Legal Responses to Climate Change and Energy SecurityUKELA Seminar

24 April 2012

An international comparator: Ozone

International climate change regime

UNFCCCArticle 4

COMMITMENTS

1. All Parties, taking into account their common but differentiated responsibilities and their specific national and regional development priorities, objectives and circumstances, shall:

(b) Formulate, implement, publish and regularly update national and, where appropriate, regional programmes containing measures to mitigate climate change … and measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change

Kyoto ProtocolArticle 3

1. The Parties included in Annex I shall, individually or jointly, ensure that their aggregate anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of the greenhouse gases listed in Annex A do not exceed their assigned amounts, calculated pursuant to their quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments inscribed in Annex B and in accordance with the provisions of this Article, with a view to reducing their overall emissions of such gases by at least 5 per cent below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008 to 2012.

UNFCCC/KP – what it’s doing now?

Decision 1/CP.17The Conference of the Parties

4. Decides that the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action shall complete its work as early as possible but no later than 2015 in order to adopt this protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force at the twentyfirst session of the Conference of the Parties and for it to come into effect and be implemented from 2020;

Decision 3/CP.173. Decides to designate the Green Climate

Fund as an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the Convention

Decision 1/CMP.7The Conference of the Parties serving as

the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol,

1. Decides that the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol shall begin on 1 January 2013 and end either on 31 December 2017 or 31 December 2020, to be decided by the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol at its seventeenth session;

Energy Security

•International Atomic Energy Agency (“IAEA”) – 1957

•International Energy Agency (“IEA”) -1974

•International Renewable Energy Agency (“IRENA”) -2009

International Legal Regime

International Energy Security in Action

23 June 2011:

IEA members agreed to release 60m barrels (2m barrels/day) from oil stocks to mitigate the effect on the fragile world economy of the loss of 132m barrels of Libyan production, to tide over the world economy until production increases by major exporters could reach the market.

25-26 April 2012

Clean Energy Ministerial 3 at Lancaster House:

“a high-level global forum to promote policies and programs that advance clean energy technology, to share lessons learned and best practices, and to encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy”

Related International Issues

•Convention on Biodiversity: Decision X/33 (on biodiversity and climate change), Nagoya 2010

•London Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1996: October 2006 Amendment to permit sub-seabed CCS

•ICAO Resolution A37-17/2 (Montreal, October 2010) on aircraft and climate change

EU Climate Legislation

• EU ETS– Linking Directive– Aviation Directive

• Effort sharing dec’n• Energy products

directive• 20/20/20 Package

– Post-2012 ETS– Renewable Energy– CO2 geological

storage

In the UK

Current consultations:•New CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Order (closes 18.6.12)•Climate Change Agreements (closes 25.5.12)•EU ETS revision (consulting May-July ‘12)•FITs (non-PV) review (closes 26.4.12)

Other hot topics•Renewable Heat Incentive (closed yesterday)•Green Investment Bank•Renewables Obligation (banding review legislation due Summer ‘12)

Electricity Market Reform:•Carbon Price Support (through CC Levy)•Capacity Mechanism (market-based, includes demand side)•FITs Contract for Difference•Emissions Performance Standard

Some other national responses

USA

FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 •S 509: …officials of the United States Government, and particularly the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, should use all political, diplomatic, and legal tools at the disposal of the United States to ensure that the European Union’s emissions trading scheme is not applied to aircraft registered by the United States or the operators of those aircraft, including the mandates that United States carriers provide emissions data to and purchase emissions allowances from or surrender emissions allowances to the European Union Member States.

Australia

Clean Energy Act 2011(s160- simplified outline)• Free carbon units may be issued in

respect of generation complexes that meet certain eligibility requirements.

…• Free units will not be issued if a

generation complex does not pass the power system reliability test for a financial year.

• Free units will not be issued in respect of a generation complex unless a Clean Energy Investment Plan is given to the Resources and Energy Minister.

  

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