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EPS SYSTEM provides power solutions, including backup power systems and generators that run on a variety types of fuel. EPS SYSTEM generators run on both - natural gas and diesel oil, as well as alternative fuels (propane, wellhead gas, and coal mine gas), recycled fuels (made from plastics, used vegetable oil) and fuels based on renewable energy sources (biodiesel, biogas, sewage gas, landfill gas, biomass gas). EPS SYSTEM offers tailor made solutions for: • combined heat and power systems (cogeneration) • combination of cogeneration with production of cold (trigeneration) • highly efficient embedded power generation • power generation from waste heat • heat exchanger blocks for cogeneration and heating systems • sophisticated emergency back-up systems • UPS - uninterruptible power supply systems • special purpose machines driven by combustion engines Since 2000 year, EPS SYSTEM has been providing emergency power backup systems. The emergency generators power range is from 1 up to 2500 kVA. They come in open, closed and portable assemblies, and meet EU directives for safety, noise and gas emissions. These are the core values of EPS SYSTEM: • high-quality products • a customer oriented service • a high skill level of its employees • flexibility in product design in accordance with the technology • efficient services provided on a professional level
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OPINION BY WOJCIECH KOSC
Don't give up
the Fight
There’s a cautious optimism ahead of COP19: a global deal may well be on the cards when it’s all done in Warsaw in late November. But what if it’s too late? The UNFCCC should push forward even harder. CLIMATE CHANGE IS happening before our
own eyes. The latest from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, is that the "warming of the climate system is unequivocal” and that it’s likely or very likely that extreme weather events owe to us warming our planet. The world of politics has embraced science’s conclusive findings on human responsibility for rising temperatures. But policy makers have yet to decide on a c ou rs e of a c t i on . What’s bad for the process is that today’s decisions may have a desired effect only decades or even centuries from now. But what do four-year-term officials care? There’s a glimmer of hope that they are starting to care. If climate change action is difficult now, what will be in store for us if the weather spins out of control in the future? We’re not talking abstract millennia any longer. The possible adverse effects are no longer likely to happen over a time scale beyond the understanding of a mammal whose average lifespan is around 80 years. There’s a good chance that many of today’s kids, your kids, will live on
Even if it's too late, politicians should rush a low emissions world. We would know that at least we tried, didn't we?
6 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
a rapidly warming Earth when they’re retired. So it’s rather encouraging that prior to COP19, Parties to the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are talking of a good climate for negotiating: first a road map to Paris in 2015, and then final agreement itself in the French capital. I haven’t spoken to a negotiator who wasn’t optimistic. Even if they’d quickly produce a list of shortcomings of the process, they would invariably say that they can be overcome. The Polish presidency keeps saying: if there’s a will, there’s a way. Hopefully this isn’t diplomats trying to pull wool over our eyes. We have seen this before. In Copenhagen, the multilateral process soured and the eventual “accord” went down as one of the shameful moments in the history of COPs, at least according to some negotiators. So, is all well? It would be if not for one thought lurking somewhere hidden, that it all might be coming a little too late. What emerges from a wealth of scientific research that the IPCC synthesizes into its Assessment Reports is that warming is going to continue even if we stopped emissions altogether as of tomorrow. For once, it would be welcome if politicians ignored that one inconvenient truth and ushered in a low-emissions world. We would know that at least we tried, didn’t we? At least we did that.
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Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action
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Forum highlights: • Breakfast workshop hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce: “The key to scaling-up energy efficiency investments” • Keynote addresses and plenary panel discussions • Climate leader insights • Networking opportunities including lunch and drinks reception • Exclusive screening of the award winning film “Chasing Ice” hosted by UNEP
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PARTNERS
To become a partner for the magazine, please contact the publisher The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) is a business organization that serves and promotes its member companies. AmCham fosters positive relationships with the government and promotes the free market spirit for the benefit of business. Ul. Emilii Plater 53, 00-113 Warsaw www.amcham.com.pl Cleantech Poland (CTP) is a media and consultancy company for sustainable business. CTP connects capital to technology in Poland’s conversion to a low carbon economy. The Cleantech magazine is part of a portfolio which includes the Shale Gas Investment Guide/Poland. Ul Krucza 51/31, 00-022 Warsaw info@cleantechpoland.com PwC PwC provides cleantech companies with services in assurance, advisory and tax & legal. A global services company, PwC has been in Poland for 20 years. Locally, there are 46 partners and more than half of employees are female. Al. Armii Ludowej 14, 00-638, Warsaw www.pwc.pl SSW SSW provides comprehensive tax and legal advisory services. SSW, whose main practice areas are energy and natural resources, counts the world’s largest energy companies as clients. Rondo ONZ 1, 00-124 Warsaw www.ssw.pl
COMPANY INDEX A Africa Group (39) Alstom (60) Alta SA (51) n
AmCham (8) AOSIS (38, 42) ArcelorMittal Poland (60) Assoc Study of Peak Oil & Gas (9) B BASF (80,100) Bizuu (95) Bloomberg (91) n BMW (60) n C Carbon Market Watch (22) Caring for Climate (77) Cemex Polska (65) CH Robinson (91) City of Warsaw (68, 71) Cleantech Poland (8, 70, 90, 94) CAN Europe (33) Climate Coalition (72) CTCN (69) Climate Vulnerable Forum (43) Consus (22) D Dyckerhoff Polska (65) n E Earth Summit n (16, 26) EBRD (76) EC (19, 22, 63) Ekoprezent (79) Emirates (60) EPS System (5, 94) EU ETS (33) ECF (74) EuroPress Polska (60) n F F4B (81, 94) n G Gaja Club (71) GCCA (98) GE (51) GEKON (67) Global Humanitarian Forum (43) Green Climate Fund (38) Green Investment Scheme (66) GreenEvo (66, 68, 69)
8 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
Was your organization mentioned in Cleantech? Here's our index to help you find out.
Greenpeace (42,72) Greystar (91) Grupa Ożarów (65) n H Hanwel (74) Heidelberg Cement (65) n I IDDRI (95) IEA (19) IEO Poland (19) Intl Civil Aviation Org (33) International Paper (60) IPCC (6, 9, 17, 19, 20, 25, 27, 40, 45) IRC (19) IRENA (19, 63) n J Jarex (74) JLL (2) n K Kaspersky Lab (60) KOBiZE (62, 65, 70) Kunle Adeyemi (39) n L La Regina Hotel (95) Lafarge Cement (65) Lease Plan (60) Lewiatan (69) Lotos (60) Lufthansa (94) LULUCF (64) n M MEF (37) Mine Master (78) Ministry of Environment (77, 68, 71) Mitsubishi (51) MNP (19) Museum of History of Polish Jews (71) MYCOM (76) n N NASA (16) NASA Goddard Inst for Space Studies (47) National CC Comm (98) Nature (49) naukaoklimacie.pl (21) NFOŚiGW (61, 66, 70, 79) Norton Rose
Fulbright (94, 95) n O OECD (19) Opel (60) Oracle (51) n P Packers Plus (91) Partnership Climate (71) PayPal (80) PBL (19) PGE (60) Phillips (51) Point Carbon (22) POLSEFF (74, 76, 78) Profesjonal (76) PwC (8, 23) n R RES Legal (18) RIVM (19) n S Samsung (99) Sandbag (22) Scripps Oceanology (46) Sebastiao Salgado (9, 14) Siemens (3, 91) Siewierz Jeziorna (51, 52, 53) Skanska (4, 91, 95) SpaceX (80) SSW (8, 13) State Forests Assoc, Poland (71) Sustainable Innovation Forum (7) n U UK Meteorological Office (49) UN Grid Warszawa (79) UNCED (16, 26) UNEP (25, 39, 79) UNFCCC (16, 19, 20, 26, 27, 29, 32, 34, 36, 41, 42, 61, 96) UNGC (77) US DOE (19) US Climate Data Centre (43) n W Warsaw University (9, 21) World Bank (19, 42) WWF (72) n Y Yale Climate Change Media (36)
CONTRIBUTORS
Cleantech
RAJENDRA K. PACHAURI
EDITOR IN CHIEF
The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2002, Mr. Pachauri gave this magazine an interview upon his brief visit to Warsaw in October. He will be back in Warsaw to deliver a speech on the COP19's first day, Nov 11
Wojciech Kość
PUBLISHER Parker Snyder
ART DIRECTOR Pascal Guiter
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Ola Foryś
DESIGN CONCEPT
Pascal Guiter, Paige Weir
KEY ACCOUNT Maja Sobieszczak
OFFICE MANAGER Jadwiga Figura
WRITERS
Tobiasz Adamczewski, Hunter Diamond, Nicholas Newman (London), Jacek Piskozub, Marcin Popkiewicz, Sonja van Renssen (Brussels), Thomas Spencer, Marcin Śmietana, Paul Watkinson
SEBASTIAO SALGADO Award-winning photographer who has travelled extensively to capture the Earth's natural beauty and human communities that continue to live in agreement with their ancestral traditions. Mr. Salgado is also an accomplished conservationist.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Cover photo: Ahmed Amir 123RF.com, Creative Commons, City of Warsaw, European Commission, Flickr, GCCA, IISD Reporting Services, IPCC, iStockphoto, Ministry of Environment, Photopin.com, Krzysztof M. Ratschka, Sebastiao Salgado, Szymon Szcześniak, UNFCCC, warsawtour.pl. Photo from featured organization if no adjacent credit is provided
SZYMON MALINOWSKI Professor of atmospheric physics at the faculty of physics of the Warsaw University. and one of the Polish scientists whose knowledge about climate he tries to make accessible to a wider public via interviews and the naukaoklimacie.pl website.
DISTRIBUTION TM Media
EDITORIAL CONTACT
Wojciech@cleantechpoland.com (+48) 602 458 099
MARCIN POPKIEWICZ Head of the Polish department of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, journalist, author and lecturer. Nuclear physicist by education. Mr. Popkiewicz also runs a climate change portal, ziemianarozdrozu.pl.
ADVERTISING CONTACT Parker@cleantechpoland.com (+48) 517 469 881
GENERAL REQUESTS info@cleantechpoland.com
PRINTER
Drukarnia BELTRANI KRAKÓW
SONJA VAN RENSSEN
PUBLISHED BY
Cleantech Poland LLC ul. Krucza 51/31 00-022 Warsaw, Poland
Dutch by origin, Brussels-based reporter specializing in climate, energy and environment, issues. Ms. van Renssen has reported from previous COPs, including daily coverage of COP17 in Durban, South Africa, for Cleantech Poland.
WWW.CLEANTECHPOLAND.COM
|9
CONTENTS
p/6
OP-ED Wojciech Kosc
p/8
Partners CONTRIBUTORS
p/14
Photo Essay Sebasti達o Salgado
p/16 FAQS
p/1 9 INDICATORS p/2 4
Climate Change Timeline p/30 NEGOTIATING POSITIONS
32
/32 /34 /35 /36 /38 /39 /4 0 /41
EU Russia Brazil USA Small Islands Africa China UNFCCC plenary
p/4 2 FINANCE The cost of climate change p/4 4
A Short History of
Climate Science p/4 8
Climate Change Myths p/52
Siewierz Jeziorna* Poland's first sustainable city 10 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
*Advertorial
WELCOMES DELEGATES FROM THE COP19 CONFERENCE
Located in the heart of the Central Business District on the 22nd floor of the Skylight Building. OUR MEETING & CONFERENCE FACILITIES ARE UNRIVALLED IN POLAND.
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CONTENTS 62
p/54 IPCC Report p/56
INTERVIEW
Rajendra K. Pachauri p/6 1 MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT COP Presidency /62 /64 /66 /68 /70
98
Letter from the COP President Poland's emissions history Poland's green toolbox Climate voices Our story
p/72
NGOs Point of View p/74
Low Carbon Leaders /74 /76 /78 /80 /80
Jarex, power generation Profesjonal, mechanical Mine Master, industrial BASF, packaging Hyperloop, transport
p/82
Two Weeks in Warsaw p/90
ABOUT US Cleantech Poland
W WARSA
MpagAe 6P6
12 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
p/96 What's it take to reach a global agreement? p/98
PORTRAIT
Bernarditas C. Muller
Poland has complied with the Kyto Protocol’s requirements and reduced the level of GHG emissions by as much as 30 percent. However the Kyoto Protocol is not the only international framework that is guiding its energy policy.
