6th session, Manila, March 2003
5th session, Rio de Janeiro, Aug 2001
4th session, Colorado, Aug 2000
3rd session, London, May 1998
2nd session, Toronto, Nov 1997

6th Session of the UNCTAD/Earth Council Policy Forum on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading
Manila, Philippines. March 2003

Background

The US pullout from the Kyoto Protocol has fragmented the global response to climate change into Kyoto and non-Kyoto regimes. Despite this fragmentation, market mechanisms remain a favored approach to greenhouse gas emission reductions, and consequently the nascent carbon market continues to emerge.

The diverse national policies and strategies that are being put into place in industrialized countries despite the absence of a unified global regime continue to pose regulatory constraints on the emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly on energy-intensive industries in developed countries. Policies and measures such as the recently established Danish and UK emissions trading schemes, as well as CO2 regulations in some States in the US, and various voluntary programmes in many developed countries continue to create market opportunities for greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets (like the Clean Development Mechanism - CDM).

The impending entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the proposed EU emissions trading scheme, which will affect large energy producers and users in an expanded European Union, create additional pressure for industry to adopt carbon-constrained strategies. Increased consensus and certainty in the science of climate change and continued climate-related disasters in the past 10 years contribute to the momentum to seek a unified global response to climate change.

In this context, the UNCTAD/Earth Council Carbon Market Programme is proposing to organize its 6th Carbon Market Forum in Asia in partnership with the Asian Development Bank and the Philippine Inter-agency Commission on Climate Change.

Overview

The Carbon Market Forum started as the International Emissions Trading Policy Forum in 1997. On its sixth run, the current format of the Carbon Market Forum was initiated at the 5th Carbon Market Forum in Rio de Janeiro in August 2001 (http://www.unctad.org/ghg). The Carbon Market Forum brings potential buyers and sellers from the public and private sectors in developed and developing countries together to explore the challenges and opportunities of the emerging carbon market. In particular, the proposed Asia Carbon Market Forum will look at CDM and GHG offset opportunities in the Asia and Pacific Region (perhaps looking first at the Southeast Asia region).

Details

Agenda

Complementary value-added activities

Based on previous experience, we have found that the following adds tremendous value to the carbon market forum:

• Internet reporting and webcast - Using IISD's services (www.iisd.ca), the forum can be extended to reach more people and stakeholders during and after the forum proper.
• E-learning modules - Using the UNCTAD/Earth Council Carbon Market E-Learning Center, on-line courses on CDM and the carbon market can be run before the market forum for participants. A mini-course based on material and discussions generated by the forum can also be developed.

Contact

Mr. Lucas Assuncao, Programme Coordinator.

UNCTAD Palais des Nations 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel +41 (0)22 917 5731
Fax +41 (0)22 917 0504
Email: lucas.assuncao@unctad.org