsible for climate change support.  Others argue that Annex I or developed countries have a historical responsibility that was agreed upon in the mandate of the UNFCCC Convention to provide support to countries affected by climate change. This debate will play a central role in the Copenhagen agreement.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): Established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme, the IPCC surveys world-wide scientific and technical literature and publishes assessment reports that are widely recognized as the most credible existing sources of information on climate change. The IPCC also works on methodologies and responds to specific requests from the Convention's subsidiary bodies. The IPCC is independent of the Convention.

MRV - Measureable, Reportable, and Verifiable: Measurable, reportable and verifiable nationally appropriate mitigation commitments or actions, including quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives by all developed country Parties, while ensuring the comparability of efforts among them, taking into account differences in their national circumstances.

Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs): Actions taken by developing country Parties in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner.

National adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs)
Documents prepared by least developed countries (LDCs) identifying urgent and immediate needs for adapting to climate change. The NAPAs are then presented to the international donor community for support.

Sectoral Approach: There are several different types of “sectoral approaches” but the common goal of sectoral approaches is to reduce emissions while avoiding competitiveness concerns across countries by applying the same rules for a particular sector, for example the power generation industry,  to all countries. 

Shared Vision: The focus of paragraph 1 (a) of the Bali Action Plan is for a “shared vision” for “long-term cooperative action” to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention which is to mitigate global warming.  A controversial topic in this discussion is whether or not the “shared vision” should include a global short-term emissions target.