PHOTO: SSW
ADVERTORIAL
PIOTR SPACZYNSKI, PARTNER, S SW LAW FIRM ANNA PIOTROWSK A, AS SOCIATE, S SW LAW FIRM
'Safe, cheap & ecological' Poland's energy policy to 2050
T
he European Union has defined a framework for a uniform climate change and energy policy until 2020. This framework reflects various political goals: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, competitiveness and job creation, as well as guaranteeing energy supplies. The EU framework also takes note of the long-term perspectives devised by the European Commission in 2011 in its action plan to move to a competitive low-emission economy by 2050. The EU goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050 as compared with 1990 levels. Some executive measures are exemplified in the Green Book issued by the European Commission on March 27, 2013. In this context, what follows is a brief discussion of Poland’s energy policy. ENERGY POLICY Poland has complied with the Protocol’s requirements and reduced the level of emissions by as much as 30 percent. However, the Kyoto Protocol is not the only international emissions reduction
agreement to which Poland is a party. Further reduction goals are specified in the Accession Treaty signed upon Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004. The EU’s commitments for 2020 are the so-called three times twenty percent: a commitment to reduce gas emissions, improve energy efficiency, and increase renewable energy. Based on these commitments, Poland has elaborated its energy policy until 2030, and is soon to announce a draft energy policy until 2050. Poland’s energy policy priorities and goals were presented in the Position of the Polish Electrical Energy Committee dated August 6, 2013. These priorities were summed up by the headlines: safe, cheap and ecological. Ecological priorities are reduction of C02, SOX, NOX and dust emissions. Emphasis is placed on the significance of using a major percentage of waste for energy, as well as on the possibility of underground carbon dioxide storage in accordance with amended regulations, the Waste Management Act and the Mining and Geological Law.
Poland’s energy policy until 2030 (and also subsequently until 2050) assumes with regard to greenhouse gas emissions that new construction standards for power plants with the C02 capturing system should be implemented. Other proposals include application of proceeds from auctions of C02 emission entitlements to support actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the assumptions can be attained only if a system for the management of domestic greenhouse gas and other substance levels is created. But regardless of further developments regarding changes to the Kyoto Protocol, Poland is bound by even more stringent EU directives. Implementation of the KP is progressing unlike originally assumed, and a significant number of signatories have elected not to implement its commitments. Hence, it is unclear whether reduction of gas emissions as proposed by the EU will be reflected in the solutions adopted by COP19 in Warsaw. www.ssw.pl
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| 13
PHOTO ESSAY BY SEBASTIÃO SALG ADO / AMAZONAS IMAGES
Botswana. The healing or trance dance is the San’s most important mystical ritual. As the women sing and clap in rhythm, the men dance in a circle. The frenzy of their trance, some San people believe, marks their entry into the world of spirits. The cultural traditions of the San people are closely linked to Botswana’s environment, coming under pressure because of climate change. According to the United Nations, the country’s water, agriculture, food security and human health are likely to be affected. Botswana is already exposed because of its fragile, arid environment.
14 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
WWW.CLEANTECHPOLAND.COM
| 15
INTRODUCTION
FAQs Yes.
2
DOES THIS AFFECT ME?
Yes. You are already living through more extreme temperatures and less predictable weather than mere 50 years ago. If your children live to at 75 years of age, unless we do something, they are certain to have less secure access to food and water, and more competition for resources due to climate related migration.
HOW HAVE AVERAGE GLOBAL SURFACE TEMPERATURES CHANGED?
This map shows historical average global temperatures during two decades roughly 120 years apart relative to average temperatures from 1951 to 1980. Conclusively, average global temperatures have increased. Source: NASA
1880-1889
5
2000-2009
WHAT IS THE UNFCCC?
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The objective of the treaty is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The treaty itself set no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. Instead, the treaty provides a framework for negotiating specific legally binding documents (such as "protocols") that may set limits on emissions.
16 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
4
HOW DO SCIENTISTS KNOW THIS IS HAPPENING?
Scientists can measure atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, or analyze photos taken from space, which show ice caps are in retreat. Based on a range of indicators, there is near universal consensus that the climate is changing and that we are responsible. Though not all the complexity of climate science has been unraveled, the basic physics of the greenhouse effect were laid out more than a century ago.
UNFCCC
1 3
IS THE CLIMATE CHANGING?
Curious about climate change? Or skeptical that it even takes place? These 11 Q&As set out the basics for the dicussion that lies ahead.
8
WHAT IS A COP?
7
123RF
6
WHAT’S THE WORST CASE SCENARIO?
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Rising sea levels will inundate low lying coastal areas and entire inhabited islands will be swallowed by the sea. Although these changes will be incremental and humanity will adapt, the likelihood of intense, violent conflict will increase because of resource scarcity. The longer humanity waits, the harder it becomes to take a different course of action until we reach a “tipping point” beyond which the dangers are unknown. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the survival of humanity is at stake.
You and I mitigate the effects of human activity by reducing our carbon emissions. In a broad sense, you can do your part by helping to switch to a cleantech economy. As an individual, you can vote with your pocketbook: buy energy from renewables or choose to live in a community served by public transit.
A COP is the UN's annual climate related meeting which stands for Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (see question 5). At COPs, the international community discusses a consensus on what - if anything should be done about what science says is causing climate change. COPs also assess progress in dealing with climate change. The first COP took place in Berlin, Germany in 1995 and next year the COP is taking place in Lima, Peru. A global agreement is expected at the 2015 COP, to take place in Paris, France (no final decision on location yet).
10
IS THERE A CHANCE THE THREAT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE IS BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION?
Not likely, given the widespread scientific consensus that the climate is changing because of 150 years of continuous industrial activity, which for the first time in millions of years, put the concentration of atmospheric CO2 at 400 part per million. Even conservative climate models have near-term temperature increases at no less than 2 degrees Celsius, which could be likely to melt the ice-caps and raise the average level of the sea.
9
WHAT WILL THE NEGOTIATORS DO DURING THE COP?
Sleep very little, because early in the morning they will meet at the National Stadium and discuss all day long what should be included in a global climate agreement or who should pay to mitigate climate change. The closer to the end of the COP, the more taxing discussions become, dragging hours on end all night. Results, if any, get adopted during the closing session of the COP. The closing session could get very intense, too, if particularly contentious issues are at stake.
11
IS THE CLIMATE CHANGING DUE TO HUMAN ACTIVITY?
Yes. The most recent report from the International Panel on Climate Change, the world’s scientific authority on the subject, put the likelihood of human activity induced climate change at greater than 95 percent.
WWW.CLEANTECHPOLAND.COM
| 17
ADVERTORIAL
ANNA POBŁOCK A, ECLAREON
RES LEGAL - database renewable support systems
n important part of mitigating the effects of climate change is the deployment of renewable energy sources (RES), and the most important topic seems to be the design of financial support schemes. Among the countries of the EU, there seems to be three kinds of schemes: feed-in tariffs, quota systems and a premium tariff. The minor differences constitute a palette of possibilities. Policy makers must constantly change and adopt support schemes to the developing situation on the market.
information on financial incentives. “With detailed knowledge of each member states’ support schemes the European Commission can understand what goes on in each country and compare national practices, to evaluate good and bad practices,” says Mr. Howes. However, this knowledge is also useful for the countries themselves. The infor-
According to Tom Howes, the Deputy Head of Unit, DirectorateGeneral for Energy, European Commission, “Support schemes for RES are of increasing importance. The most important topics are the issue of competition between the electricity from RES and the electricity from traditional sources and the cost effectiveness of the support measures.” These discussions on the design of the support schemes show how important is the access to detailed 18 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
mation allows them to gain a better understanding of what goes on in the neighboring countries or in the markets which are successful. These were the reasons behind the development of the online database RES LEGAL Europe. RES LEGAL Europe is a website about the various regulations on renewable energy generation, including legislation related to support schemes, grid issues and RES policies for electricity, heating & cooling and transport. The scope of the database covers all the EU 28 Member States, the EFTA Countries and some EU Accession Countries.
SOURCE: RES LEGAL
A
IKLICK FOTOSTUDIO BERLIN
Free and detailed information on policy design for renewables allows policy makers to gain a better understanding of what goes on in neighboring countries or in successful markets
"Among EU countries, there seems to be three kinds of schemes: feed-in tariffs, quota systems and a premium tariff. The minor differences constitute a palette of possibilities"
RES LEGAL Europe was developed in 2007, first on behalf of the German Ministry of Environment. Visit the site: www.res-legal.eu Anna Pobłocka is a project manager at eclareon Berlin, a consulting company specialized in policies concerning renewable energy sources. The company has developed both the RES LEGAL Europe and the Solar Guidelines databases.
I ND I CA T O R S -1PRODUCTION
G LO B A L R E S D E V E LO P M E N T Hydropower
Bioenergy
Onshore wind
Other* * INCLUDES: OFFSHORE WIND, CSP, PV, OCEAN, GEOTHERMAL
6,000
A N A LY S T ' S V I E W
TWh
5,000 4,000 3,000 0 2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
TOBIASZ ADAMCZEWSKI C L I M AT E A N D E N E R G Y P O L I C Y E X P E R T
2012
2011
SOURCE: IEA, OECD
According to the OECD and IEA, 20% of power in 2011 was produced from renewable sources. This is expected to rise to 25% by 2018, mostly driven by the PV and wind power sectors. FOSSIL FUELS AND CEMENT
CO2 EMISSIONS PER REGION International transport Other developing countries
1,000 MILLION TONNES CO2
Other industrialised countries Japan China
Russian Federation EU USA
30 SOURCE: PBL, JRC, EC
20 10 0 1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2014
2010
Although the relationship between GHG emissions and economic growth is clear during major fluctuations, decoupling has been proven possible. In the EU, between 1990 and 2011 emissions fell by 18.3% and the GDP grew 45%.
Region/ Country
Global Emissions (2011)
Europe USA China India
EMISSIONS AND WEALTH PER CAPITA
tCO2/capita (2011)
GPD/capita (US$, 2012)
11%
7.5
35,100
16%
17.3
49,965
29%
7.2
6,188
6%
1.6
1,489
Statistically, the highest emission reduction potential per purchasing power is in the US. China is the largest GHG emitter as a country, but per capita is close to the EU.
OVER TIME
WIND TURBINES COST (1,000USD/kW) 1.73
1.26
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Mr. Adamczewski, formerly principal analyst at Cleantech Poland and senior specialist in the ministry of environment, is currently a climate and energy expert at WWF Poland, a non-governmental organization.
PRICES
WIND TURBINES AND SOLAR PV 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6
SOURCE: PBL, CIA, WORLD BANK
R E G I O N A L S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
It seems that the UNFCCC process still lives in the shadow of the Copenhagen COP. At least from the point of view of an observer in Poland, climate change has been pushed out of the political agenda, replaced with more immediate threats, which came with the financial crisis. The industrial slowdown of 2009 and 2010 brought a dip in GHG emissions, which played a significant role in the carbon markets. Ironically, lower CO2 levels led to the disruption of the functioning of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. As demand for project-based Kyoto units and EU allowances plummeted, so did their value. Moreover, the cloud of surplus CO2 units from 2008-2012 will be a cause for headaches for years to come. But IPCC’s recent WG1 report could hold the answer to the ailing carbon markets: without quick and ambitious mitigation action, we will pass the 2oC threshold. It seems that only setting environmentally driven long term emission reduction targets could bring back the trust of society and markets in both regional and global climate policy.
12 10 8 6 4 2 0
China is the world leader in installed wind capacity, with 62,364 MW installed and 26.2% of the global market in 2011. Since the 2009 peak, prices have been stabilizing around the 1,400 USD mark.
COST OF SOLAR PV (USD/W)
System Price, Residential System Price, Commercial Global Module Price
Solar PV is an example of how the effect of scale and regulatory support influences technology maturity. In May 2013 the average price for monocrystalline wafers fell to 0.86$/W and polycrystalline to 0.74$/W.
1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
SOURCE: IRENA
SOURCE: US DEPATMENT OF ENERGY, IEO POLAND
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I ND I CA T O R S -2FROM THE IPCC
A N N U A L AV E R A G E T E M P E R AT U R E A N O M A LY LAND AND OCEAN TEMPERATURE IN oC
RELATIVE TO 1961-1990
0.0 -0.6 1960
* 95-100% certainty
“Human influence on the climate system is clear. This is evident from the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, positive radiative forcing, observed warming, and understanding of the climate system” source: Working Group I Contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, Summary for Policymakers
SHORT TIMEFRAME
1950 1960
OVER TIME
14 12 10 8 6 4
1900
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
20 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
MILLION km2
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
The Arctic summer sea ice extent has been declining rapidly since the mid-twentieth century. In a scenario, with a 2 oC increase, the Arctic could be ice-free in September already by the mid 21st century.
