Workshop on Regional Capacity for Developing Low Emission Strategies and Modeling (LAUNCH WORKSHOP)
Date: 23.01.2014
Place: Zagreb
Organizer: ECRAN Secretariat and EC TAIEX
There is a need to start developing concrete climate policies based on full alignment with the EU Climate acquis and GHG emission reduction target setting.
At present the absence of national or regional targets and roadmaps towards implementation of these targets hamper the development of robust climate policies in the region and thus low emission development.
ECRAN could provide the platform to start a regional work on this topic.
Climate policy is a horizontal area and there is a need to continue to build critical mass and to expand the target group from government institutions also to parties that have a role in implementing key elements of the climate related acquis. These include other line Ministries, but also industry. In addition, the role of Civil Society Organisations and academia needs to be strengthened, especially in the field of strategy development in the field of climate. The awareness and understanding of EU climate change laws, policies, economic benefits and strategies is crucial to strengthening dialogue and cooperation on climate change between the EU and its partners.
The Workshop will launch the ECRAN Regional Exercise on the development of climate policies converging with the EU acquis in the ECRAN beneficiaries. This Regional Exercise’s objective is to promote and establish an enabling environment for further development of national climate policies converging with EU climate acquis. In the framework of this Exercise the beneficiaries will be familiarised with the 2030 framework for EU Climate change and energy policies. The European Commission invites all citizens and other stakeholders from the ECRAN beneficiaries to take an active interest in the EU action in this field and to engage more actively in the ongoing discussions in the development of the 2030 Framework.
Following this Launch Workshop, ECRAN will implement the following steps over the next two years until the end of 2015.
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- Step 1: Regional assessment of capacities for modeling and scenario work including stakeholders assessment. This step will include a training needs assessment and the development of a training programme on the basis of the current guidelines for the preparation of National Communications of Annex I parties and the annotated outline for preparing the 5th National Communication as prepared by the UNFCCC secretariat. In this context the focus of the TNA will be the capacity assessment for two key areas of National Communications; Policies and Measures and Projections.
- Step 2: Regional Training workshops on the development of climate policies converging with the climate acquis. When preparing scenarios and projecting greenhouse gas emissions and removals and estimating the total effects of policies and measures on emissions and removals, parties under the UNFCCC may use any models and/or approaches they choose. However, sufficient information should be reported in the national communication to allow a reader to obtain a basic understanding of such models and/or approaches.. Based on the broad obligations of Art. 4.1.b UNFCCC for all countries to formulate programmes on climate change mitigation, the notion of low emission development strategies (LEDs) has been mentioned by the Parties in Copenhagen and Cancún. The Copenhagen Accords http://mitigationpartnership.net/sites/all/modules/contributed/pubdlcnt/pubdlcnt.php?file=http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2009/cop15/eng/l07.pdf&nid=451refers to “a low-emission development strategy” (Draft Decision -/CP.15, Para. 2). In more detail, the Cancún Agreements stipulate that developed countries should draft LEDS and developing countries are encouraged to do the same (Decision 1/CP.16, Para.s 45 and 65).
- Step 3: Practical training on quantitative models to be used to assess climate and energy policy options and to set emission targets. In consultation with DG Climate Action a selection will be made of a model or models to be introduced in a pilot training.
