Measurable,reportable and verifiable: the keys to mitigation in the Copenhagen deal

The climate negotiations up to Copenhagen will need to elaborate on measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) mitigation commitments and actions as part of the future of the climate regime. The conceptual, political, scientific, financial and institutional principles for MRV are explored for (1) mitigation commitments in developed countries, (2) mitigation actions in developing countries, supported by (3) means of implementation. For developed countries, the procedures in Articles 5, 7, 8 and 18 of the Kyoto Protocol will be critical in order to ensure comparability of commitments, both in effort and compliance. Outcomes should be reportable and verifiable through Annex I national communications and in-depth review. Existing procedures could be enhanced and need to apply across Protocol and Convention. MRV mitigation actions by developing countries should result in measurable deviations below baseline. Inventories will be important to measure, and enhanced national communications for reporting. The challenge will be to make mitigation actions verifiable, and options include verification by domestic institutions working to internationally agreed guidelines. A critical distinction is to be made between unilateral mitigation actions and those with international support. MRV applies to the provision of the means of implementation, including technology and finance. Investment in technology can be measured, so that institutional arrangements for technology and finance should be aligned. Verification of funds raised at international level would be simpler than raising funds nationally.     

Financing REDD in developing countries: a supply and demand analysis

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries has been at the centre of negotiations on a renewed international climate regime. Developing countries have made it clear that their ability to engage in REDD activities would depend on obtaining sufficient and stable funding. Two alternative REDD financing options are examined to find possible ways forward: financing through a future compliance market and financing through a non-offset fund. First, global demand for hypothetical REDD credits is estimated. The demand for REDD credits would be highest with a base year of 1990, using gross—net accounting. The key factors determining demand in this scenario are the emission reduction targets and the allowable cap. A proportion of emission reduction targets available for offsets lower than 15% would fail to generate a sufficient demand for REDD. Also examined is the option of financing REDD through a fund. Indirectly linking the replenishment of a REDD fund to the market is a promising mechanism, but its feasibility depends on political will. The example of overseas development assistance for global health indicates the conditions for possible REDD financing. The best financial approach for REDD would be a flexible REDD mechanism with two tracks: a market track serving as a mitigation option for developed countries, and a fund track serving as a mitigation option for developing countries.     

Sectoral approaches for a post-2012 climate regime: a taxonomy

Sectoral approaches have been gaining currency in the international climate debate as a possible remedy to the shortfalls of the Kyoto Protocol. Proponents argue that a sector-based architecture can more easily invite the participation of developing countries, address competitiveness issues, and enable immediate emissions reductions. However, given the numerous proposals, much confusion remains as to what sectoral approaches actually are. This article provides a simple, yet comprehensive, taxonomy of the various proposals for sectoral approaches. Based on the dual criteria of content and actors, three such types are identified and described: government targets and timetables; industry targets and timetables; and transnational technology cooperation. For each of these types, existing proposals and ongoing initiatives are discussed. In a second step, the article analyses the political landscape in which sectoral approaches are being debated, identifying the interests of their key advocates as well as the concerns of their critics. The Japanese government and energy-intensive manufacturing industries represent the main proponents of sectoral approaches to address the problems of carbon leakage and economic competitiveness. Developing countries, on the other hand, are wary of attempts to impose emissions reduction targets on their economies through sectoral target-setting. They, therefore, interpret sectoral approaches as sector-based forms of technology cooperation and technology transfer.     

Common but differentiated convergence (CDC): a new conceptual approach to long-term climate policy

Abstract

This article describes a new concept for an international climate regime for differentiation of future commitments: the ‘common but differentiated convergence’ approach (CDC). Under CDC, Annex-I countries' per-capita emission allowances converge within a convergence period to a low level. Individual non-Annex-I countries' allowances converge to the same level also within the same period (‘common convergence’), but starting when their per-capita emissions are a certain percentage above global average (‘differentiated’). Until then they may voluntarily take on ‘positively binding’ targets. This approach eliminates two concerns often voiced in relation to gradually converging per-capita emissions: (i) advanced developing countries have their commitment to reduce emissions delayed and their targets are not the same as Annex-I countries with equal per-capita emissions; (ii) CDC does not provide excess emission allowances to the least developing countries. Under CDC, stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations at 550 and 650 ppm CO₂-equivalent can be reached with participation at roughly 0% and 50% above global average and convergence to around 3 and 4.5 tCO₂-eq/cap within 40 years. Even if the CDC approach is not implemented in its entirety, it is possible that the step-by-step decisions on the international climate regime can be guided by the principles provided in the CDC approach.     