G LO B A L AV E RAG E S E A L E V E L C H A N G E OVER TIME
200 150 100 50 0 -50
1900
mm
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
Ocean warming and decreasing glaciers and ice sheets cause the sea level to rise. If necessary climate action is not taken, by 2100 the sea level could rise by 0.98m relative to 1986–2005 levels, in one of the scenarios.
The annual average level of CO2 has risen significantly over the past fifty years. This increase has been gaining momentum over time. The difference between CO2 levels year on year has been increasing dynamically.
SOURCE: IPCC
1990
ARCTIC SUMMER SEA ICE EXTENT
AT M O S P H E R I C C O 2 C O N C E N T R AT I O N 400 380 360 340 320 300
1980
SOURCE: IPCC
“The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased”
1970
The average global temperature has risen by approximately 0.6oC relative to 1961-1990. In Cancun (2010), countries agreed to review in 2015 whether a 1.5oC target would be more appropriate than the current 2oC.
SOURCE: IPCC
“It is extremely likely* that human influence has been the dominant cause of observed warming since the mid-20th century”
SOURCE: IPCC, UNFCCC
0.6
400 350 300 260 210 160
OVER TIME ppm
LONG TIMEFRAME* 2013 AD 1950 AD
400 350 300 250 200 150 100 SOURCE: NASA, MNP, RIVM
50
0
A long-term view of the atmospheric CO2 levels shows the disproportion between regular CO2 cycles and the recent increase. To remain under the 2oC target, concentration levels need to remain below 450 ppm. *Thousand of years before 1950
I ND I CA T O R S -3EXPERT GUEST Climate change naysayers and climate change activists are locked in a battle that seems to ignore the findings of scientists, who know with near certainty that climate change is caused by human activity.
SZYMON MALINOWSKI
Professor of atmospheric physics at the faculty of physics of the Warsaw University. Co-founder of naukaoklimacie.pl, a website about climate science. The latest from the IPCC is that
climate change is unequivocal andcaused by man. What more remains to be understood? First, we are still unable to determine climate sensitivity with enough accuracy. We know that if atmospheric CO2 doubles, the temperature will rise, but we can only calculate that rise within a range that has been difficult to narrow for years, despite having perfected calculation methods and having more and more data. Another thing that we don’t know, which is potentially dangerous not to know, is the occurrence of so-called tipping points: we don’t know when the global warming may cause an intensive release of methane from permafrost will begin, nor when the thermohaline circulation will be disrupted. In short, because we are still unable to calculate climate sensitivity accurately, we don’t know if we’re close or far away from tipping points. We know that the climate will
keep responding to human activity for a long time even if we stop emitting CO2. So can we stop the
Earth from warming at all? You’re right: even if we stopped CO2 emissions altogether now, the climate is going to respond because CO2 will remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. It’s as if you were insulating your house with styrofoam: once you’re finished, the temperature indoors will continue to rise for some time still, until your house - the Earth - reaches a state of new equilibrium. There's the so-called geoengineering, like spraying sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere, but we don’t know what effects these methods could have, even if they're relatively cheap and potentially easy to carry out. For now, the first step we should take is the reduction of CO2 emissions. How does the science of
climatology translate into what’s going on in climate policy? I don’t think it translates significantly. In the case of negotiations, scientific knowledge on climate change is only one element of the process. The main axis is the national interest of states. Some states could forgo their interests while taking into account what science has to say, while others disregard science and will only negotiate their national agenda. There also is a lot of misinformation about climate science and climate change. The public doesn’t even consider climate change a physical phenomenon that’s being studied with objective methods that give verifiable results. It’s seen as a political issue by both so-called denialists as well as those who say that climate change exists. Both sides base their view on belief rather than data. The ripple effect of that is books, articles and films presenting climate change as a hoax, which in turn triggers a reaction. Hence the impression that there’s a debate going on while, in fact, from a scientist’s point of view, there is no question about the solidity of the global warming theory.
H E S A I D I T. . .
“If atmospheric CO2 doubles, the temperature will rise, but we can only calculate that rise withing a range that's been difficult to narrow"
“Geoengineering may be relatively cheap and easy to do, but we don't know what effects it could have. The first step should be the reduction of CO2 emissions"
“The public doesn't consider climate change a physical phenomenon that's being studied with objective methods that give verifiable results. It's seen as a political issue only"
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I ND I CA T O R S -4EXPERT GUEST
SELECTED FUTURES
CARBON PRICE 12
EUR/ tCO2e
EUA
ERU
CER
10.31
SOURCE: CONSUS
6 2.75
0
Mar 2012
Oct 2013
Dec 2012
Clarification of emissions reduction targets in the next two years will have an impact on the carbon markets. Long term binding targets could give stability to the energy industry and give a clear signal of development paths. MACIEJ WISNIEWSKI, PRESIDENT OF CONSUS BROKERAGE HOUSE
5,873 2,593 751 3,922 13,139
* PILOT CHINESE REGIONAL ETSs
1,000 500 0
EU ETS
California
Korea
Quebec
CN ETSs*
TRADED IN 2010-2012
KYOTO P ROTO CO L U N I T S Volume
VOLUME AND VALUE
Value
(Mt CO2e)
(EUR million)
2010
2011
2012
2010
2011
2012
CER ERU AAU
1,508
2,012
2,408
18,154
18,184
5,855
59
101
574
512
731
867
63
69
119
464
414
144
The prices of CO2 units from Kyoto Protocol flexible mechanisms have been falling dynamically over the past years. Despite higher trading volumes, the value of the market has decreased significantly since 2010.
THE EU ETS SURPLUS
2008-2012
The AAU surplus shows a disproportion between supply and demand on the global CO2 market. Some major causes include the lack of participation from the US and CA in the Kyoto Protocol and the GHG reductions from before the mechanism was established.
EU ETS phase 3 (Specifications)
Surplus Backloading* 2020 ETS cap** * proposed ** tentative
bn EUAs (Gt CO2e)
2 0.9 1.72
BILLIONS OF EUAs Gt CO2e
With the economic downturn in the second phase of the EU ETS and purchasing of emission offsets from Kyoto’s flexible mechanisms, an oversupply of approximately 2 billion EUAs could be seen in the third phase of the ETS.
SOURCE: PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA
Unit
AAU
22 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
Australia
The EU ETS remains the largest regional CO2 market. The introduction of schemes in Korea and China shows that non-Annex I countries can also play an important role in mitigation action.
SOURCE: EUROPEAN COMMISSION, SANDBAG
SOURCE: POINT CARBON, CARBONMARKETWATCH
Russia Ukraine Poland Others TOTAL
Surplus (Mt CO2e)
1,500
SOURCE: PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA
The Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015 could be the first to have a major impact on the value of the CO2 emission allowances, if a global agreement is reached there. Any decisions taken earlier, for instance during the summit in Warsaw this year, which will only lead towards the signing of the agreement, should not have a considerable influence on the EUA price. According to Consus Brokerage House, if the Paris conference is successful, the price may grow by 2-3 euros per allowance. On the other hand, a potential fiasco of the talks in Paris has already been discounted by the market and should not make the EUA price go down.
Majors Surplus Holders
MtCO2e
2,000
Cleantech asked Maciej Wiśniewski, one of the leading market experts in emissions trading, about what impact the UNFCCC process has on carbon markets.
THE CP1 SURPLUS
MARKET SIZE IN 2015
G LO B A L C A R B O N M A R K E T S
ADVERTORIAL
S
Environmental impact management, also known as eco-efficiency or environmental efficiency in a broad sense, is not merely a trend, but a management tool. PHOTO: PWC
In tough times, cost optimization becomes a company's top priority. That’s why increasing environmental efficiency and reducing overall environmental impact to improve the cash flow has become so popular.
IRENA PICHOLA, PWC
MORE WITH LESS Business efficiency counts
eeking operating cost savings is not a new idea. However, in view of the growing pressure from clients and investors to protect the environment (the growing interest in the management of greenhouse gas emissions is one example), companies are now forced to look at savings and environmental efficiency. At the same time, new sources for financing environmental efficiency have become available.
1) Cost reduction: 8 out of 10 CEOs surveyed expect uncertain or unstable growth to be maintained, therefore, cost cutting ranks high on the list of business priorities. 2) Reduction of environmental impact: 48% of the global companies surveyed plan to focus on reducing the environmental impact; 41% plan to focus on monitoring and reporting sustainable development and efficiency of processes.
Environmental impact management, also known as eco-efficiency or environmental efficiency in a broad sense, is not merely a trend, but a management tool. This process allows the identification of cost cutting opportunities through activities such as the efficient use of resources or improvement energy efficiency in the following areas: energy, fuels, water, waste, chemicals and wood products.
Investments in environmental efficiency include not only cost-intensive projects such as technological changes or system enhancements. Projects can be implemented at a lower cost, such as the education of staff, clients, investors or the implementation of procedures, management systems or monitoring the use of resources also play an important role.
SURVEY SAYS According to the two PwC surveys of global companies [1], managers plan to focus on two objectives, which can be achieved through the implementation of environmental efficiency policy:
With respect to eco-efficiency, the most important thing is a comprehensive approach to environmental protection, proper identification of the company's impact on the environment and a careful assessment of the potential for reducing this impact and, consequently,
reducing costs. Such actions should be in three steps: measuring, managing and benefiting from eco-efficiency solutions. As a result, companies obtain a comprehensive picture of added value resulting from the implementation of eco-efficiency, which is an innovative method of building competitive advantage and bringing value to the company. AUTHORS Irena Pichola & Magdalena Dembińska, Sustainable Business Solutions, PwC ABOUT PWC Sustainable Business Solutions services blend financial discipline and operational rigor with creative insight and a passion for sustainability to help clients create greater business value through their environmental and social initiatives. PwC's sustainability consulting capabilities include robust sector-specific expertise covering a range of industries, with a focus on energy, technology, finance, automotive and retail. www.pwc.pl [1] PwC survey: “Boosting your bottom line through eco-efficiency” and PwC “CEO Survey 2013”
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WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
CLIMATE TIMELINE
JOSEPH FOURIER DESCRIBES THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
In 1824, French physicist Joseph Fourier made the first calculations of the so-called “greenhouse effect” or the warming effect that the Earth’s atmosphere has on the planet. He recognized that infrared radiation that the Earth emitted in response to the light from the Sun, remained trapped in the atmosphere, increasing global surface temperatures. Fourier also suspected that human activity might influence climate. He was right, but well ahead of his time. In Fourier’s times, such a hypothesis couldn’t gain ground due to inaccurate early attempts to measure infrared absorption that couldn’t confirm CO2’s importance in influencing the Earth’s temperatures. The researchers were also unable to measure accurately absorptions levels of CO2 and vapor.
GLOBAL WARMING? BRING IT ON! Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius concluded that industrial-age coal burning would boost the natural greenhouse effect. He developed a climate model that was very like modern ones, calculating a few degrees Celsius increase of surface temperatures per doubling of atmospheric CO2. Drawing on earlier attempts by American scientist Samuel Pierpoint Langley to calculate the Moon’s temperature, Arrhenius found that there was an increased infrared absorption, when Moon rays penetrated atmosphere at a low angle, through more CO2 and vapor. Arrhenius realized that changes in atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and vapor would influence global temperatures. He was able to calculate resulting additional cooling-warming effect. Warming, he wrote, would be beneficial for humanity.
1896
1824 1861
Irish physicist John Tyndall proves link between greenhouse effect and certain gases
24 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
1900 Norwegian Knut Angstrom details the role CO2 plays in infrared spectrum absorption of heat
1927
1938 British scientist Guy Callendar the first to show growth in global surface temperatures over previous 50 years
Carbon emissions from fossil fuels and industry reach 1 billion tonnes per year
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
CO2 ON THE RISE: In 1958, Charles David Keeling started to systematically measure atmospheric CO2 in the Antarctic and at Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Keeling’s experiments provided first unambiguous proof of rising CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and proved landmark in building scientific concern over rising CO2 levels and their impact on the Earth’s temperatures. Shortly after Keeling, the first computer models found their place in climatology.
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
In 1967, Sykuro Manabe and Richard Wetherald made use of computers to integrate absorption curves and came up with the first detailed calculation of the greenhouse effect that included convection. The Manabe-Wetherald one-dimensional radiative-convective model established that doubling of carbon dioxide atmospheric concentration from the level of around 310 ppm would bring about 2 degrees Celsius increase in global surface temperature. These late 1960s models suggested a temperature rise of a few degrees in the following century, but the models seemed preliminary, and the time horizon too far off.
1958
THE HOTTEST SUMMER By 1970s, refined models showed that global warming might be significant by the end, or even as fast as the middle of the 21st century. However, it took one hot summer of 1988, the hottest year on record at the time, for scientific worries about climate change to catch wider public attention. At the world climate conference in Toronto in June 1988, scientists declared that steps were needed to slash emissions by 20 percent from the 1988 level. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed the same year to collate and assess evidence on climate change.
