Details

Climate Strategies (CS), Instituto Clima et Sociedade (ICS), Iniciativa Climatica de Mexico (ICM) and Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Regional Programme on Energy Security and Climate Change in Latin America (EKLA-KAS) would like to announce the 4th Global Climate Policy Conference (GCPC) under the working title: Harnessing Research for Climate Ambition and Transparency, to be held on 16th and 17th of August 2018 in São Paulo, Brazil.

The Paris Agreement, which entered into force in early November 2016, has been recognised as a key milestone in fighting climate change. However, it is also widely recognised that much support is still needed to help countries deliver on their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and that current NDCs are insufficient to achieve the overarching objectives of the Paris Agreement. Both the facilitative Talanoa Dialogue and finalisation of the Paris rulebook – processes scheduled for conclusion by the COP24 in Katowice later this year – require all countries to elaborate their NDC implementation strategies and further increase their ambition. Within this process, the research community has a major role to play helping countries explore new ideas and approaches.

The GCPC offers participants and stakeholders a unique opportunity to explore, present and discuss ideas that accelerate and strengthen implementation, by using a mix of bottom-up (from the research community) and top-down (from the policy community) approaches.

The GCPC is an annual event that brings together representatives of both the research and policy communities in different regions of the world. This year, CS, ICS, ICM and EKLA-KAS are looking to convene a vibrant debate about effective and innovative options by and for the Latin American region in their implementation of NDCs. The aim of the GCPC 2018 is to identify and explore the challenges and opportunities faced as countries implement their NDCs under the Paris Agreement and transition towards low-carbon development. Contributions will consist of analysis (of NDCs, existing policy frameworks, data availability to assess progress, capacity gaps, etc.), innovative ideas to foster implementation, and tools to support policy decisions.

We have selected abstracts submitted by researchers to present their ideas at the conference. Abstracts are of any academic discipline and interdisciplinary in nature, focused on offering policy solutions under the Paris Agreement at the national and international level. The scope of the conference covers key issues relating to climate mitigation and adaptation worldwide; however, particular emphasis will be given to topics relevant to Latin American countries.

Submitted abstracts focused on the following thematic areas:

• Governance structures to support the implementation and progressive strengthening of NDCs;
• Climate benefits of and emission reductions from land use, land use change and forestry;
• Scaling up and ensuring the efficient allocation of climate finance and investment;
• Policy frameworks to promote the deployment and sustainable integration of renewable energy;
• Aligning climate and trade agendas at the regional and international level;
• Advancing sustainable mobility and low-carbon public transport in megacities;
• Strategies for robust climate adaptation and resilient infrastructure;
• Implementing the Gender Action Plan - Methodologies for assessing gender impact on climate policy.

Actionable ideas were selected judged on the basis of innovativeness and quality of the idea, relevance to low-carbon growth and climate action, and potential impact. They will be included in the post-conference publication. The conference is implementation-oriented and therefore we were specifically interested in research-driven ideas that advance action on the ground.

Programme

August 16, Thursday

August 16, Thursday

EXPLORING ACTIONABLE RESEARCH IDEAS

The first day presents topics chosen through an open, competitive call for proposals among researchers worldwide

• 8:30 am - Registration with tea/coffee
• 9 am - OPENING CEREMONY

Welcome and Introduction to the Conference

• Michael Mehling, MIT and Climate Strategies; Chair, GCPC 2018

High-Level Opening Remarks

• Izabella Teixeira, International Resource Council and Former Environment Minister of Brazil

• 9:30 am - SESSION 1: MANAGING THE ENERGY TRANSITION

Chair: Andrzej Błachowicz, Climate Strategies

Rapporteur: Carolina Grottera

• Presentation 1: Co-benefits: Increasing Chances of a Global Transition to Low Carbon Energy - Larissa Basso, REDECLIM Research Network Brazil
• Presentation 2: Considering the Social Dimensions of the Energy Sector as a Means to Achieve Long Term Decarbonisation - Carlos Tornel, Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México; ICM
• Reaction: Philipp Hauser, Engie, Brazil

Discussion

• 11:00 am - Tea/coffee break
• 11:30 am - SESSION 2: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT CITIES

