The 11th conference of the parties (COP 11) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Montreal between 28 November and 9 December 2005. The conference simultaneously served as the first Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (KP) after its entry into force in early 2005 (COP/MOP 1). Ecologic, represented by Dr. Sebastian Oberthür, Senior Associate, and Dr. Camilla Bausch, Senior Fellow, attended and supported the German delegation.
Almost 10,000 delegates took part in the conference. The negotiations in which around 200 countries had to reach an agreement over the present and future climate protection regime remained tense until the end. When they finally came to a close, over 40 decisions had been made and under them, an array of critical actions had been agreed upon. These were generally received positively in both political circles and civil society. Mr. Kinley from the UN Climate Secretariat, was quoted as saying „One of the most productive UN climate change conferences ever.“ Nevertheless, the international community will have to rise to major challenges in the future, one of the most important being to ensure an effective, comprehensive and ambitious design of the post-2012 climate protection regime. The decisions made in Montreal, however, have laid the foundations.
Future negotiations will proceed by means of a two-track process: one through the KP and one through the UNFCCC. In this way, mechanisms under the KP may be further developed, in particular the carbon market, but at the same time, countries such as the USA which has not ratified the KP, may still be included in international climate policies.
Under the KP the negotiation process for post-2012-measures - in particular reduction commitments for the industrialised countries– was initiated (see Art. 3.9 KP). Furthermore, the so-called Marrakesh-Accords (“Rule Book of the KP”) were accepted and the institutional arrangements of the Flexible Mechanisms strengthened.
Under the UNFCCC, a dialogue on long-term cooperative action to address climate change by enhancing implementation of the convention will be started.
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sebastian Oberthür, Senior Associate of Ecologic, in the Compliance Committee (Enforcement Branche).
Further links:
- Ecologic Event Series: Climate Talk
- Ecologic Project: Capacity Building in the New Member States on further climate change action (post-2012)
- Ecologic Project: Institutional Design of International Climate Policy
- Ecologic Project: Costs of Climate Change
- Ecologic Project: Legal implementation of the European directive on emissions trading