1970 1972 1975 Formation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
1987
1989
Montreal protocol restricts chemicals that damage ozone layer
The first use of the term global warming, in a paper from Wallace Broecker
Carbon emissions from fossil fuels and industry reach 6 billion tonnes per year.
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EARTH SUMMIT IN RIO At the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) that went down in history as the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, governments agreed on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The convention aims at "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system". Within the UNFCCC mandate, developed countries agreed to scale back their emissions to 1990 levels. The Earth Summit also discussed the use of toxic components in production, toxic and radioactive waste, alternative sources of energy, public transportation systems or scarcity of water, most of these issue having impact on humanity’s CO2 output. The Earth Summit also established important binding agreements, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
1992 1990
123RF
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
CLIMATE TIMELINE
KYOTO PROTOCOL AGREED A milestone in the action to prevent climate change from spinning out of control, the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC recognized the responsibility of industrialized countries for CO2 emissions to the atmosphere in the preceding 150 years. The principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” had those countries accept binding reduction targets. The target was a reduction of 5 percent on average (against 1990 levels) in the first commitment period 2008-2012. The Protocol entered into force only in 2005, but its history has been marred by the US refusal to ratify it and a 2011 withdrawal of Canada. Today, there are 192 parties to the Kyoto Protocol: 191 UN members and the EU as a supranational entity. There were 37 parties with binding targets in the first commitment period of 2008-2012. The number is actually zero now in the second commitment period of 2013-2020. The following parties only agreed (i.e. they can reduce emisisons voluntarily) to further commitment, but are not yet legally bound: Australia, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway and Switzerland.
1997 1995
1998
IPCC’s Second Assessment Report: discernible human influence on Earth’s climate.
Global temperatures reach 0.52 degrees Celsius above the mean for 1961-1990.
IPCC’s First Assessment Report: temperature’s up 0.3-0.6 degrees Celsius temperature over previous 100 years 26 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
2001
The US abandons the Kyoto Protocol
NG SWAN TI, OXFAM
IPCC: MORE CERTAIN THAN EVER In 2007 the IPCC issued its Fourth Assessment Report stating that scientists were more convinced than ever about human induced climate change. Global warming of the climate system was unequivocal, with linear warming trend over the last 50 years nearly twice the trend for the last 100 years. Eleven of the preceding 12 years ranked among warmest since records began in 1850. Other worrying signs: increase in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, rising of global average sea level, loss of ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic. Effects like more deadly heat waves, floods and droughts, or heat-related impact on sensitive species were also visible. Depending on various scenarios, as scientist were still unable to narrow down possibilities, the planet’s average temperature might rise anywhere between about 1.4 and 6 degrees Celsius by 2100. IPCC
ROAD MAP WITHOUT DESTINATION? At COP13 in Bali, Indonesia, Parties adopted a two-year "Bali Roadmap" which aimed at working out a new global treaty by the end of 2009 to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which was to expire in 2012. The Bali COP, however, was sometimes perceived as falling short of expectations. This was because of the compromise agreed at the end, in which the EU, at the time the strongest leader in climate action policy, had to give up the insertion of reference emission cuts with a range of 25-40 percent by 2020 for developed countries. The range was based on the IPCC's work. However, the US demanded removal of reference values with the claim that these would forejudge outcomes of negotiations. An undoubtedly positive outcome of the COP13 were so-called Bali Action Plan "pillars", part of the final Bali Road Map document, on which global climate action would rest. These included, for the most part, enhanced action on mitigation, adaptation, technology development and finance, as well as a global goal for emission reductons. Even so, the Bali Road Map was later described as a "road map without a destination, and with science relegated to a footnote,” by an Australian senator.
2007 2001
2005 Kyoto Protocol enters into force
IPCC’s Third Assessment Report: human induced emissions main cause of warming after 1950
Carbon emissions from fossil fuels and industry reach 8 billion tonnes per year
2006 The Stern Report on devastating economic consequences of climate change
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CLIMATE TIMELINE UNFCCC
COPENHAGEN, COP15 The expectations preceding COP15 in Copenhagen were extremely high. However, the EU was isolated with its ambitious greenhouse emission reduction goal of 30 percent on 1990 levels by 2020 and 50-80 percent by 2050. The issue of helping the developing world was far from clarified either, even if the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, had called for rich countries to hand over $100bn each year. A deal was eventually struck, called the Copenhagen Accord, which included a plan to provide $30 billion a year for developing countries until 2012, and $100 billion a year by 2020, as well as acknowledging the scientifically proven need to keep temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius. The commitments to emission reductions, though, seemed insufficient to attain the latter goal. By the end of January 2010, 55 countries, accounting for 78 percent of emissions, made pledges to cut greenhouse emissions, affirming the main outcome of the conference. Pledging countries included the US, all EU countries and China, as well as major emerging economies such as Brazil, Indonesia and India. UNFCCC
CANCUN, COP16
2009 2008 March: 160 square miles of ice break away from the Antarctic peninsula threatening the collapse of the Wilkins shelf
COP16 in Cancun, Mexico, continued the series of COPs struggling to push the climate change action process decisively forward. From the point of view of the developing countries, it wasn't clear how effective the financing of the mitigation and adaptation effort was going to be, 12 months after it was agreed in Copenhagen. Deadlock persisted concerning the Kyoto Protocol successor treaty and the UN now sought its extension after 31 December 2012. The pledges made by countries under the Copenhagen Accord were now officially incorporated in UN documentation, however none of the cuts were legally binding, with analyses showing that the pledged cuts, if executed, would lead to 3.2 degrees Celsius temperature rise, well above so called “safe warming�. The designated Green Climate Fund was to help developing nations mitigate climate change impacts, with no figure presented, though, on the amount that would go into it. The Cancun COP appeared a waiting game until the breakthrough conference in Durban, South Africa in 2011.
2010 Drought in East Africa: Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti
December: COP14 in Poznan, Poland, brings about creation of the Adaptation Fund 28 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
Canada abandons the Kyoto Protocol
123RF
BREAK ON THROUGH Durban COP17 brought a breakthrough in how the world was to tackle climate change. Despite hopes being on the low side for the most of part of 2011, negotiators hammered out a last minute agreement, known as the Durban Platform, to work out a new document with binding targets for all parties by 2015, to be effective from 2020. The agreement didn’t seem to have been on the cards prior to the Durban meeting, however. Pledges on emission cuts made by countries under the Copenhagen Accord were not legally binding. Based on an analysis, these pledges seemed sufficient only to keep temperature rise within 3.2 degrees Celsius, above the “safe warming” threshold of 2 degrees as compared to pre-industrial period. Odd voices, like the one of David King, former UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser, called for the Parties to abandon Kyoto and find more radical ways to address climate change. The Durban COP, however, proved a success without detaching from earlier developments.
EARTH SUMMIT REDUX
IISD REPORTING SERVICES
Twenty years later, at Rio+20, a new conference on the world’s environment and sustainability was held under the UN auspices, once again in Rio de Janeiro. The meeting aimed at securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development, evaluate previous commitments and gaps in meeting them, as well as taking care of emerging challenges and setting agenda for the next 20 years, while endorsing UN “green economy roadmap” with targets and deadlines. It also focused on measures to help the green development path lifting poorer countries out of poverty. The main outcome of Rio+20 was a non-binding document “The Future We Want”, in which 192 governments reasserted their commitment to sustainable development. However, environmental activists branded Rio+20 as “failure of epic proportions,” lacking the details needed to address issues like deteriorating environment or growing inequality.
2012
2011
November: Australia signs up to continuation of Kyoto beyond 2012
August: Arctic sea ice shrinks to lowest extent ever recorded
January: Kyoto protocol 1st commitment period ends
2013
September: Mauna Loa Observatory: daily mean concentration of CO2 exceeds 400 ppm
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NEGOTIATING POSITIONS
A World united in principle,
divided over details
USA
CLEANTECH POLAND RESEARCH
Over the last five years, U.S. emissions have decreased 12 percent. The causes have mostly to do with fuel switching - more wind, more natural gas and less coal. The US prefers technology over regulation, wants a national target not a global one, and champions ambition only if the rest of the world comes along for the ride.
The world has come to Warsaw to create a road map toward a global climate accord. Who are the main players in this game at the National Stadium?
AFRICA
Africa aims to get back a sense of trust. The core of their position, according to the spokesperson from Mali, will hinge on a discussion about so-called “chapters” agreed during the COP in Durban two years ago. These are adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology transfer, and transparency.
BRAZIL
Brazil appears on a path towards a low carbon economy that could lead the country away from its more conservative allies like China, or India. As one of the world’s major emerging economies, Brazil emphasizes the role of the rich world economies in adding to the cumulative CO2 in the atmosphere, a position shared by India, China and South Africa.
30 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
EUROPE
The EU has coalesced around a new stepwise approach to the global fight against climate change that would require all governments to propose emissions reduction targets "as soon as possible". The treaty would enter into force in 2020. The EU's lesson learned: solitary tabling of new climate action doesn’t work.
RUSSIA
Russia hopes the Warsaw COP will conclude a road map to the 2015 agreement, and can fix the UNFCCC decision making process. They have good reason to complain, having been sidelined in Doha in 2012.
CHINA As of late, China has been pushing forward programs that clamp down on heavily polluting factories, ban investment in new coal-fired power plants, and encourage investment into renewable energy. In a joint statement with the US, they've acknowledged their need to intensify their mitigation effort.
SMALL ISLANDS
While the rest of the world is mulling how to slow down climate change to no more than a 2 degrees Celsius rise, the slogan on the AOSIS’ website is “One Point Five to Stay Alive.” AOSIS stands for Alliance of Small Island States that puts forth global warming related agenda of countries in the Pacific (highlighted), as well as the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Africa and South China Sea.
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COUNTRY POSITIONS EUROPE
Preacher of
Ambition The EU has learned that its solitary tabling of new climate action doesn’t work. Brussels is now of the opinion that everybody has to make commitments. BY S O N J A VA N R E N S S E N I N B R U S S E LS
BRUSSELS WILL PUSH world
governments to commit to table post-2020 emission reduction commitments within a year at the forthcoming UN climate conference (COP19) in Warsaw from November 11 to 22. The EU institutions have coalesced around a new, stepwise approach to the global fight against climate change that would require all governments to propose fresh emissions reduction targets "as soon as possible", the EU decided in October 2013. These would be assessed and reviewed before being enshrined in a new, binding climate treaty to be signed in Paris in 2015. The treaty would enter into force in 2020. EVERYBODY’S AMBITION “Next year must be the year of ambition. It must be the year where all states,
“In the past, Europe was trying to drag others along. Now, it’s trying to drag itself along” - Jason Anderson, WWF
32 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
European as well as everybody else, do their homework so that they do not come empty-handed to the Paris conference in 2015,” said EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard in October 2013, as she gave account of the meeting of the EU environment ministers in Luxembourg. “Ambition” means pre- as well as post-2020: the EU will also call on all Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to consider in 2014 how they can deliver greater emission cuts than planned in the run-up to 2020. These bold calls for next year are set to prove as challenging for the EU as for others. “In the past, Europe was trying to drag others along. Now, it’s trying to drag itself along,” said Jason Anderson, head of European climate and energy policy at WWF’s European policy office. COP19 host Poland has been the strongest vocal opponent of a stronger, unilateral EU action on climate change. “It is not the time for expensive tools and energy,” warned Polish environment minister Marcin Korolec in Brussels this autumn. “It is certainly not time to adopt anything before we have a global answer; otherwise we’re inviting others to inaction.”
