International Action on : The post Cancun UNFCCC framework and other emissions abatement schemes

9 March 2011, 09.00 – 13.00 Chatham House, 10 St James's Square, London SWY 4LE

Creating global climate security remains one of the top political and scientific challenges. However, despite global awareness of the urgency of the problem and decades of negotiations even the current pledges for national action are unlikely to be sufficient to avoid dangerous climate change.

Global stability is further threatened by other environmental damages caused by our ever increasing consumption patterns with their associated impacts on resource availability. The environmental and resource constraints of the energy sector and the development of harder to reach and more difficult to extract and process fossil fuels, with their larger environmental footprints and risks, highlight the multi- dimensional nature of the problem.

The workshop will discuss international actions and developments on climate change in and outside the UN framework. The meeting is timed to offer a chance for a measured reflection of the outcomes of the COP16 Conference in Cancun and discuss how the process might develop over the next 12 months towards the meeting in South Africa and beyond. The workshop will also discuss regional initiatives and other international proposals that may or may not complement the UN process to assess their status and possible futures.

The workshop is designed to stimulate discussion and a greater understanding of possible pre and post 2012 landscapes.

AGENDA

9.00 – 9.30 Registration; tea and coffee

OPENING SESSION | PERSPECTIVE ON INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE ACTION 9.30 – 10.30

The human race is shaping the earth and its future like no other time in history. With our ever increasing demand on the earth’s resources and the subsequent environmental impacts, the unprecedented challenges we face will require a transformation of the way we interact and resolve conflicts and global problems. This session will look at the forces that shaped the emergence of life, how the human race started to dominate the earth and what insights this might provide for our actions on climate change and other measures to protect the environment.

Keynote address: Tim Flannery , historical ecologist, paleontologist, mammalogist, Panasonic Professor for Environmental at Macquarie University .

1 Tim Flannery is one of Australia’s leading thinkers and writers. An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, and conservationist, he has published more than 130 scientific papers and written many books including definitive ecological histories of Australia ( The Future Eaters ) and North America ( The Eternal Frontier ) and most recently : our changing climate and what it means for life on earth.

He is the winner of the 2006 Lannen Literary Award, was Australian of the Year in 2007, and is one of the judges (along with Sir , , Dr. , , and Sir Crispin Tickell) of the Virgin Earth Challenge, a $25 million prize for techniques to remove man-made atmospheric greenhouse gases.

Followed by Q&A and general discussion

SESSION 1 | THE UNFCCC REGIME 10.30 – 11.30

The session will reflect on the state of the international negotiations as we reach the end of the first UNFCCC commitment period. Within this context it will discuss areas for optimism and how far a UN agreement might go in the next decade.

Speakers: David Baldock , Executive Director, Institute for European Environmental Policy; Nick Mabey , Founding Director & Chief Executive, E3G

Followed by Q&A and general discussion

11.30 – 12.00 Break

SESSION 2 | BEYOND THE UN PROCESS, OTHER INTERNATIONAL & REGIONAL SCHEMES 12.00 – 13.00

Critiquing the UN process and existing regional regimes is not heresy and should play an important function in defining their future scope and role. This session will enable a variety of views of national and regional initiatives to be aired.

Speakers: Oliver Tickell , Journalist, Writer, Campaigner; Michael Buick , Director, & Damien Morris , Campaign Manager, Sandbag Climate Campaign

Followed by Q&A and general discussion

13.00 Close

2 Organisational details

Location Chatham House is located at 10 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LE. The nearest Underground stations are Piccadilly Circus (three minutes’ walk) and Green Park (five minutes’ walk) – see map below.

Facilities Coffee and tea will be provided at the points indicated in the agenda.

There are coat racks in the corridor leading to the conference hall, but please do not leave any valuables here; they are not secure.

Chatham House Rule The workshop will be held under the Chatham House Rule.

The Chatham House Rule reads as follows: ‘ When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed’. It is used to encourage open discussion.

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