In the run-up to the 2015 UN conference on climate change COP21/CMP11, on 19 November 2015 in Brussels, Belgium, ECRAN held a meeting for Senior Officials from EU Candidate Countries and Potential Candidates on preparations for the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. The meeting was organised in cooperation with DG CLIMA, CLIMA East and CLIMA South projects.
The meeting provided an opportunity to:
DG CLIMA negotiators and MS experts (UK, Netherlands, Slovakia, etc.) shared the latest on the expected Agreement and facilitated discussions.
Each ECRAN country presented their INDCs and talked about their expectations and priorities from the new climate agreement.
Human Dynamics was present with Ruza Radovic, ECRAN Project Director.
The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) will take place from 30 November to 11 December 2015 in Paris, France. COP21 is expected to open a new chapter in the history of climate action as it will bring all 196 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to a common platform to act against climate change.
The new 2015 International Climate Change Agreement will focus on carbon budgets and de-carbonisation policy across sectors. All parties to the UNFCCC have been required to define their Internationally Defined Contributions (INDC) and submit these to the UNFCCC Secretariat prior to Paris COP21: so that these could be included in the assessment report carried out by the UNFCCC Secretariat and presented before the Paris COP.
Transition to a low-carbon economy involves three main changes — technological, behavioral and structural — that must be implemented both individually and collectively. In this context, INDCs can be considered as a new tool for international action — a dynamic, cooperative and universal framework with the aim to accelerate proper actions. INDCs provide the national GHG emission targets; they are the first step on the way to large scale decarbonisation by 2050.
INDCs have now been submitted by altogether more than 150 countries responsible for more than 90% of global emissions, includes the US, China, India and Brazil. The EU-submitted INDC commits to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
ECRAN has been actively linked to the countries' preparation for Paris COP21 and the new 2015 International Climate Agreement.
In cooperation with other donors, ECRAN has assisted the finalisation and submission of INDCs for the EU Candidate Countries and Potential Candidates (ECRAN project beneficiaries). Withing the framework of ECRAN, Serbia became the first country among EU-accession countries and in the Western Balkans to formally submit its INDC to the UNFCCC Secretariat, on 30 June 2015. This was followed in August by FYROM.
In the case of Albania and Montenegro, the Human Dynamics team with ECRAN project have provided key elements underpinning the development of their INDCs — including the extremely technical but crucial work of determining the greenhouse gas projections, and work to promote and support the political process of INDC initiation/preparation.
Implementation of INDCs will require significant efforts from the Candidate Countries and Potential Candidates, and the EU will continue to provide assistance and support in introducing and implementing policies, new legislation and building institutional capacity.