RFF-IETA Side Event Series at COP 16

December 6 & 7, 2010
Presented by Resources for the Future and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)

On the sidelines of the United Nation's 16th annual Conference of Parties in Cancun, Mexico in early December 2010, Resources for the Future partnered with the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) to present a series of events designed to enrich the platform of information about renewables and energy efficiency, climate finance, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and trade and competitiveness issues.

More information about the panels listed below can be obtained by contacting Kristin Hayes at (202) 328-5033 or [email protected]. Event slides are available, where specified, and provided courtesy of each presenter.

Solar Energy: Prospects, Policy and Experience

Moderator:

Karen Palmer, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, USA

Panelists: 

• Josh Linn, Executive Director, MIT Solar Study and Fellow, Resources for the Future, USA
• Felix Matthes, Research Coordinator, Energy and Climate Policy, Institute for Applied Ecology, Germany
• Manish Kumar Shrivastava, Research Associate, The Energy and Resources Institute, India
• David Renne, President, International Solar Energy Society, USA

Panel Description:

Solar rays provide the most abundant energy resource on the earth, but tapping into that resource has proven to be expensive. Concerns about climate change and energy security have heightened interest in pursuing solar energy to generate electricity and finding ways to lower its cost and thereby increase its use. Moreover, solar photovoltaics offer a distributed source of energy that is appealing both in those regions of the world that have yet to develop an electric power grid as well as in those where transmission congestion is a problem and transmission expansion is challenging. In light of the opportunities and challenges associated with solar power, many countries have adopted policies to promote its use in hopes of fostering technological learning, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and furthering the transition toward a clean energy future.

Government Policies to Promote Energy Efficiency: What Are They and How Well Are They Working?

Moderator:

Josh Linn, Executive Director, MIT Solar Study and Fellow, Resources for the Future, USA

Panelists: 

• Barbara Finamore, Senior Attorney and Director, China Program, Natural Resources Defense Council, USA
• Mark Hopkins, Director of International Energy Efficiency, United Nations Foundation, USA
• Nigel Jollands, Head, Energy Efficiency Unit, International Energy Agency, France
• Karen Palmer, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, USA

Panel Description:

As nations around the world seek ways to put themselves on a path toward dramatically reduced greenhouse gas emissions, many governments are placing an emphasis on policies to promote energy efficiency as an important part of their emissions reduction strategy. Numerous engineering studies have identified particular energy efficiency investments as low or no cost ways to reduce both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and policymakers are eager to enact policies that can capture these gains. Nonetheless, there is some uncertainty about the amount of energy savings these programs yield and thus their potential to contribute to emissions reductions. As countries look toward developing nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) for compliance with international agreements, it is important to learn from past experiences with energy efficiency policy and develop robust approaches to policy evaluation that can help to shape effective strategies going forward.

UN High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Finance

Moderator:

Ray Kopp, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Climate and Electricity Policy, Resources for the Future, USA

Overview of Advisory Group Findings:

Tom Heller, Executive Director, Climate Policy Initiative, USA

Panelists: 

• Alvaro Melendez, Under Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mexico
• William Pizer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury, USA
• Nigel Purvis, President, Climate Advisers and Visiting Scholar, Resources for the Future, USA
• Jeremy Oppenheim, Director, McKinsey & Company

Panel Description:

Last year in Copenhagen, developed countries pledged to mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020 from public and private sources for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. Mobilizing this financing calls for a coordinated international effort. Over the next several years, policymakers will work to design new institutions (including related governance and decisionmaking processes) to channel a portion of this funding and engage in dialogues about appropriate funding levels, delivery, and accounting systems for both new and existing institutions. Two panels will address these important issues of climate finance.

Following Copenhagen, the Secretary-General of the United Nations established a High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change. The group was formed to study potential sources of revenue that will enable achievement of the level of climate change financing that was promised in Copenhagen. The first panel will provide an overview and commentary on the report just issued by the Advisory Group.

Innovative Approaches to Climate Change Finance:

Moderator:

Ray Kopp, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Climate and Electricity Policy, Resources for the Future, USA

Panelists:

• Brian Flannery, Manager, Science, Strategy and Programs, Exxon Mobil Corporation, USA
• Paul Frankel, Managing Director, California Clean Energy Fund, USA
• Axel Michaelowa, Institute of Political Science, Univ. of Zurich, Switzerland
• Ethan Zindler, Head of Policy Analysis, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, USA

Panel Description:

While the report of the Advisory Group represents a logical and productive first step in the global effort to assemble and effectively manage and deploy the $100 billion, it is clear many new approaches not currently articulated in the report will be needed to mobilize and deploy these financial resources. The second panel will begin the process of developing these new, innovative approaches.

Greenhouse Gas Regulation in the U.S. via the Clean Air Act

Moderator:

Phil Sharp, President, Resources for the Future, USA

Panelists:

• Dallas Burtraw, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, USA
• David Hawkins, Director of Climate Programs, Natural Resources Defense Council, USA
• Nathan Richardson, Visiting Scholar, Resources for the Future, USA

Panel Description:

With the future of climate legislation uncertain in the United States, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to identify and implement a regulatory strategy for greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the U.S.’s existing Clean Air Act. EPA has finalized an “endangerment finding,” after determining that GHGs are a threat to public health and welfare, and has issued new standards for vehicle emissions. The agency has also moved to consider GHG emissions in construction permits for power and industrial facilities, or stationary sources. Regulations on existing stationary sources will not be far behind, and President Obama has proposed significant funding for these efforts in his 2011 budget. Legislation was proposed in the U.S. Congress, however, that would remove EPA’s authority to regulate GHGs and cancel the endangerment finding. Though this legislation ultimately failed, renewed efforts by the new Congress to limit the EPA’s authority and ability to act are likely.

What will the policy impact of these moves be, both within the United States and beyond its borders? If EPA does regulate existing stationary sources, what kinds of sources will be regulated, and how? Will it be possible for regulation under the Clean Air Act to include emissions trading, offsets, and other policies that would make GHG regulation more efficient? And however EPA moves forward, its actions are likely to face litigation—what issues might such action involve? In short, can EPA build effective climate policy under its existing authority? Panelists from Resources for the Future will share their research on these questions, followed by commentary from both legal and industry perspectives.