The South African proposal for a national registry of domestic actions to mitigate emissions is gaining ground at CoP.
The South African proposal for a national registry of domestic actions to mitigate emissions is gaining ground at CoP. Under the Bali Action Plan it has been agreed that developing countries will take nationally appropriate mitigation actions and that these will be ‘enhanced’ through finance and technology. It is here that the industrialised countries hope to change the game by Copenhagen, by creating differentiation between developing countries or by using the nationally agreed actions as the de facto targets, which these countries will then be obligated to meet. This the toughest part of the negotiations at Poznan – developing countries are watching words and nuances carefully.
In this heat, the South African registry proposal (September 30, 2008) is being picked up – by both sides – it would seem, but with a difference. The proposal calls for the following:
South Africa has proposed that countries can take a sustainable development policies and measures approach to development.
Today, in Poznan, it has been agreed that South Korea and South Africa will jointly work on a paper on the national registry for further discussions. The question now for developing countries, who see this as a slippery slope, is to ensure that the registry includes only those actions which will be supported by technology and finance. Otherwise, they fear, this could be a backhanded approach to get them to agree to put their full plan for mitigation up for international review – another name for verification of national targets.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.