Environmental democracy, transparency and global governance:The Road from Rio to Copenhagen

Michael Stanley-JonesEnvironmental Information Management OfficerUNECE Aarhus Convention Secretariat

13th International Anti-Corruption ConferenceWorkshop 1.4: Governing the Climate Change Agenda – Making the Case for Transparency

Athens, 30 October 2008

Key landmarks in the climate change and environmental democracy

agenda

The road from

Rio Kyoto Aarhus

Kiev Almaty

Balito

Copenhagen

Intergovernmental Agreementsand Mechanisms

Broadly, these range over relevant intergovernmentalMultilateral Agreements • Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

(including Principle 10)

• Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)• Kyoto Protocol • Aarhus Convention• Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers

and selectedMechanisms and Guidance• Emissions trading schemes (EU ETS, Kyoto Clean

Development Mechanism)• Almaty Guidelines on Public Participation in International

Forums

Rio

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED or Rio Earth Summit, 1992)

Rio Outcomes

Agreement on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) . . .

The ultimate objective to achieve "... stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate sytem."

leading to the establishment of national greenhouse gas inventories negotiated reduction targets

Rio Rio Declaration

Adoption of the Rio Declaration on Environmental and Development,

articulated 27 principles to guide development, including Principle 10 Public Participation, which states

"Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. "

Rio (3)Principle 10 (cont.)

"At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available.

Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided."

Principle 10 and Climate Change

Article 6 of the UNFCCC requires its Parties inter alia to

"Promote and facilitate...(ii) public access to information on climate change and its effects; (iii) public participation in addressing climate change and its effects and developing adequate responses..."

Article 6 was elaborated under the UNFCCC New Delhi work programme, revised in Dec. 2007 at 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-13), in Bali, Indonesia

Kyoto

• National greenhouse gas inventories provide the basis for the Kyoto Protocol, adopted by the FCCC Parties at their third conference in 1997

• The Kyoto Protocol establishes legally binding commitments for the reduction of six greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons) produced by "Annex I" (industrialized) nations, as well as general commitments for all member countries

• Kyoto set global and national GHG emission reduction targets through 2012 based on 1990 baseline. On average reductions of 5.2%

KyotoCarbon Trading

• Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol defines a Clean Development Mechanism, which can be used by major polluting countries to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries

• Kyoto allows major developed countries to meet their greenhouse gas emission limitation by purchasing GHG emission reductions from elsewhere. (“Joint Implementation”)

• Gives financial incentives to non-Annex I countries to develop GHG emission reduction projects to receive "Carbon Credits" that can then be sold to Annex I buyers

• Created tradable financial instruments, bought and sold on the spot market for speculation purposes, linked to futures contracts

Bali

• COP-13 held December 2007

• Over 10,000 participants attended COP-13

• Bali Road Map adopted

• The Road Map includes the Bali Action Plan, which charts the course for a new negotiating process designed to tackle climate change, with the aim of completing this by the end of 2009 at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP-15)

Fourth Ministerial Conference «Environment for Europe» (June 1998)

• adopted Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

• 42 Parties (including the European Community)

• negotiated under auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Aarhus

Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention, 1998)

UNECE regional convention of global significance

“…by far the most impressive elaboration of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, which stresses the need for citizen’s participation in environmental issues… As such [the Aarhus Convention] is the most ambitious venture in the area of environmental democracy so far undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations.”

– UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan

Aarhus provides a model of good environmental governance

Recognises the right to a healthy environment and acknowledges that citizens may need assistance in order to exercise their rights

Aims to further accountability and transparency in decision-making and strengthen public support for decisions on environment

Recognises desirability of transparency in all branches of government

Recognises importance of respective roles of citizens and enables active NGO participation in all processes under the Convention

Aarhus model of good environmental governance

• Each Party to establish and maintain a clear, transparent and consistent framework to implement the Convention

• European Union institutions covered

• Anti-harassment, non-discrimination provisions

• Compliance review arrangements

• Open to non-UNECE countries

Aarhus compliance review

Compliance review mechanism open to the public

Since 2004, 29 communications from the public, including civic organizations, triggering compliance review procedures

Leading to findings of non-compliance by the Compliance Committee and formal decisions of non-compliance at the MOPs in 2005 and 2008

Improved legal standing for NGOs

Parties, at their second meeting (Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 2005)

adopted decision II/3 on Electronic Information Tools and

the Clearing-house Mechanism

Annex

Recommendations on the more effectiveuse of electronic information

tools to provide public access toenvironmental information

Aarhus Clearinghouse is the central node of a network of national and information nodes, many with their own Clearinghouses

Kiev• Fifth Ministerial Conference «Environment for Europe»

held in May 2003

• Adopted Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers

First legally binding international instrument on pollutant release andtransfer registers. Its objective is "to enhance public access to information through the establishment of coherent, nationwide pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs)."

Facility-specific reporting on GHGemissions and releases from transport, annual reporting, accessible over Internet

Almaty Guidelines on Public Participation in

International Forums• Adopted in Almaty, May 2005• Consultation with FCCC secretariat in 2007

Guidelines reinforce article 3, para. 7

“Each Party shall promote the application of the principles of (Aarhus) Convention in

international environmental decision-making processes and within the framework of international organizations in matters relating to the environment.”

• Impact may be felt more at national level among Aarhus Parties

Some Climate Change ConventionImplementation Challenges

• Measurement of GHG emissions at national level

• Impact of GHG sinks / reduction projects• Transparency and auditing of

information• Compliance mechanism / Enforcement• Elaboration of CDM Accreditation

Requirements

Aarhus Climate Change Conference

“The Role of Informationin the Age of ClimateChange”

13-14 November 2008University of Aarhus, Denmark

http://www.klima.au.dk/dk/forside/aarhusconvention/