THE TAKEAWAY l The EU has resigned from
solitary leadership in emissions reduction; such an approach hasn’t worked, Brussels conceded
l Brussels calls for all countries
to come up with what they can do about emissions reduction "as soon as possible" (2014 was also mulled as deadline but fell through in EU's internal talks) for the new agreement
l The EU’s share of global
emissions is in decline and the bloc’s role in final big decisions during COP19 may be smaller
Poland, backed by its Visegrad partners the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, forced environment ministers to tone down the language of a resolution setting out member states’ position for Warsaw, when they met in October. But the changes were minor. “Having an agreement at all is more significant than the specific language they agreed,” said Mr. Anderson. Yet it will not be easy for the EU to agree on a greenhouse gas emission
EUROPEAN COMISSION A/V SERVICE
Connie Hedegaard in Copenhagen in 2013 at a climate conference titled "Communicating the Obvious"
reduction target for 2030, nor on how to reform its flagship EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). Proposals for both are due this year even as, driven by the dire economic situation, preserving industrial competitiveness becomes the new watchword for EU climate and energy policy. Figures for a 2030 emission reduction target are flying about: the European Commission has hinted at 40 percent, while NGOs say 60+ percent is needed. In any case, the European Commission wants the climate target signed off by EU leaders at a special summit in March 2014. The EU ETS review will probably carry on into 2015, also due to next year’s elections for the European Parliament and end of the current Commission’s mandate. SETTING THE BAR The EU’s share of global emissions is shrinking and the 27-nation bloc may play a smaller role in the final, big decisions. But the EU has great experience in implementing climate policy. "The EU can still set the bar," said Ulriikka Aarnio from Climate Action Network Europe. "But their role can also be in drafting proposals, solutions
and compromises," she added. The EU can drive convergence over what ambition looks like and set an example for how international and domestic policy can converge. It can propose what the essential elements are of a country’s commitment to climate action. This feeds into the heart of the challenge: how to craft an agreement that is applicable to all while also respecting the rule of common but differentiated responsibilities. Apart from the central mitigation discussion, particularly thorny issues in Warsaw will be financing (there is no new EU pledge for fresh money so far), loss and damage (how to compensate those countries most vulnerable to climate change) and the role of markets (think the stormy session at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on regulating aviation emissions). “On a technical level there is a real perspective of a deal in 2015,” said Mr. Korolec in September 2013. “How that will translate into political reality is another question.” The point of the EU’s new, stepwise approach is to answer that question before the final night in Paris.
Share solutions, not burdens. A Paris negotiator's point of view Paul Watkinson, head of climate negotiation team, France The climate negotiations need to change pace in Warsaw, crystallize the key questions and set a timetable to develop the negotiating text, for countries to do their own domestic preparation and propose their contributions in time for Lima and Paris. But we also need to change the debate to develop a positive agenda and to understand that the transition to a clean and resilient future is about creating opportunities and sharing solutions more than burdensharing.
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COUNTRY POSITIONS 123RF
RUSSIA
There's a Way,
But a Will? Russia hopes that the Warsaw COP will yield a road map to the 2015 agreement, and the UNFCCC decision making process will be fixed, as they were sidelined in Doha in 2012. Russia, world's permafrost reserve BY WOJCIECH KOSC
EVEN IF THE RUSSIAN delega-
tion left last year’s climate conference in Doha fuming, the lead negotiatior Oleg Shamanov offers rejuvenated hope that the next chapter of the climate negotiations, this time in Warsaw, will be fruitful. Twelve months ago, at the dying hours of the COP18 in Doha, Qatar, Russia - along with neighbors Belarus and Ukraine - were opposing provisions of the draft outcome document that appeared at the very last minute of negotiations and defacto multiplied the possible commitments of these group of countries, according to an account of Oleg Shamanov, Russia’s lead negotiator. But the proposal of three countries to address this was never put on the table and moments later, the conference was brought to an end, leaving Russian delegation - not without reason - dismayed over “an absolute breach of the rules of procedure,” as Mr. Shamanov put it. Today, however, Mr. Shamanov is less inclined to go back to what happened in Doha than he is to assure his colleagues that the Warsaw COP is important and there’s a pretty good
34 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
chance that it will be a success. According to the lead negotiator, the Warsaw COP has a clear objective to come up with a clear cut roadmap on how the negotiations should proceed to Lima next year and to Paris in 2015 so that a legally binding climate agreement is reached. “We need to take a fresh view on the ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ principle or otherwise we will sink in discussions who is responsible for what and there will
THE TAKEAWAY l A year ago, the COP18 in Doha
ended abruptly, leaving Russia literally speechless
l This year, Russia is coming to
Warsaw hoping for a COP that will push the climate process forward
l Russia, along with Belarus and
Ukraine, will want to discuss the UNFCCC decision making process which it think has lowered its standards of late
be no progress,” Mr. Shamanov said. That said, Mr. Shamanov is of the opinion that the Warsaw COP’s discussion on the roadmap to Paris should better not contain particulars on each party’s effort in reducing emissions. “This isn’t the point this year,” Mr Shamanov said. “Discussing commitments while we’re supposed to discuss the road map to Lima and Paris could lead to prejudging the outcome of negotiations that are set to take place after Warsaw,” he said. “The landscape before the Warsaw COP is quite leveled thanks to the pro-active role of the in-coming Presidency of the COP and I see good prospects for a successful outcome of the Warsaw Conference,” Mr Shamanov said. The Doha lesson, however, still resides with the Russians, who once again with Belarus and Ukraine, has been pushing for a discussion on the decision making in the UNFCCC process, which is intended, Mr. Shamanov says, "not to indulge in futile talks about the past but to ensure solid legal ground for important new decisions parties are expected to take in 2015.”
BRAZIL
Breakaway State Brazil appears decidedly on a path towards low carbon economy that could lead the country away from more conservative Parties, like China or India.
AS ONE OF the world’s major
emerging economies, Brazil is coming to the COP19 in Warsaw, looking for the negotiations to reflect the historical role of the developed economies in adding to the cumulative CO2 in the atmosphere. It’s also a position that this distinctly Latin American power has shared with its allies India, China and South Africa during recent COPs. However, based on what Brazil has done about climate domestically in the last few years, it appears that the country might be making a move away from a conservative or reluctant-to-act approach to climate policy typical of China, for example. Brazil’s emissions reduction effort peaked between 2005 and 2009, achieving 25 percent cut, while maintaining an average annual GDP
THE TAKEAWAY l Brazil’s deforestation - also a
global worry - has been slowed down, improving the country’s emissions record
l During previous COPs, from
Cancun to Doha, Brazil appeared to be at odds with other countries' conservative positions
l Coming to the COP19, Brazil
might complete its shift toward some developed economies’ position on climate change policy
growth of 3.5 percent. The decrease in emissions was in large part achieved by reining in deforestation in the Amazonian forest and the Cerrado Savannah. Still, according to Eduardo Viola, professor of international relations at the University of Brasilia, the country's shift towards a low-carbon economy has slowed down under the President Dilma Roussef. "The progressive National Climate Change Law from 2009 has largely not been implemented. Strong subsidies for oil and gas have been increased in the last years. Industrial policy is not based at all in low carbon development," Mr. Viola said. If deforestation is taken out of the equation, Brazil’s record may not be so impressive indeed. The country’s emissions have actually shown a 2 percent growth after 2009 and are predicted to grow by 3 percent annually in 20132016. Still, Brazil’s strategies during previous COPs revealed that a shift in the country’s international climate policy may be in the cards. WHAT NOW? Brazil’s position at the Warsaw COP might be a discontinuation from the previous COPs in Cancun, Durban, and Doha, wrote Mr. Viola in a February 2013 paper “Brazilian Climate Policy since 2005: Continuity, Change and Prospective,” published by the Center of European Policy Studies. At the previous COPs, Brazil had been pushing in favor of some kind of commitments from non-annex 1 countries starting in 2020, Mr. Viola wrote. In the Kyoto Protocol, non-
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Brazil, working on a cleantech economy
annex 1 countries have no binding emission reduction targets. This was a position that was met with skepticism at the time by Brazil’s allies in the negotiations like India and China. During the Durban COP, Brazil once again tried to bring closer the positions of its allies with the EU. Finally, at the Doha COP, “Brazil was extremely engaged – and convergent with the EU – in getting some continuity of the Kyoto Protocol,” Mr. Viola wrote. Brazil has shown some real commitment to the issues of climate change in its domestic policy and during last few COPs. It would appear surprising if the country would suddenly let go of its ambition to become a forerunner of a global climate agreement. The only logical way forward seems to make this ambition a reality.
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COUNTRY POSITIONS USA
Designing
Out of Trouble The US prefers technology over regulation, wants a national target not a global one, and champions ambition only if the rest of the world comes along for the ride. BY HUNTER DIAMOND
OVER THE LAST five years, U.S.
emissions have decreased 12 percent. According to research presented by Zeke Hausfather, senior researcher with think tank Berkeley Earth, at the Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media, the causes have mostly to do with fuel switching in electricity generation - more wind, more natural gas and less coal. Other causes: the economic slump prompted by the financial crisis, but also better cars and a decrease in air travel. The fact that these real, tangible emissions decreases have occurred without the US having ratified the Kyoto Protocol and with no real change in federal policy give credibility to the
U.S. view that countries need to set their own national, legally binding targets - rather than agree to a topdown target for each country. Up until 2009, when President Barack Obama pledged in Copenhagen to an indicative, not binding, 17 percent reduction of emissions by 2020, there was no national emissions reduction goal at all. POLITICS OF PRAGMATISM The US takes a pragmatic view toward climate change, partly because at the domestic level, climate change consensus is divided along deep political lines. Large swathes of mostly Republican voting constituents don't consider
POST PEAK? US EMISSIONS SINCE 1990
500
US EMISSIONS (MMT)
480 460 440 420
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
U.S. monthly CO2 emissions Since 1990, January 1990 through December 2012 with a 12 month lagging average applied to remove seasonal cycles. Note that the y-axis begins at 415 million metric tons (MMT).
36 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
climate change a fact, nor attribute measurable increases in temperature to human activity. So any deal that's perceived as being forced upon US voters won't be sellable to US voters. Taking their cue from what’s politically achievable, US climate negotiators prefer then that the country sets its own goal and then tries to get the international community to agree that the US target is good enough. Given the US is the world’s number two CO2 emitter, how ambitious will this goal be? That depends on China, India, Brazil and other developing countries. If they are ambitious too, the US could follow. The interplay between the US and these large developing economies will be one the most important threads at the Warsaw COP. (See also p. 37 and 42 for Brazil and China coverage). Pragmatic also because the US strength is to innovate rather than regulate. While other blocs, such as the EU, mull over raising ambition and try to drag along the rest of the world toward a low carbon future through regulatory frameworks such as the EU emissions trading system, the US has been busy reducing its emissions through the application of pragmatic solutions - wind power, natural gas, better cars. Based on this
CREATIVE COMMON S, GNU
THE TAKEAWAY l The US prefers technology
over regulation, wants a national target not a global one, and champions ambition only if the rest of the world comes along for the ride.
l Over the last five years, U.S.
emissions have decreased 12 percent. The causes have mostly to do with fuel switching in electricity generation - more wind, more natural gas and less coal.
l The US takes a pragmatic view
US special envory for climate change, Todd Stern, at COP16 in Cancun
reasoning, the US position is to allow countries to set their own targets, using peer pressure and peer review to encourage ambition. According to Todd Stern, US climate envoy, the US has three broad goals that will inform their goals in the Warsaw negotiations. “We will need to create a flexible structure that is conducive to broad participation, that prompts significant action by the major players, and that articulates means of differentiating among countries in a pragmatic rather than ideological manner,” Mr. Stern said to the Foreign Affairs Policy Board, an advisory body to the US Department of State, earlier this year. According to Mr. Hausfather, in his Yale study, the US is on track to "make significant progress toward its longabandoned Kyoto Protocol target to reduce emissions 7 percent below 1990 levels" a fact which has boosted the credibility of the arguments put forward by U.S. negotiators, led by Mr. Stern. So does the US even need a global agreement to do their fair share? MAJOR IDEA Maybe not. According to a source close to the negotiations, the annual
climate meeting has severe limits to how effective it can be, attended as it is by 194 countries plus the EU, where individual member states’ views may differ from the position adopted of the organization as a whole. First proposed during the Bush administration and begun in 2009, the Major Economies Forum (MEF) seems to be the US’ preferred forum
While the EU prefers regulatory frameworks, the US has been busy reducing its emissions through the practical application of cleantech solutions: wind power, natural gas, better cars
toward climate change, generally skeptical of global negotiations, partly because at the domestic level, climate change consensus is divided along deep political lines, and any UN-agreed deal is hard to sell at home.
for fleshing out the details of what will "prompt significant action by the major players". The MEF meets more frequently, and lasts for just a few days, allowing the 17 major economies of the world, accounting for 85 percent of the emissions, to create joint climate-related initiatives. This might work. After all the COP process seems remote from business. The MEF is not. One of the MEFs outcomes is the creation of Technology Actions Plans. Ten technologies were identified whose widespread adoption could significantly reduce global emissions. These are, for example: advanced vehicles or solar and wind. Creating smart, do-able policy prescriptions seems to be the preferred route by which the US would mitigate the worst effects of climate change and allow poor countries to develop without weighing too heavily upon the Earth’s temperature balance.