Building bridges to 2020 and beyond: the road from Bali

What would the shape of a realistic, yet ambitious, package for the climate regime after 2012 look like? How do we obtain a package deal starting in Bali but building bridges to a post-2020 climate regime? A fair, effective, flexible and inclusive package deal has to strike a core balance between development and climate imperatives (mitigation, adaptation, dealing with the impacts of response measures, technology transfer, investment and finance) to create bargaining space and establish a conceptual contract zone. Within a continuum of possible packages, two packages in the contract zone are identified: ‘multi-stage’ and ‘ambitious transitional’. The latter is ambitious, combining domestic cap-and-trade for the USA, deeper cuts for Annex B countries, and quantifiable mitigation actions by developing countries. It is transitional as a possible bridge to a more inclusive regime beyond 2020. Multi-stage is defined around mechanisms by which countries move through increasingly stringent levels of participation, and must be based upon agreed triggers. Our assessment of political dynamics is that multi-stage is not yet in the political contract zone. Key to this is the absence of a ‘trigger from the North’, in that the largest historical emitter must act earlier and most decisively. But progress will also depend on continued leadership from Annex B countries, as well as more proactive, incentivized leadership in the South. Agreeing on the transitional stage is the critical next step in the evolution of the climate regime. Negotiating any package will require an institutional space for bargaining, political leadership and trust, and a clear time-frame.     

Two Types of Diurnal Variations in Heavy Rainfall during July over Korea※

This study examined the characteristics of the diurnal variations of heavy rainfall (≥110 mm in 12 hours) in Korea and the related atmospheric circulation for July from 1980?2020. During the analysis period, two dominant pattens of diurnal variation of the heavy rainfall emerged: all-day heavy rainfall (AD) and morning only heavy rainfall (MO) types. For the AD-type, the heavy rainfall is caused by abundant moisture content in conjunction with active convection in the morning (0000?1200, LST; LST = UTC + 9) and the afternoon hours (1200?2400 LST). These systems are related to the enhanced moisture inflow and upward motion induced by the strengthening of the western North Pacific subtropical high and upper-tropospheric jet. For the MO-type, heavy rainfall occurs mostly in the morning hours; the associated atmospheric patterns are similar to the climatology. We find that the atmospheric pattern related to severe heavy rainfalls in 2020 corresponds to a typical AD-type and resembles the 1991 heavy-rainfall system in its overall synoptic/mesoscale circulations. The present results imply that extremely heavy rainfall episodes in Korea during the 2020 summer may occur again in the future associated with the recurring atmospheric phenomenon related to the heavy rainfall.     

晚白垩世以来黄山地区隆升机制研究*

文中确定了黄山三级古剥蚀面的年龄,得到了自晚白垩世以来黄山地区三次隆升的幅度。其隆升的序次与周边板块作用阶段有较好的对应关系。同时论证了黄山慈光阁U形谷实际上是发育于早第三纪当时古侵蚀基准面上的壮年期河谷。     

转型期长春市就业结构的空间分异

在经济体制改革及产业空间重构初期,利用2000年第五次人口普查数据,以街道和乡镇为基本单位,运用因子生态分析和聚类分析方法研究了长春市这一老工业基地就业空间结构的特征。研究表明:① 处在特定历史条件下的长春市工、居分离现象并不明显;② 根据因子分析的结果,得到受教育水平、普通收入群体、外来人口比重、性别分化程度四个主要因子对2000年长春市就业空间结构影响较大;③ 运用聚类分析法将长春市划分为6大就业类型区:混合就业区、传统产业区、科技教育集中区、物流业集中区、以农业为主的远郊区、新兴产业集中区,并最终得出长春市就业结构的空间形态特征为:单核心、混合圈层式、综合扇形要素的空间结构模型。     

新时期地理学的特征与任务

地理学是“探索自然规律,昭示人文精华”的一门学科,具有综合性、交叉性特点。20世纪80年代以来,地理学在全球环境变化研究计划中扮演了重要角色,地理学的理论、方法和技术已经成为解决人类社会面临的可持续发展问题的基础。起源于全球环境变化研究,并结合了社会科学研究的“未来地球”研究计划,代表了新时期地理学发展的方向。当代地理学研究方法已经从勘察、观测、记录、制图等传统的研究方法向空间统计、对地观测、GIS、室内外模拟、建模、决策系统等现代科学方法转变,逐渐走向综合性、定量化;随着地理学面临的问题更加复杂、更加综合,地理学研究议题变得更为综合和多元,吸引了更为广泛的学科参与,地理学视角在越来越多的领域得到重视,概念和工具所属的学科边界正变得模糊。新时期的地理学正在走向地理科学。中国是研究人类社会的可持续发展问题的一个理想的地理科学试验场所,中国地理科学未来的发展需要以综合的角度加深对人地复杂系统全面而综合的理解,需要加强全球性问题的研究,全面提升中国地理科学国际化水平,普遍提高先进技术解析地理现象的能力,系统实现地理科学的社会服务价值,促进中国从地理学大国走向地理学强国。     

甘肃北山某地区晚古生代火山岩建造与铀成矿作用

北山地区晚古生代火山岩建造比较发育,是热液型和火山岩型矿床成矿的有利地段。本文从火山岩的分布、岩石组合、火山岩相、火山岩喷发方式及韵律、岩石化学成分及微量元素等方面,详细论述了该地区中、晚泥盆世火山岩建造的特征及其与铀成矿作用的关系,分析了火山机制控矿作用,总结了晚古生代火山岩建造中铀的成矿条件和规律,为今后在该地区寻找热液型和火山岩型铀矿床具有一定的指导意义。