Chair: Alice Amorim, Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS)

Rapporteur: Carolina Grottera

• Presentation 1: Climate Resilient Asian and Latin American Cities: Achieving Long-term Impact through Land-use Regulations - Olga Chepelianskaia, UNICITI India
• Presentation 2: Climate Governance in Brazilian Cities: Transnational Municipal Networks and Experiments - Fabiana Barbi, University of Campinas, Brazil
• Reactions: Mariana Nicolleti, GVces; and David Groisman*, Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Discussion

• 1:00 pm - Lunch
• 2:00 pm - SESSION 3: LEVERAGING FINANCE FOR CLIMATE AMBITION

Chair: Jorge Villarreal, Iniciativa Climática de México (ICM)

Rapporteur: Alexandra Carr

• Presentation 1: New Innovations for Addressing Inequitable Development and Low Electrification Rates in the Global South and Latin America through Climate Finance and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) - Dumisani Chirambo, Seeds of Opportunity, Malawi
• Presentation 2: Defining and Assessing Transformational Impacts of Policies and Actions to Attract Finance and Raise Ambition of Nationally Determined Contributions in alignment with Sustainable Development Goals - Karen Holm Olsen, UNEP DTU Partnership, Denmark
• Reaction: Philippe Orliange, French Development Agency (AFD)

Discussion

• 3:30 pm - Tea/coffee break
• 4:00 pm - SESSION 4: ADDRESSING THE LAND USE CHALLENGE

Chair: Edenise Garcia, The Nature Conservancy Brazil

Rapporteur: Alexandra Carr

• Presentation 1: : Barriers in Land Use Governance and Recommendations for Achieving Brazil's NDC 15 min - Cristina Leme Lopes, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), Brazil
• Presentation 2: Measuring, Reporting and Verifying (MRV) Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Agriculture and Forestry Sectors in Brazil - Viviane Romeiro, World Resources Institute (WRI), Brazil
• Presentation 3: The Interactions and Feedbacks between Climate Change and Amazon Biosphere Change - Sihan Li, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
• Presentation 4: Good Governance and International Cooperation for Forest Preservation and Low Carbon Development in the Amazon - Eduardo Viola, University of Brasilia (UnB)
• Reaction: David Fernando Urrego Hernandez, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Colombia

Discussion

• 6:00 pm - CLOSE OF DAY 1

Reception and Dinner

August 17, Friday

EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION

The second day focuses on implementation and looks forward at the next steps

• 9:00 am - Tea/coffee
• 9:30 am - Welcome and Review of Day 1
• Alexandra Carr and Carolina Grottera

• 10:00 am - SESSION 5: GOVERNANCE OF NDC IMPLEMENTATION IN LATIN AMERICA

Moderator: Juliana Russar*, GCCA

Rapporteur: Alessandro Sanches-Pereira

• Introduction 1: Viviane Romeiro, World Resources Institute (WRI), Brazil
• Introduction 2: Andrés Flores Montalvo, World Resources Institute (WRI), Mexico
• Introduction 3: Marco Heredia, National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), Mexico
• Introduction 4: Alejandra Cifuentes, KLN (Klimaforum Latinamerica Network), Colombia

Discussion

• 11:30 am - Tea/coffee break
• 12:00 am - SESSION 6: CAN GLOBAL TRADE SUPPORT CLIMATE POLICY?

Moderator: Karina Marzano, KAS-EKLA

Rapporteur: Alessandro Sanches-Pereira

• Introduction 1: Michael Mehling, MIT and Climate Strategies
• Introduction 2: Keiji Inoue, International Trade and Integration Division, ECLAC

Discussion

• 1:30 - Lunch
• 2:30 - SESSION 7: INNOVATION IN RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICIES

Moderator: Branca Americano, Brazilian Climate Change Forum

Rapporteur: Alessandro Sanches-Pereira

• Introduction 1: Soobin Cho, KAIST, South Korea
• Introduction 2: Carlos Finat, Asociación Chilena de Energías Renovables (ACERA), Chile
• Introduction 3: Mauro Soares, EOS Energía, Argentina

Discussion

• 4:00 pm - End of the conference

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