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COUNTRY POSITIONS SMALL ISLANDS
Earth at Stake The Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) have the most to lose, so they are the most ambitious, setting the lower bound acceptable temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, an almost Herculean task for rest of the world. BY WOJCIECH KOSC
time pressure on mitigation climate change greater, perhaps, than in the low-lying island states of the Pacific, the Caribbean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea. Collectively, these are the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The SIDS' political voice in relation to global warming is AOSIS, Alliance of Small Island States, an intergovernmental organization. While the rest of the world is mulling how to slow down climate change so that the temperatures don’t rise more than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial era, the slogan on the AOSIS’ website is a telling “One Point Five to Stay Alive.” “We are trying to get the Polish Presidency to put a high priority on pre-2020 mitigation ambition, as the science is clearly telling us that we cannot wait. We have called for a high level dialogue on finance and ambition,” said Ngedikes Olai Uludong, the AOSIS lead negotiator. ISLANDS HOPE Ms. Uludong hails from Nauru, one of the island states most vulnerable to climate change induced rising sea levels. There, as well as in other AOSIS states, the threats resulting from climate change are grave enough for the group never to have lost sight of the practicalities of mitigation solutions. “We have proposed a more technical and results-oriented discussion to secure ambitious pre-2020 mitigation efforts by all parties, with an initial
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AHMED AMIR
NOWHERE IN THE world is the
It is, for the Pacific small island nations
THE TAKEAWAY l The Small Island Developing
States want pre-2020 mitigation ambition to be high on the priority list during COP19
l The Green Climate Fund’s
initial capitalization, no less than USD 20 billion, must happen by mid-2014; the fund itself must start disbursing money by end of 2014
l A way must be found to get the
Adaptation Fund out of its current lull
focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency that can be later expanded to encompass other areas. We seek a technical process to be agreed in Warsaw that results in the rapid implementation of concrete mitigation actions and projects that can lead to concrete results,” Ms. Uludong said. Mitigation and adaptation cost. To that end, the AOSIS countries would like the funding channelled into the Green Climate Fund. “The GCF should be the main vehicle for scaledup climate finance and be ready to start disbursing money by the end of 2014. The GCF initial capitalization must be ambitious - at least USD 20 billion - and must happen by mid2014,” Ms. Uludong said. But climate change related funding efforts are only limping forward at best. For example, the Adaptation Fund is a financing tool established to finance adaptation projects and programs in developing countries that are parties to the Kyoto Protocol and are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. “This fund is on life support; we would like to see how to mobilize resources to put funding into concrete adaptation projects,” said Ms. Uludong. The island states say that scaling up climate finance, to meet the pledge made by developed countries to mobilize USD 100 billion per annum by 2020, is the key to achieve the maximum temperature rise goal by supporting effective action in developing countries and build trust toward an ambitious global 2015 agreement.
AFRICA NLÉ, DESIGN STUDIO
One
Voice The developing nations of this southern continent aim to get back a sense of trust between countries. And they want more ambition about finance, according to a spokesperson familiar with the bloc’s position. BY WOJCIECH KOSC
DIVERSE AS IT is geographi-
cally and culturally, Africa speaks with one voice at the UN climate negotiations. African countries are united in the Africa Group with different thematic coordinators for adaptation, mitigation, or finance. The group will be arriving in Warsaw with a freshly adopted position agreed in Botswana in late October, integrating Africa’s stance in all critical areas under negotiations. Above all the technicalities of the negotiation, however, there lies a more subtle issue of trust, which Seyni Nafo, spokesman for the Africa Group claims has been the most difficult matter in the negotiations recently. “Developed countries are convinced that they are honoring their commitments whilst developing countries are also convinced that this isn’t enough. The extent to which that perception gap will be filled in the coming negotiations shall determine the level of ambition for the 2015 agreement,” Mr. Nafo said. A global agreement in 2015 will hinge on whether the Warsaw COP can kick off a discussion about elements to be included under so-called “elements” agreed during the COP in Durban two years ago. “These are adaptation, mitigation, finance, technology transfer, and transparency,” said Mr. Nafo.
THE TAKEAWAY l Trust between countries needs
repair to improve odds for a meaningful 2015 agreement in Paris
l GCF awaits capitalization;
Adaptation Fund is alarmingly underfunded
l Even if global temperature
growth is limited to two degrees Celsius, Africa could experience larger temperature growth on average
“We need to agree on an inclusive and transparent process for the next two years dealing on the same footing and with the same degree of rigor with all the elements,” Mr. Nafo added. The Warsaw COP should lay foundations for the 12 following months until the next summit in Lima, Peru. “All developed countries whether parties or not to the Kyoto Protocol shall come prepared with increased emissions targets, while developing countries, their confidence boosted by scaled-up financial resources, will also propose enhanced action,” Mr. Nafo said. Financing, however, is another difficult issue. “The dialogue [on finance] has to be open and frank. It’s
Floating school in Makoko, Lagos designed by architect Kunle Adeyemi
a confidence building exercise through which partners shall inform us on their strategies (pathways and sources) to mobilize the agreed annual climate change funding of USD100 billion per year goal by 2020,” Mr. Nafo said. “It will also be necessary to address head-on issues of predictability, scale, transparency on sources of funding, for the Green Climate Fund and also for the Adaptation Fund, its level of resources alarmingly low at the moment” Mr. Nafo said. Looking at his home country of Mali, Mr. Nafo says that the need for the Parties to agree a climate deal is pressing; so is the need for immediate action, as climate change is literally eating away Mali’s resources, decreasing rainfall, accelerating desertification and biodiversity loss. For Africa, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) just completed a study on the cost of adaptation based on different temperature scenarios. According to the study, Africa, will experience an average warming of about 150 percent of the overall average. “For a two degree temperature growth trajectory, adaptation costs would be about USD 35 billion per year by 2040; and USD 45-50 billion per year for a trajectory of 3.5 to 4.0 degrees. The damage could represent about seven percent of Africa’s GDP,” said Mr. Nafo.
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COUNTRY POSITIONS CHINA
FENG LI/GETTY IMAGES
Clearing
Skies Some have been encouraged to see that China has been working at home to address problems brought about by climate change. But will they help the UNFCCC process? BY WOJCIECH KOSC
IN COPENHAGEN IN 2009, the
Chinese premiere sent a “secondtier” official from the ministry of foreign affairs to the closed-door early Sunday morning session as a deal was worked on by Barack Obama, Gordon Brown, Angela Merkel and Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General. Mark Linas, a reporter with the Guardian, was witness to what transpired: “The diplomatic snub was obvious and brutal, as was the practical implication: several times during the session, the world's most powerful heads of state were forced to wait around as the Chinese delegate went off to make telephone calls to his superiors,” he wrote in an article calling the Copenhagen Accord a “disaster” and laying blame on China. Copenhagen marked a turning point when power shifted west to east. 2009 was the definitive year when it became apparent that nothing will work without China’s involvement. Good thing then that at the moment it seems as China’s position will be largely constructive. Beijing’s stance for the COP could be inferred by its official reaction to the latest work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1. The reaction has been that of absolute approval.
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“It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. The evidence for this has grown, thanks to more and better observations, an improved understanding of the climate system response and improved climate models,” the china.org.cn website wrote in late September, very much in style of the IPCC itself. A year before the IPCC’s report, China issued a document titled Second National Assessment Report on Climate Change. The report warned of “extremely grim ecological and environmental consequences from global warming,” Barbara Finamore wrote in the Huffington Post in September 2013. “These impacts, including increasing droughts and floods, threaten China's already vulnerable food and water supplies, and rising sea levels will affect millions of people in Shanghai and other highly populated coastal cities,” Ms. Finamore wrote. China has been quite active on the international climate change policy scene, having agreed a U.S.-China statement on climate change in April 2013. In the statement, the two world’s largest emitters of CO2 said that “the overwhelming scientific consensus regarding climate change constitutes a compelling call to action crucial to
Beijing residents accustomed to smog
having a global impact on climate change.” Both countries “need to intensify global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," which is needed more critically than ever, the statement also said. At home, China has been pushing programs like clamping down on heavily polluting factories, banning investment in new coal-fired power plants, while encouraging renewable energy. For all the bad press that China is deservedly getting as a world’s major polluter, skies might be clearing just a little over Beijing.
THE TAKEAWAY l China’s official line is that
urgent and strong action is needed to contain climate change
l A China-US joint statement on
climate change indicates Beijing is interested in action faster than what the UNFCCC can come up with
l Domestic developments in
climate change policy are under way: coal-fired energy generation to a CO2 cap and trade mechanism
The Plenary The UNFCCC convenes a plenary, in which Parties (194 + the EU) are seated side by side. They negotiate in blocs: small island nations, least developed countries, the European Union, the Umbrella Group and G77. IGOs and trade unions have a place at the table - so does civil society.
IGOS, TRADE UNIONS, CIVIL SOCIETY
SOURCE: UNFCCC
COUNTRIES AND BLOCS
UNFCCC AND COP PRESIDENT
Talk about a challenge for translators. The light red box represents a stage for the executive secretary of the UNFCCC and the COP President. The light yellow rows represent 194 countries plus the EU, arranged alphabetically from Angola (front right) to Zimbabwe (back left). Members of IGOs, intergovernmental organizations, and trade unions sit in the light blue rows. There are representatives of civil society as well, e.g. the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change.
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CLIMATE FINANCE
Cough up
the Money Adaptation and mitigation of climate change will be expensive. Inaction, however, will induce costs rising exponentially as we put off delay. Will the Warsaw COP convince economies that it’s better to pay now? BY NICHOLAS NEWMAN IN LONDON
THERE’S A POSITIVE aura
about the odds for success in Warsaw. There is a chance, however remote, that the conference will draw a road map for a global agreement to reduce emissions to prevent the temperature from rising more than two degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. If agreed, such an agreement could be signed off in Paris in 2015 and enter into force from 2020, binding all nations to commit to emissions reduction and help adaptation, especially in developing countries. For the conference to be called a success in the international media, however, parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will have to see the writing on the wall: commitments and adaptation are going to cost money. According to Joris den Blanken, Greenpeace's EU climate policy director, some may not want to see the writing on the wall. “The current reality is that the overwhelming majority of rich countries are not delivering on their climate change related financial commitments,” Mr. den Blanken said. Indeed, in its Progress Report on
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the Strategic Framework for Development and Climate Change, the World Bank reports that Western financial aid to combat climate change in developing countries currently meets only five per cent of requirements. “With the 7.3 billion euros of so-called fast start finance that the EU provided to developing countries between 2010 and 2012, we tried hard to achieve a balance between mitigation and adaptation. However, we only managed
Parties to the UNFCCC that will meet in Warsaw will have to see the writing on the wall: commitments and adaptation are going to cost money
to put around 30 percent into adaptation projects because the developing countries themselves had a challenge to find good ways to spend the money,” said Isaac Valero-Ladron, the EU climate action spokesman. The EU admits it has proved a challenge as well to identify large-scale adaptation projects that can be overseen by governments because adaptation projects tend to be communitybased and relatively small-scale. Other than that, countries grouped in the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), like Kiribati, Nauru or the Marshall Islands, have long been pointing to the inactivity of the Adaptation Fund, a funding tool operating under the Kyoto Protocol, or the urgency for the newly-established Green Climate Fund to be capitalized and start disbursing money. RICH AND CONSTRAINED There is no consensus on what the costs of mitigation and adaptation in the future might be, either. Estimates range from $28-$59 billion a year by 2030, as claimed by the UNFCCC, to $20-$100 billion annually by 2020 according to the World Bank.
IISD REPORTING SERVICES
Love of the Green Climate Fund is likely to grow once and if it starts operations
“Only a fraction of the money required for climate adaptation is being delivered today, and even these humble amounts are seemingly drying up,” said Mr. den Blanken. Lack of climate finance owes to the still sluggish world economy. Many advanced economies are financially constrained. In addition, “many developing countries have poor track records in using foreign assistance funds in transparent, efficient and non-cor-
rupt ways," commented a 2012 paper, Financing Urgent Adaptation, by the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum, a non-profit foundation. The financial woes also add to industrialized countries’ lack of ambition in cutting their emissions, as they find making adjustments to their long-established industrial and energy landscape difficult and expensive. For instance, it is very difficult to close a coal power station before
the end of its operational lifespan without affecting investors’ a country's overall investment climate. COSTS AT LARGE There’s no question that mitigation and adaptation are costly, but this is just one side of the story, because inaction and letting climate change go rampant can have a price tag attached too. So far, climate change has cost the world economy 1.6 percent of global GDP in foregone prosperity each year, according to a recent report by the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a partnership of countries prticularly exposed to effects of climate change. Doing nothing is not a viable option, however, says Mr. Valero-Ladron. “It would condemn future generations to a world characterised by dangerous climate change, with a multitude of potentially devastating consequences.” In 2012 alone, major weather disasters including, floods, droughts, hurricanes and tornadoes cost the US over $110 billion according to the US National Climate Data Centre. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN body, these extreme weather events are likely or very likely linked to climate change in Europe, North America and Australia. On a world scale, according to Nicholas Stern, the author of the 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, preventing climate change would cost the world economy the equivalent of 2 percent of global GDP per year. In other words, sum must be found in order to avoid the worst effects of global warming. “What's possible with $100 billion today, will cost ten times more in 2030,” said Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as reported by Bloomberg in February 2013. The COP19 meeting in Warsaw will provide a forum for a debate on who is to pay what to steer clear of climate crisis.
