USG Climate Change Overview
Chris Dragisic
U.S. Department of State
May 2, 2016
Why we take action
)
Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions
By Gas
By Sector
Source: IPCC 5th Assessment Report, WG3 (2014)
An increasing share of emissions come from
developing countries
Total Annual GHG Emissions (Gt CO2e)
30000
Developing
DevelopingCountries
Countries
(non-Annex
(non-AnnexII of
ofUNFCCC)
UNFCCC)
25000
20000
15000
Developed
DevelopedCountries
Countries
(Annex
(Annex IIof
ofUNFCCC)
UNFCCC)
10000
5000
0
1990
Source: WRI CAIT
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
Leadership at home
)
The President’s Climate Action Plan
Pillars
1. Cut Carbon Pollution in America
2. Prepare the U.S. for the Impacts
of Climate Change
3. Lead International Efforts to
Combat Climate Change and
Prepare for its Impacts
U.S. Action on Climate Change
• Foreign Assistance: U.S. Climate Finance
• Climate Partnerships
• U.S. Domestic Action
Common thread: pragmatic
actions to enable countries to
meet this global challenge
together
U.S. INDC
The United States intends to achieve an economy-wide target of reducing its
greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 per cent below its 2005 level in 2025 and
to make best efforts to reduce its emissions by 28%.
Example: USDA’s Building Blocks for
Climate Smart Agriculture & Forestry
10 areas of action:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Soil Health
Nitrogen Stewardship
Livestock Partnerships
Conservation of Sensitive Lands
Grazing and Pasture Lands
Private Forest Growth and Retention
Stewardship of Federal Forests
Promotion of Wood Products
Urban Forests
Energy Generation and Efficiency
Example: USDA’s Building Blocks for
Climate Smart Agriculture & Forestry
• Voluntary and incentive-based
• Focused on multiple economic and environmental
benefits
• Meet the needs of producers
• Cooperative and focused on building partnerships
• Assess progress and measure success
Expected to reduce net emissions and enhance carbon
sequestration by over 120 million metric tons of CO2
equivalent per year by 2025
International efforts
)
Global Climate Change Initiative
• The United States will integrate climate change
considerations into relevant foreign assistance
through the full range of bilateral, multilateral, and
private mechanisms to foster low-carbon growth,
promote sustainable and resilient societies, and
reduce emissions from deforestation and land
degradation.
• 3 pillars:
o Investing in Clean Energy
o Promoting Sustainable Landscapes
o Supporting Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation
• Department of State, Department of Treasury, USAID
Sustainable Landscapes
• Examples of GCCI-Supported Programs
Include:
o Forest Carbon Partnership Facility
o BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest
Landscapes
o SilvaCarbon
o Climate Fellows
o Widening Informed Stakeholder Engagement (WISE)
 All in support of Low Emission Development
Strategies
Climate Change Working Groups
• US-China
o Includes a focus on forest monitoring and MRV;
mitigation and adaptation; impact of overseas
investments on forests
• U.S.- Brazil
o Includes a focus on forest investment; native species;
low-carbon, resilient agricultural practices; MRV
• U.S.-India
o Exploring forest cooperation
UNFCCC
)
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2005
1994
1997
1992
1990
UNFCCC
Key Elements
Ambition
o Goal of limiting global temperature increase to well
below 2°C above pre-industrial levels with efforts to
achieve 1.5°C
o Parties are required to submit new or revisited NDCs
every 5 years. Each successive NDC should be more
ambitious than the one before
Key Elements
Mitigation
o Encourages Parties, by 2020, to submit “mid-century” LEDS to
help frame their long term development and mitigation vision.
o Parties shall account for anthropogenic emissions and removals,
and avoid double counting
o Parties should take into account existing accounting
approaches.
o 1/CP21 establishes accounting principles that will guide a future
work plan: accounting for emissions and removals, using IPCC
methodologies and common metrics, methodological
consistency, striving to include all categories of emissions by
sources and removals by sinks or explain any omissions.
Principles apply to the second and subsequent contributions,
and voluntarily to the first.
Key Elements
Transparency
• Establishes an enhanced transparency framework for action and
support with common guidelines and built in flexibility
• Requires all countries to report at least every 2 years inventories
of emissions, using internationally-accepted standards of good
practice and providing information necessary to track progress
towards targets
• Establishes a multi-step review process including a technical
expert review and multilateral peer review of implementation
and achievement of NDCs
• Work program to develop modalities, procedures, and
guidelines to conclude in 2018
• Establishes a new initiative to build institutional and technical
capacity for transparency
Key Elements
Markets
• Countries may use decentralized international carbon
markets to meet their NDCs—“cooperative
approaches”.
• A centralized market mechanism and a non-market
mechanism will also be developed.
• Countries must transparently report on international
markets use to avoid double-counting
• 1/CP21 sets out a work program to develop guidance
on accounting for markets, and modalities and
procedures for a market mechanism.
Key Elements
 The role of land, including forests, in addressing
climate change was fully recognized in the Paris
Agreement on Climate Change.
• Use of “sinks,” “reservoirs,” removals” throughout
• Article 5
o All Parties should take action to conserve and enhance
sinks and reservoirs, including forests.
o All Parties are encouraged to implement and support
REDD+ and “alternative policy approaches;” incentivizing
non-carbon benefits is also reflected.
o Decision 1/CP21
o The importance of financing for REDD+ and alternative
policy approaches is recognized (decision 1/CP21).
Looking Forward
Focus on NDCs
• Implementation
• Action
• Enabling Environments
• Capacity
• Design of next round
• Monitoring and reporting
• Mobilizing support
Thank you!
Chris Dragisic
[email protected]