date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 14:21:25 -0500 from: Laura Lee Dooley subject: WRI Events at the UNFCCC COP4 to: kimo@iisd.org, climate-l@MBnet.MB.CA UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE UNFCCC COP4 SPONSORED BY WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE WRI experts and partners will be hosting the following workshops at the UNFCCC COP4 in Buenos Aires. Further information about these events and related postings can be found on the WRI website at: http://www.wri.org/wri/cpi/cop4.html -------------------------------------------------------------- PANEL DISCUSSION: *Forests, Land-Use, and Carbon: A Dialogue on the Issues* TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998 (1:00-3:00 p.m.) ROOM TO BE ANNOUNCED Co-hosted by World Resources Institute with World Bank and The Nature Conservancy The World Bank, in collaboration with the World Resources Institute and the Nature Conservancy, is sponsoring a systematic discussion of the technical issues related to implementing transferable emissions reductions from forest and land use change projects. Will these projects have beneficial impacts? Is it possible to assure that emissions reductions are genuine? Issues discussed will include permanence, determination of the reference case, measurement, leakage, insurance mechanisms, and local social and environmental impacts. Representatives from forest carbon projects in Belize and Bolivia will discuss how they have faced these challenges. -------------------------------------------------------------- PRESS CONFERENCE: *Climate and Forests: Why Ignore 30% of the Problem?* FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1998 (11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.) PRESS BRIEFING ROOM The 1997 Kyoto Protocol is a key step towards the mitigation of climate change -- it was the first international agreement to place legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions from developed countriies. Although the Protocol significantly advances the cause of climate protection, it leaves many questions unanswered, including the role of forests and land-use change in meeting obligations to slow global warming. Over the past 150 years, deforestation has contributed an estimated 30 percent of the atmospheric build-up of CO2. It is also a significant driving force behind the loss of genes, species, and critical ecosystem services. However, in the international policy arena, biodiversity loss and climate change have often moved in wholly unconnected domains. Available at the briefing will be copies of three new reports that examine the role of forests and land-use change as a contribution to greenhouse gas build-up in the atmosphere as well as the role of forests in mitigating emissions. -------------------------------------------------------------- PANEL PRESENTATION: *Forests, Climate, and the Kyoto Protocol: Cross-Cutting Issues* SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1998 (10:00-11:30 a.m.) Organized by Union of Concerned Scientists and TATA Energy Research Institute and others In December 1997, Parties to the UNFCCC negotiated the Kyoto Protocol, which recognized a limited set of forest activities -- afforestation, reforestation, and deforestation -- that could be used by industrialized countries to meet their legally binnding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are no clear definitions for these terms, leading to concerns that countries may adopt a narrow focus toward forests and other natural ecosystems valuing them only for their carbon sequestration benefits. The Climate and Forests session will examine this possibility. Paige Brown, Research Analyst at the World Resources Institute, will present findings from *Climate, Biodiversity, and Forests: Issues and Opportunities Emerging from the Kyoto Protocol*, which examines why the role of forests and land-use change under the Kyoto Protocol remains controversial. The report focuses on the need for strong international commitments and concerted action. -------------------------------------------------------------- PANEL PRESENTATION: *Financing Sustainable Development via the CDM: Case Studies for Brazil, China and India* SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1998 (4:30-6:30 p.m.) Hosted by World Resources Institute As much as $15 billion a year could flow to developing countries under the Clean Development Mechanism. While intended for carbon abatement projects, many of these investments will generate important co-benefits. These include environmental benefits such as cleaner air and water, reduced deforestation, soil conservation, and biodiversity protection; and social benefits such as rural development and poverty alleviation. In many cases, these benefits are goals that developing countries have formally identified as development priorities. Experts in Brazil, China and India have investigated potential CDM options within their own countries and assessed the type and magnitude of co-benefits associated with these projects. In all three countries, potential CDM projects promise not only to abate carbon but also to promote key sustainable development objectives. Authors will present findings from this ongoing collaborative exercise. PRESENTERS Chair: Tony La Viņa, World Resources Institute Ronaldo Seroa da Motta (Brazil), Instituto do Pesquisas Economica Aplicada Zou Ji (China), Institute of Environmental Economics, Renmin University Sujata Gupta (India), Tata Energy Research Institute Duncan Austin (United States), World Resources Institute -------------------------------------------------------------- PANEL BRIEFING: *Safe Climate, Sound Business* MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1998 (9:30 - 10:30 a.m.) Alvear Palace Hotel, Gobernador Room, Avenida Alvear 1981 (1129), Tel: 808-2100 Co-hosted by World Resources Institute with General Motors, British Petroleum, and Monsanto Corporation Precautionary action is needed now to address the climate challenge. Moreover, with the right policy environment, there will be major business opportunities in reducing climate change risks for proactive business leaders. These are two of the key conclusions from a new, collaborative report -- Building A Safe Climate, Sound Business Future -- by British Petroleum, General Motors, Monsanto, and the World Resources IInstitute. For more than 18 months, the partners evaluated scenarios for meeting world energy demand, explored new technologies and potential business opportunities, and identified strategies that build a supportive policy environment that would enable substantial contributions from the business community. As a result of this collaboration, the group developed recommendations for governments and businesses, as well as an *Action Agenda* to implement the business recommendations for their own organizations. ======================================= World Resources Institute 1709 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20006 202/638-6300; fax: 202/638-0036 http://www.wri.org/wri/