After COP15: Climate Instruments in the Transport Sector SLoCaT Partnership team looks beyond Copenhagen

You will see in these pages some definitely contradictory views about the desirably of bringing matters of sustainable transport reforms onto center stage in Copenhagen. Here is a first report issued today in draft form for comment by one group who are actively pursuing the transport/climate link. The authors invite your comments.

Copenhagen, 11 December 2009

Source: Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport. - http://www.sutp.org

The post 2012 Climate Instruments in the transport sector (CITS) project implemented by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is a first step to help ensure that the transport sector can benefit from the revised/new climate change mitigation instruments under a post-2012 Climate Change Agreement. The CITS project is a contribution to the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport. A draft report has been published for comments.

For a copy of the 11 December draft report, click here - http://www.sutp.org/slocat/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/CITS-Interim-Report-draft-11-December.pdf

Draft Report Introduction

The post-2012 Climate Agreement is expected to open a new window for more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction actions. It is increasingly important for the transport sector in developing countries to contribute to such mitigation efforts. Businesses as usual scenarios indicate a growth of over 100% in vehicles for the period 2012 – 2018 in most of the developing countries. Globally, governments and experts are discussing instruments that support mitigation efforts by developing countries.

The proposals fall under two general categories:

1. Generate Emission Reductions which count against mitigation targets for developed countries. This includes continuing the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM beyond 2012, but with certain modifications to enhance scale of emission reductions, lower barriers and reduce transaction costs.

2. Generate Emission Reductions which can be reported directly by developing countries to UNFCCC. The instrument being discussed for this purpose is Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs).

The post 2012 Climate Instruments in the transport sector (CITS) project implemented by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in cooperation with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is a first step to help ensure that the transport sector can benefit from the revised/new climate change mitigation instruments under a post-2012 Climate Change Agreement. The CITS project is a contribution to the Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport.

The CITS project is implemented over the period September 2009 – April 2010 and has the following outputs:

a) Synthesis of information on the GHG reduction and co-benefit potential of transport interventions and existing and planned climate change mitigation instruments;

b) Four case studies from the Asian and Latin American regions, illustrating suitable NAMAs and CDM projects in the transport sector, documented in a synthesis report;

c) Development of an informal network, spanning both developed and developing countries, of transport organizations to help guide the discussion on detailed guidelines for post 2012 climate instruments.

Although the implementation of the project is still ongoing and the case studies have not been completed it was decided to produce an interim synthesis report to inform the discussions on post 2012 climate instruments at COP 15 in Copenhagen. The interim report can also serve to obtain inputs and feedback for the final report of the CITS project which is expected to be available by May 2010.

The format of the interim report is as follows:

• Chapter 2 gives an overview of the abatement potential of various types of interventions in the transport sector.

• Chapter 3 reviews the existing climate instruments and related climate change programs for their effectiveness and relevance to the transport sector.

• Chapter 4. presents an overview of the discussions on post 2012 climate instruments and their significance for the transport sector

• Chapter 5 - A synopsis of the four case studies carried out under the CITS project .

• Chapter 6; - Initial conclusions and recommendations are presented in this chapter ,also outlines the next steps to be taken in the CITS project prior to its completion in May 2010.

Key Conclusions:

Key messages of the draft report are:

1. NAMAs may provide better opportunities for the transport sector than current mechanisms

2. Existing modeling studies and marginal abatement cost curves often do not capture the full costs and benefits of transport interventions, notable those related to "avoid" and "shift".

3. Support for NAMAs in the transport sector may need to focus on â"barrier removal cost" rather than incremental cost which is done conventionally. Capacity building and policy support may be important components.

4. Including co-benefits for local air quality, reduced congestion and energy security in the appraisal of climate related transport interventions often reduces the GHG abatement cost significantly, however quantification remains challenging.

5. NAMA financing and other international sources of funding may be targeted at similar (elements of) interventions in the transport sector, and therefore their relation needs further exploration.

6. MRV of transport measures is likely to be challenging, and there is a need for better activity level data and development of methodologies. A certain degree of uncertainty however may need to be accepted, as baselines are hard to establish.

Comments:
Please send your comments and feedback to Cornie Huizenga (chuizenga@slocatpartnership.org) and Stefan Bakker (bakker@ecn.nl)




A few handy acronyms:

CDM - Clean Development Mechanism (

CITS – Climate Instruments in the transport sector

COP15 - 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

MRV - Monitoring, Reporting and Verification requirements for NAMAs.

NAMA - Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions

SLoCaT - Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport.

UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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