The project objective is to provide expert policy advice to the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the field of international climate policy. The topic areas of Ecologic are the institutional design and organisation of the international negotiation process in the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, as well as the further elaboration of the compliance system of the Kyoto Protocol. Furthermore the project analyse various questions relating to the future development of the international climate change regime beyond the year 2012.

The project focuses on the institutional and legal aspects of the design of international climate policy. The realisation and further development of resolutions adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the International Climate Convention are important, as are the decisions of the first Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto-Protocol (COP/MOP1) . The work in the context of this project supports in particular the further development of the compliance mechanism adopted by COP/MOP1. After the elaboration of the by-laws, the work focuses on the definition and optimisation of the appropriate practices and routines.

In addition, the project entails supporting the definition of the German and European positions for the realisation of the international process. The members of COP11 and COP/MOP1 initiate two procedures for the consultation and the further development of the international climate policy. In the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parties of COP11 in Montreal agreed to initiate an international dialogue about long-term co-operation in the combat against climate change. This dialogue will provie a framework for the further development of the UNFCCC. The focus of COP/MOP2 in Nairobi was the establishment of a process for the control of the protocols. The processing of the results of both meetings (COP/MOP1, COP/MOP2) is the focal point of Ecologic’s work, as is the ongoing provision of expert policy advice.

The major task of Ecologic in this project is to provide expert policy advice related to the international and European discussions on the aforementioned issues, and to help design solutions that preserve and enhance the functionality of the international process. In particular, Ecologic will elaborate relevant policy options and specifically assess proposals of other participants in the debate. To this end, Ecologic’s activities include the elaboration of expert opinions related to the international and European negotiation, coordination and discussion process; the development of background papers and the preparation and processing of pertinent information and the participation, in an advisory capacity, in relevant international meetings, in particular the sessions of the bodies of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol. Further areas of work will potentially need to be covered during the project depending on any new developments within the international process.