Workshop, 24.06.2010
09h30 - 12h00,
CIG, Villa Barton, The Graduate Institute
Workshop Format:
Half-day of round-table discussions at the Graduate Institute
Objectives:
- Bringing together policy-makers, experts as well as stakeholders IO, NGOs, civil society and providers of climate information to exchange experiences and discuss the building of climate services.
- Exchange experiences about the climate information needs/demand as well as institutional aspects and mechanisms of cooperation that would facilitate a better access to climate information and products targeted to the end users.
Key questions for discussion:
- Any new international climate agreement must provide for a much-improved carbon-monitoring infrastructure for verifying its effectiveness. How are greenhouse gas emissions accounted for? This is a fundamental question to answer for verifying carbon dioxide emissions and offsets reported by individual countries.
- Satellite observations provide large-scale mapping of greenhouse gas emissions and land-cover change. However, scientists need better earth-monitoring tools to see whether climate policies are working. What are the limits and uncertainties linked to these monitoring systems?
- Some argue that little attention has been paid so far to the amount of emissions associated with the consumption of goods and services in each country. A “consumption-based CO2 emissions inventory” is therefore proposed. Is such a proposition realistic for operational purposes?
- From the macro-economic and trade perspective: Is it fairer to measure emissions from a production or from the consumption side?
Invitees:
- Scientists from the European space Agency (ESA), the Global Earth Observation Secretariat (GEO) and the European Commission, DG Climate Action
- Staff of relevant international organizations and NGOs, staff from the Permanent Missions to the United Nations.
- Swiss negotiators in climate change issues
- Professors from the Graduate Institute