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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Lonely Thinkers,
Worldly Science It has taken climate science 50 years to transform from a research field for the eccentric to a science that’s shaping global politics and economies like no other. BY JACEK PISKOZUB*
are often spoken of interchangeably, it was in fact the observations of weather that preceded the earliest forms of climate science. A late spring for instance could delay migrations of animals that were the source of food. At the onset of farming about 10,000 years ago, people were very vulnerable to the caprices of weather: too much sunshine or too little rain would determine the difference between a good and bad harvest. Occasionally, hail storms or floods would wipe out crops completely. The size of your harvest was a matter of life and death. Climate research was for centuries a part of geography. Climate was deemed an apt description of a geographical region: average temperature or precipitation was an inherent feature of Poland, Britain, the Sahara or Greenland as unchanging as the location of mountains or the size of rivers. Greek geographers were first to realize that the typical weather of a region depends on its latitude or the angle of celestial sphere to the local horizon. They named the typical weather of a region klima, Greek for inclination. To this day, we use the name climate as a long term average of weather. As climatologists say: cli-
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WHILE WEATHER AND climate
Greeks named the typical weather of a region klima.
LONELY THINKERS The first scholar to notice human influence on climate was Theophrastus, a disciple of Aristotle who speculated that clearing of forests made the area warmer. Christopher Columbus made similar observations on the Canary, Madeira, and the Azores. Their observations were quickly forgotten because of a lack of any climate data, which made these observations impossible to verify. Only after thermometers with standardized scales were invented in the early 18th century climate research slowly started to move from a field of philosophy or a lore of navigators to a realm of science. Rapid deforestation of Northern America by pioneer settlers was one of the first opportunities to notice human influence on climate. In fact it started a lively debate in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Different scholars, among them Thomas Jefferson, offered their opinions on forest clearing to make way for farms: it was supposed to improve climate by making winters warmer, summers cooler, and at the same time increasing precipitation. “Rain follows the plow,” it was said. Most of these ideas, however, were based on pure speculation and were discredited within the lifetime of their authors. The Dust Bowl in the US in the 1930s proved an ultimate refutation of the theory that farming created favorable habitat conditions. This early failure of climate change “re-
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
mate is what you expect, weather is what you get. It was only in the early 19th century that scientists realized the climate changed in the past. But even then the notion that measurable climate change could be happening at present was only a footnote in textbooks for more than a hundred years. The idea that human beings can influence climate was even more foreign to mainstream climatology research, the domain of lonely thinkers until the 60s.
Christopher Columbus (left) made observations about human impacts on the weather; John Tyndall (right) was the first to calculate the greenhouse effect.
Climatologists like to say: climate is what you expect, weather is what you get
Svante Arrhenius calculated the effect on the Earth’s temperature of doubling the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration in a breakthrough paper published in 1896. At present we call this parameter climate sensitivity. Arrhenius used measurements by American scientist Samuel Pierpoint Langley who had tried to measure the search” was likely why the science Moon’s temperature from its infrared radiation. Langley’s results were inpersisted in obscurity. consistent, depending on how far the Moon was from the horizon. The AL GORE WASN’T THE FIRST Early research on the effect of green- reason for that was the change in the house gases on climate might have Earth’s atmospheric mass that moonremained obscure until the mid-20th light had to pass before Langley could century but did lay its own foundations. measure it. Arrhenius correctly guessed that In 1859, British scholar John Tyndall discovered that some gases in the the inconsistency in the American Earth’s atmosphere absorb infrared scientist’s results was the effect of radiation. Tyndall understood cor- carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere and was able to rectly these gases’ effect on the calculate the total effect of average temperature of the THE greenhouse gases on Earth, which, almost a DUST BOWL global temperature. century later, became Dust storms in North Even if inaccurate by known as the greenAmerican prairies in the today’s standards, the house effect. 1930s caused by drought and Swede explained the After Tyndall, it farming that left the soil vulnerable to wind erosion. It main reason for the took almost 40 years was previously believed that past changes in the for climate science to farming increased Earth’s temperature and take its next step. Swedprecipitation. predicted its future in- ish chemist and physicist
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HISTORICAL OVERVIEW crease, although he believed that the
ALFRED EISENSTAEDT, GETTY IMAGES
slow warming would be beneficial to humanity. Little did he know about how much carbon dioxide the industrialized world would start pumping into the atmosphere a few decades later. Again, this breakthrough research was largely ignored for the next 60 years, even if in the meantime, in 1938, an English engineer, Guy Stewart Callendar confirmed Arrhenius’ results on climate sensitivity. Callendar’s results remain astonishingly accurate: within the range published by the IPCC in its Working Group 1 report in 2013. Callendar also carried out the first analysis showing that the global temperature was already increasing.
of Oceanology in La Jolla, California, undertook measuring carbon dioxide concentration on Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. Keeling ignored his boss’ advice who believed long time measurements from one station did not make sense. There would be no longterm change in results, Keeling was told. Keeling went on nonetheless and established that the CO2 concentration was increasing year on year. This finally awoke the scientific community to the reality of human induced changes in atmospheric composition. The understanding of the physical basis for global warming was practically complete in early 1960s, when Syukuro Manabe and Richard Wetherland showed, using a numerical thermodynamic model, how increase in greenhouse gas concentration would lead to warming of the troposphere and cool the stratosphere. Now, in order to improve the understanding of climate change, scientists had to dig deep, literally, in the distant past of our planet.
IN FROM THE ICE COLD In 1836 Swiss geologist Louis Agassiz travelled to a remote valley in the Alps to convince his friend Jean de Charpentier how wrong he was believing LIFE magazine photograph of a dustbowl era farmer, 1942 that it had been carved by ice. He returned a converted man. In fact he After Callendar, the progress of soon understood that traces of ancient climate science started to accelerate. glaciations were visible in most reIn 1950s, Canadian physicist Gilbert gions of Europe. N. Plass (who otherwise specialized It took almost a hundred years to in weapon engineering) calculated understand what drove the waxing climate sensitivity to be 2-3 degrees and waning of glaciers over the plains of temperature increase per of Europe. The answer, prodoubling of CO2. His posed by a Serbian asBETTER result published in 1956 tronomer Milutin MilaCLIMATE? is still deemed valid. nkovich in 1920 was “By the influence of the increasing percentage of Sometimes it took that slight variations of carbonic acid [CO2] in the passionate stubbornthe Earth orbit over atmosphere, we may hope to ness to push climate thousand of years (with enjoy ages with more research forward. cycles of 20, 41 and 100 equable and better climates,” Svante Charles David Keeling thousand years) change Arrhenius wrote in from Scripps Institute slightly the amount of 1908.
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A mere fifty years ago climate research was pursued by a handful of lonely, albeit super insightful, scholars solar radiation in the Polar regions of our planet in a phenomenon known as orbital forcing. Now the challenge was to date these Ice Ages. The solution came in the 1960s, very much in the fashion of the lonely thinkers’ era. When an American oceanographer John Imbrie walked into the room to give a talk during a conference in Paris, he found that the audience consisted of only one person, British geologist Nicholas Shackleton. Unfazed, Imbrie gave the talk on the influence of the global volume of glaciation on oxygen isotopes found in marine sediments. It dawned on Shackleton that the information on Ice Ages’ timeline resided in the marine sediments’ isotopic data, because sediments themselves could be dated. As is often in science, a solution to one problem shed light on another. The changes in solar radiation caused by variations in Earth’s orbital parameters seemed too small to cause global temperature changes big enough to start or end an Ice Age. There must have been a missing factor: it was found in ice itself. The composition of air in bubbles frozen into ice cores retrieved from the oldest parts of Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets turned out to have been unchanged from the time of the ice’s origin. The first 2000+ meter-long ice cores retrieved near Vostok, a Russian Antarctic station, contained data on 150,000420,000 years of CO2 and temperature history, or four glacial cycles.
Data from all ice cores shows that the atmospheric concentration of CO2 varied from about 200 parts per million (ppm) during the glacial eras to 280 ppm in the interglacial periods. Temperature changes did owe to orbital forcing, but it was additional greenhouse forcing by CO2 that would drive climate to go through the glaciation periods.
SIMPLECLIMATE.COM
WALLY WAS RIGHT! Useful as it was for the development of climate science, the findings on the CO2 influence on the Earth’s temperature along lengthy geological scales couldn't explain rapid changes that took place within mere centuries, sometimes decades. For example, during the glacial times, temperature of the North Atlantic region would sometimes change by several degrees in a few years. The explanation lay in water, specifically in the ocean currents. Most people know that Europe is warmer than other land masses at similar latitudes because of a warm ocean current
FROM CONCERN called the Gulf Stream. the amount of processes TO CERTAINTY The Gulf Stream is but influencing climate Human activities may be a small part of a globeventually had scieninadvertently changing the al ocean circulation tists employ computers climate of the globe, the IPCC pattern transporting to handle processing of assessed in 1990. In 2013, they put the likelihood of enormous amounts of data and making preman-made climate heat northward along dictions. change at 95%. Atlantic Ocean. Computer models are Wallace “Wally” Broecknow the staple of climate er, a Columbia University science. Modern climate models oceanographer described the ocean incorporate numerical representations circulation system in a series of papers of atmospheric circulation, ocean curpublished in the 1980s giving it the rents, ice and snow, geochemistry and name Great Ocean Conveyor. He also vegetation. However, even the earliest explained how changes in the con- atmospheric circulation models of veyor’s intensity were responsible for 1980s allowed prediction of global abrupt climate changes. This made it warming close to the observed one in possible to understand a large part of the subsequent decades. Such predicthe variability of climate not only in tions publicly presented in a congresEurope but also as far as the Southern sional hearing in 1988 by James Ocean. “Wally was right,” ran a title of Henson, the recently retired director one appreciative scientific review of of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Broecker’s work. Studies, helped raise broad awareness of global warming. It was one of the THE WORLD’S SCIENCE NO. 1 impulses which spurred the creation The ever increasing stream of data of the Intergovernmental Panel on flowing from satellites since 1979 and Climate Change (IPCC) later that same year. The four IPCC assessment reports published since 1990 (the fifth one is due in fall 2014) were authored and reviewed by hundreds of scientists from all over the world. The authors assessed thousands of scientific papers published in diverse fields from atmospheric physics, through oceanography, hydrology, glaciology, geochemistry to geology and astrophysics. Climate related research is now one of the largest branches of science. Climatology congresses gather thousands of researchers. Looking back, it is difficult to imagine that mere fifty years ago climate research was pursued by a handful of lonely, albeit super insightful, scholars.
Wallace “Wally” Broecker, Columbia University oceanographer
*Jacek Piskozub is associate professor of oceanology, head of Physical Oceanography Department at Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot..
