More than 150 NGOs call on Environment Ministers

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Press Statement: More than 150 NGOs call on Environment Ministers to increase ambition and eliminate hot air at COP18

Doha, 28 November 2012. Today, in a letter to Environment Ministers and delegates of all UNFCCC Parties, 156 NGOs including major civil society networks from 74 countries have called to increase ambition and close loopholes at COP18.

Climate protection efforts are currently undermined by the gigantic surplus of emissions permits under the Kyoto Protocol (hot air) and non-additional offset credits. The signatories call on Parties to take action against new “hot air” accumulation and cancelling existing surplus by the end of the second commitment period.

The NGOs state that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has not delivered on its two goals of delivering emission reductions and bringing sustainable development to non-Annex 1 countries. To address serious concerns about offset projects from business-as-usual projects that increase emissions globally, they strongly call to fundamentally reform additionality rules, ban large-scale power supply projects, cease issuance of offset credits and use other mechanisms than project-based offsetting to promote lower-carbon power production. To provide a means to address social and environmental impacts of Clean Development Mechanism projects, they urge Parties to set up a grievance process for stakeholders to raise concerns when negative impacts of a CDM project occur during its implementation.

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The Carbon Market Watch team will cover all major issues related to carbon markets over the next two weeks. Hot topics under discussion are:

• The future of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI)
• A new way to fix the CDM: Transitioning away from large-scale power projects
• International environmental integrity standards for a new market mechanism and a “framework” to ensure that credits traded through different systems are fungible/not double counted
• No access to carbon credits for Parties that don’t sign the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol
• An appeals procedure against decisions by the CDM Executive Board
• Several technical issues related to LULUCF accounting, the inclusion of new HFC-23 destruction facilities in the CDM and modalities & procedures for CCS projects

www.carbonmarketwatch.org

ENDS

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