Usually, when people ask about what is going on inside the COP, they are interested in what is going to happen in a post 2012 regime. What countries will have commitments and will the emerging economies have mandatory targets? Will a legally binding treaty be delivered?
What they normally don´t know is that COP works as a network of smaller meeting groups, each one responsible for a specific matter, that in the end (hopefully) will deliver recommendations for the high level segment, where decisions are adopted. For instance, yesterday I was at the SBSTA (Subsidiary Body For Scientific and Technological Advice) meeting where discussions are focused on methodological issues of the convention, such as the inclusion of Carbon Capture Storage in the Clean Development Mechanism, how to account for international emissions on aviation and maritime transport, the adoption of standard baselines for carbon credit projects, etc. In this group you can see that many Parties have opposite views on those matters and that clearly reflects on the decisions passed through the higher levels.
Nevertheless, a different mood can be perceived at this meeting. Delegates seem more relaxed than they were in Copenhagen (maybe because ties and jackets were abolished inside the Moon Palace) and many expressed their views that the Protocol final form is not something to be achieved here, but in the future. This COP´s task would be to “clear the path” for a closure next year, in Durban. If it succeeds it will be more than everyone has expected.
Blog posting from Ricardo Zibas, KPMG in Brazil.
