What is the Rio+15 initiative?

Over the last 15 years since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, international effort has been focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to meet targets imposed by the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol.

In addition to setting the first ever international target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Kyoto Protocol was groundbreaking as it established, for the first time, a means for developing countries to get involved in climate change mitigation, enabling a market-based solution to an environmental problem, and bringing the issue of greenhouse gases to the mainstream of clean energy planning.

The Kyoto Protocol approved the use of 3 “flexible mechanisms”. These mechanisms are primarily designed to allow emissions savings to be made on a least cost basis. They achieve this by making the fact of the actual emissions abatement of greater importance than the location.

1) Emissions Trading: allowing the international transfer of national allocations of emission rights, between different Annex 1 countries;

2) The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): a mechanism which allows for the creation of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits through emission reduction projects in developing countries, regulated by the CDM Executive Board;

3) Joint Implementation: the creation of emissions reduction credits undertaken through transnational investment between countries and/or companies of the Annex 1 (industrialised countries).

As we celebrate 10 years since the birth of Kyoto, many believe it is now time to review progress and plan for the future.

The objective of the Rio+15 Initiative was to gather a number of senior people from a diverse range of backgrounds including geographies, industry, associations, NGOs and politicians - all committed to formulating an action plan to mitigate the impact of climate change. This would then be compiled to form the Rio+15 report which will be presented at a side event at the UNFCCC meeting in Bali.

What did the event discuss?

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