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9 Sustainable Dev. L. & Pol'y 15 (2008-2009)
Poznan Climate Conference 2008

handle is hein.journals/sdlp9 and id is 96 raw text is: POZNAN' CLIMATE CONFERENCE 2008 by Kyle Ingram* & Matt Irwin** he United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznaf, Poland (Poznafl Conference) lasted from December 1-12, 2008. The Poznafi Conference included the fourteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and fourth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 4).1 The Conference was intended to be a significant milestone in global cooperation on climate change, marking the progress between the start of negotiations in Bali in 2007 and the conclusion of negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009.2 These negotiations are meant to develop a framework for the international community to combat climate change in the post-Kyoto Protocol world, as Kyoto expires in 2012.3 Commentators have given varying accounts of the degree to which the Poznafi Conference solidified the chance for a successful climate agreement in Copenhagen. Some argue that the Poznahi Conference was a productive point in the negotiation process, while others contend that it signified a failure of the developed world to take a serious step towards lowering green- house gas (GHG) emissions and cooperate with the developing world.4 ADAPTATION FUND The Adaptation Fund negotiations are considered the only concrete achievement to come out of the Poznafi Con- ference.5 The Adaptation Fund distributes money to poorer, developing countries for use to guard against the adverse effects of climate change.6 The Adaptation Fund has been considered a success because developing countries will have access to funds by the next year.7 However, at $80 million the fund is currently too small to fully accomplish the imposing task of protecting poorer countries from the harmful environ- mental and economic impacts of climate change.8 To increase the size of the Fund, developing countries proposed that money should be added to the fund not only from the current two percent levy on carbon trading under the UN Clean Development Mechanism, but also other forms of carbon trading not currently covered by the Clean Devel- opment Mechanism.9 Developed and developing countries could not reach a compromise to increase funding sources for the Adaptation Fund at the Poznafi Conference, so the issue remains for resolution in Copenhagen.'0 TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND FINANCE Delegates adopted the Global Environment Facility's Poznafi Strategic Programme on Technology Transfer for developing countries, which will be funded by C50 million from the UN Global Environmental Facility.I This program will increase the level of investment by leveraging private investments necessary for developing countries to implement both mitigation and adaptation technologies.'2 Without tech- nology transfer programs such as this, the developing world would not be able to afford meaningful advances in meeting the climate change challenge.13 EMISSIONS REDUCTION AND DEFORESTATION Parties came to Poznafi with hopes of advancing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degrada- tion Plan, or REDD.4 Unfortunately, no official agreement on the subject was reached.15 There were, however, several promising statements made by individual countries regard- ing both emissions reduction and reducing deforestation. For example, Mexico agreed to cut emissions fifty percent below 2002 levels by 2050; Brazil promised a seventy percent cut in its annual deforestation rate by 2017; South Africa initiated a program to cap its carbon emissions by 2025, and the Euro- pean Union said it will increase its commitment to cut GHG emissions from a twenty percent reduction to a thirty percent reduction by 2020 if a global agreement is reached.16 FOUNDATION FOR COPENHAGEN Many important issues that could have been resolved in Poznafi, including the division of responsibilities to cut GHG emissions between rich and poor nations, tropical defores- tation, and sharing clean technology with developing coun- tries, were left to be decided at the Copenhagen Conference of the Parties.17 Thus, the negotiations in Copenhagen will have no firm basis from Poznafi to build upon. Despite the lack of concrete agreements or achievements resulting from the Poznaii Conference, it remains vitally important to create a global commitment to combat climate change in Copen- hagen later this year. The urgency of such an agreement can be best summarized by Amjad Abdulla, a delegate from the Maldives in Poznafi, We are really disappointed with the progress we are seeing in Poznafi .... We are drowning, and there is this huge gap in commitment.18 Endnotes: Poznafi Climate Conference 2008 continued on page 67 *Kyle Ingram is aJ.D. candidate, May 2011, and *Matt Inmin is aJ.D. candi- date, May 2009, at American University, Washington College of La . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT LAW & POLICY

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