Biofuels Initiative
Engaging the private sector in CDM
EIT capacity building
CDM in rubber study
OPEC study
CDM in Least Developed Countries
Plurilateral GHG trading

EIT capacity building

CG11

CG11 Workshop on Capacity Building and Emissions Trading

The CG11 Workshop was organized by UNCTAD and the Earth Council, in collaboration with Enviros, with support from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Climate Change Challenge Fund and the United Nations Foundation for International Partnerships. The workshop took place in Zagreb, Croatia from 28-29 May 2002, immediately after a scheduled CG11 coordination meeting. The objectives of the workshop were to - (a) share knowledge on the range of policy options available to implement the Kyoto Protocol and the advantages and disadvantages as they apply to CG11 countries, including the application of the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms, and (b) discuss and identify practical and concrete next steps to further develop the capacity of CG11 countries to implement the Kyoto Protocol. The workshop was able to assist CG11 countries in developing a "road map" of policy options to implement Kyoto, and an initial CG11 capacity-building plan of action.

The workshop was attended by more than 30 participants with representatives from all CG11 countries except for Romania and Slovakia. Other participants included UNDP/GEF, UNEP-Risoe Collaborating Center on Energy and Environment, ERUPT Programme of The Netherlands, representatives from Denmark and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, and NRG Energy.

Summary of Key Points

Stocktaking - Country Information

The stocktaking work indicated that all CG11 countries are likely to have a surplus in the first commitment period with the exception of Croatia, Slovenia and possibly Lithuania. There has been limited consideration of the second commitment period given this anticipated surplus. Higher levels of energy intensity in CG11 countries suggest greater opportunities for emissions reductions although there are great variances between countries. Joint Implementation is more developed than emissions trading in CG11 countries. Some CG11 countries see advantages in early action on emissions trading in that it will promote involvement of industry and facilitate linking in with the planned EU emissions trading scheme at an early date. EU Accession has been more of a driver than compliance with Kyoto for CG11 countries.

Available country profiles:

Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia

Policy options

How to allocate the emission surplus is a critical issue that CG11 countries need to decide soon. The importance of having a national dialogue with all segments and stakeholders in society to reach and agreed government policy on implementation of the Kyoto Protocol was deemed as absolutely essential. The benefits of coordinating strategies on how to allocate surplus including the banking some of the surplus were raised as was the need to integrate both domestic measures with international mechanisms. CG11 countries agreed that is was desirable to go from a situation of minimum effort and minimum compliance with Kyoto Protocol requirements to one of maximum effort mobilizing additional resources to develop a more proactive strategy to enable countries to be able to best take advantage of emerging opportunities.


Capacity-building framework

CG11 countries identified three immediate priorities.

"Building Capacity for Emissions Trading in the EU Accession Countries" (EU Proposal) Download (57.8 KB, .PDF)

"UNCTAD/ECI Workshop to Support the Emerging GHG Markets in Countries with Economies in Transition (EIT's)" (Background Information) Download (18.7 KB, .PDF)

"Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Regional Workshop for Countries with Economies in Transition" (Workshop at Moscow, 19-24 September 1999) Download (31.3 KB, .PDF)