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DENIALISM
Yes, the Truth is
Inconvenient Many of the common arguments against man-induced climate change are true - 95 percent of CO2 emissions are natural, water vapor has a larger effect but the problem is there are larger, more important truths. The biggest is that man has upset the delicate balance: our five percent of CO2 emissions makes a hell of a difference. BY MARCIN POPKIEWICZ*
IT’S NOT WARMING. Even if it’s
warming, its only natural. Even if it’s human-made, there’s nothing to worry about. Even if it’s worrying, it’s too expensive to mitigate. Besides, it’s too late to do anything anyway. Perhaps you’ve addressed these arguments, often accompanied by the statement that the climate has always kept changing, or that it’s changing because of the Sun’s activity, or that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are nothing compared to the effect of water vapor. Some of these statements are true, but they tend to mask a larger truth: humans have upset a delicate balance which threatens their very existence. GROWTH EQUALS EMISSIONS Climatologists say that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are the largest contributor to the Earth’s warming. The emission of CO2 from burning fossil fuels has been going on for generations and has only been increasing at an accelerating rate since mid-20th century. These emissions are the consequence of an energy system that relies on coal, oil, and gas that provide close to 90 percent of our energy. The larger the world economy - more cars, planes, goods, bigger houses, even more meat in our diet
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- the larger the use of energy and the more CO2 emissions that result. Consumption of energy worldwide has been growing about the same as the average rate of GDP, because the two are correlated, while CO2 emissions have been growing even faster. If you’re twenty-six, for example, human society has burned as much fossil fuels and pumped as much CO2 in the atmosphere during your lifetime, as it would have from the time of the Industrial Revolution, some two and a quarter centuries ago, until the day you were born. Joining exponential economic growth with reducing CO2 emissions is impossible. If we were to agree a 3.5 percent annual growth in global GDP with what the climatologists propose in terms of cutting emissions, we would have to execute an annual reduction of CO2 emissions by eight percent per each percentage of GDP. In the world where fossil fuels are the cheapest source of energy, it would be a very inconvenient conclusion for consumers as well as energy corporations. From a fossil fuel producer’s point of view, the resulting radical decrease in sales would tremendously devalue assets on their balance sheets, which would
simply be unacceptable. They would fight tooth and nail against it. Changing this paradigm would constitute a revolution in energy, business, politics, society and culture. It would infringe on the interests not only of powerful lobby groups but also of people, their safety and a hierarchy of values, because reducing emissions goes against the grain of the current cultural framework. That’s why it’s easier just to reject the dangers of climate change. CLIMATE MYTHOLOGY Claims of the so-called climate skeptics rest on arguments suggesting that ongoing climate change is neither anything unprecedented or particularly serious. Here are a few of the misconceptions about climate change that remain at odds with the basics of climate science, chemistry and physics. The climate has always changed. Indeed, but not this quickly. It’s a common argument that science is deriving its forecasts on the consequences of climate change from climate models only. But the most important source of information and a point of reference is what happened
MAZURYK MYKOLA/123.RF.COM
It is warming. And we are to blame
to the Earth’s climate in the past. The climate has naturally changed to a great extent many times. But our problem is that if we burn all fossil fuels, we will trigger a scenario in which the Earth’s surface temperature will increase by eight degrees Celsius in 200 years. This would catapult us from the current stable climate of the Holocene into the complete unknown, different than anything that ever happened in the Earth’s history. In a mere two centuries, we would fly past maximum temperatures from the last interglacial period of the previous million years, and lose the permafrost as collateral. We would go beyond the climate conditions of the Pliocene - and destabilize the oceanic reservoirs of methane hydrates. We would end
up living on a planet warmer than during the dinosaurs’ era, which had average surface temperature five degrees higher than today. It’s not only greenhouse gases True, but other factors play a minor role. The Earth’s climate is influenced by the changes in the Earth’s orbit, but they’re taking place rather slowly, in cycles of tens of thousands of years. Moreover, orbital forcing has been cooling the climate recently, so it cannot explain the current warming. We also have observed a strong correlation between the Sun’s activity and surface temperatures, but in recent decades the Sun’s activity has been in decline while temperature has been rising. On top of that, air pollution
If we burn all fossil fuels, we will trigger a scenario in which the Earth's surface temperature will rise by 8 degrees Celsius in 200 years
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obscures sunrays so it should add
It’s not CO2 - water vapor makes up 90 percent of greenhouse gases It’s true. But greenhouse gases are different from one another. Vapor, carbon dioxide and methane absorb radiation differently. You can say indeed that vapor is responsible for about 65 percent of the greenhouse effect, but vapor is a greenhouse gas whose concentration in the atmosphere can change quickly. It can quickly evaporate or come down as rain in reaction to changes in the atmosphere. If long-lived greenhouse gases, like CO2 or methane, were removed from the atmosphere, it would bring about a decrease in vapor concentrations, triggering further cooling, expansion of light-reflecting glaciers from the poles towards the Equator, which would result in still further cooling and further reduction of vapor in the atmosphere. Vapor is important for the planet’s temperature because it amplifies the effect that other factors have, including CO2 concentrations. 95 percent of CO2 is of natural origin. It’s true. People are only responsible for emission of five percent of CO2, which otherwise comes from natural sources like oceans or plants. During hundreds of thousands of years of the glacial cycles, CO2 concentrations were at 180-300 ppm. Today’s concentration is at around 400 ppm and has been growing very fast, at a rate
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THROUGH THE ROOF? TEMPERATURE ANOMALY (C) OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS (ky)
Shakun et al 2012* Marcott et al 2013** HadCRUT4***
2°C 0°C -2°C -4°C
-20 ky
-16 ky
-12 ky
-8 ky
-4 ky
0 ky
4 ky
The Earth's surface temperatures have been changing slowly. Anthropogenic emissions of CO2 have a potential to push the temperature growth to unprecedented rates.
A real barrier to understanding climate change is that we don't want to understand it of 2 ppm per year. The research shows that there hasn’t been so much CO2 in the atmosphere in several million years. In other words, our five percent makes a real difference, but in order to understand why, one has to look at the carbon cycle in nature. Carbon is circulating between the biosphere, soil, rocks, water, the atmosphere and sediments. The total amount of carbon is unchanged in the short run. Natural sources of carbon remain in balance: oceans emit about 90 billion tonnes, while they absorb 92 billion tonnes. Soil and plants emit 120 billion tonnes and absorb 122 billion. The reservoir of fossil fuels is estimated at 4,000 billion tonnes, which is more than the combined amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, soil, plants
SOURCE: *NATURE, **SCIENCE, ***PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UK METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE/CLIMATIC RESEARCH UNIT
an extra cooling effect, which isn’t the case. Other factors are either too weak, or are very slow to take place, or they’re only temporary fluctuations. Climatologists are well aware of those factors, and acknowledge there’s a degree of uncertainty as to how climate will respond to human activity. There’s a possibility that the emissions-induced growth in surface temperatures will only be five degree Celsius. Unfortunately, it’s just as possible that it will be 12 degrees.
and surface ocean waters. Burning this reservoir provides a surplus in the carbon cycle that gets accumulated in the atmosphere, as shown by measurements showing a constant growth in atmospheric CO2 concentration. REAL INVISIBLE DANGER Most people don’t see why climate change is a danger. Carbon dioxide is colorless and odorless. Climate change is slow and obscured by huge changes in temperature that take place daily, so when it’s snowing in March, global warming seems like a bad joke. Still, even if the scientific nature of the climate change problem is rather far removed from one’s everyday experience, that isn’t the biggest issue. A real barrier to understanding is that we don’t want to understand because if we did, we would have to draw rather inconvenient conclusions. *Marcin Popkiewicz is a nuclear physicist, science writer and author of the book Świat na Rozdrożu (World at the Crossroads), published by Sonia Draga.
ADVERTORIAL
A self-made entrepreneur, Robert Moritz has a vision for Poland’s first sustainable city. Siewierz Jeziorna will be built according to the principles of new urbanism: a healthy place for the people of Silesia to live, work and play.
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MR. ROBERT MORITZ
PHOTO: ALTA S.A.
“You can find a thousand excuses, but one way or another, inner-city development is not managed well by the authorities.”
Robert Moritz: Man with a Master Plan here did the motivation for the Siewierz Jeziorna project come from?
Envy, really. I saw other mixed use projects in western Europe and the United States such as Seaside or Celebration Disney: first you come up with a master plan, then you install utilities, and then you develop the streets. Not like the chaos and dirt which is typical of a construction site in Poland. My stepfather was an urbanist, and a United Nations expert, so city planning was a daily topic in our home. I've taken a keen interest in history, and I want to recreate the ways of old, where a group of burghers settled a place to make it home. What went wrong with modern urban development in Poland and elsewhere in the CEE? You need leaders. You need vision. You can see the chaos of the industrial revolution in cities such as Johannesburg or Detroit. In today's democracy, leaders have contact with their citizens, but they can be recalled from their positions, so leaders concentrate on the day to day operation, and they neglect plan-
ning with a long term vision. In Białołęka and places south of Warsaw, the houses are built on narrow 30 meter by 300 meter strips of land, and there's a lack of a vision by urban authorities to urbanize life in those places. You can find a thousand excuses, but one way or another, inner-city development is not managed well by the authorities. Is Siewierz Jeziorna then a kind of answer to the problem? We did a survey in Silesia, and you know what was the number one thing people wanted in their neighborhood? Not schools, jobs or stores. People want to walk to church. Is ours a premium prod-
uct because we are giving people what they want? I believe our core market is a family making 100,000 złotys a year, which is a coal miner or a family with both wage earners working in an office. What can you tell me about the cleantech business park? We are in a unique location because within a 70 km radius there's 4.5 mln people. The people who live in this region are well educated. There are three international airports, and because people want to live there, businesses will want to locate there: Oracle, Philips, Mitsubishi, GE, the original innovators. We want them to find their place here.
“In Silesia, coal mining and coal burning has decimated the landscape, and the people in Silesia have health problems. That's why we're building a healthy neighborhood in a place that has clean air, clean earth and clean water.” - Robert Moritz, President of Alta S.A
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OPENS
2014
Sustainable city POLAND’S FIRST
WARSAW
SIEWIERZ JEZIORNA
KATOWICE KRAKÓW
POLAND’S FIRST sustainable city is being built along a lake midway between Częstochowa and Katowice. Siewierz Jeziorna will be a live, work, play development, built by Alta S.A. Phase I of construction will include 1300 apartments over 44 hectares. Siewierz Jeziorna will be anchored by a business park for cleantech companies, offering over 90,000 sqm (968,752 sq ft) of commercial space along the Warsaw-Katowice highway (DK1). The sustainable city will rest on three principles of sustainable construction: energy efficiency, renewable energy and microgeneration. The investor, Alta S.A., a Warsaw stock exchange listed company, has an asset value of €75 million. Over the last three years, Alta S.A. has grown its net income 50% year on year.
“Based on Disney Celebration and Prince Charles’ Paundbury in Great Britain, Siewierz Jeziorna will promote sustainable human habitats. It’s new urbanism for Poland.” - Joanna Wis-Bielewicz Sustainability Manager
MIXED USE COMMUNITY CLEANTECH BUSINESS PARK 1300 RESIDENTIAL UNITS 90,000 SQM COMMERCIAL HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTER DAY CARE & ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PLANNED CITY CENTER LAKESIDE MARINA WALKING PATHS & BIKE TRAILS MASTER PLAN FOR SIEWIERZ JEZIORNA
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DEVELOPERS
WELCOME Live PHASE I MASTER PLAN IN足CLUDES 1300 HOUS足ING UNITS DETACHED, SEMIDETACHED AND URBAN VILLAS TOGETHER WITH LOCAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC AMENI足TIES CITY CENTER AT SIEWIERZ JEZIORNA
Work THE CLEANTECH BUSINESS PARK IS WHERE START-UP COMPANIES ARE SUPPORTED BY KNOWLEDGE AND CAPITAL. WHERE LOCAL COMPANIES BECOME PROFITABLE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS. CLEANTECH PARK AT SIEWIERZ JEZIORNA
Play THERE ARE OVER 16 HECTARES OF PARKS, WALKING PATHS AND BIKE TRAILS, INCLUDING A LAKESIDE MARINA, AN ECO FARM, AND HORSE STABLES
CONTACT JOANNA WIS-BIELEWICZ SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER INVESTOR, ALTA S.A. UL. ZIELNA 37 00-108, WARSAW WWW.SIEWIERZJEZIORNA.PL TEL: (+48) 22 338 66 20
LAKE AT SIEWIERZ JEZIORNA
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THE IPCC'S WORK
No Quick Fix Working groups of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are going to deliver parts of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report over the next several months. As of today, the part on physical science basis of climate change is available. Here’s a brief overview of the IPCC and its latest work. BY WOJCIECH KOSC
THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL on Climate Change
(IPCC) was established by two United Nations’ organizations: the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations’ Environment Program. Since 2002, the IPCC has been chaired by Rajendra K. Pachauri, whom we interviewed on page 46. According to principles governing the IPCC’s work, as approved and amended at the organization’s 1998 session in Vienna, the IPCC’s role “is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.” The outcome of the IPCC’s work are assessment reports, which carry the weight of global scientific consensus. The organization has published four of them. The IPCC carries out no scientific research. Its reports are based on current scientific evidence, as published in peer-reviewed journals. Before an Assessment Report is published, interim reports from so-called working groups appear. Working groups focus on the physical science basis of climate change, impacts, adaptation, vulnerability and mitigation.
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Since the First Assessment Report in 1990, the IPCC has gradually moved towards near-certainty that the ongoing rise in the Earth’s surface temperature resulting in the retreat of ice sheets in polar regions, melting glaciers and rising sea levels is induced by human-made emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). PHYSICAL SCIENCE BASIS According to the recently published Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the Working Group 1 (WG1) report on the physical science basis of climate change, it’s 95 percent certain that the human civilization, with an energy economy based on fossil fuels, is responsible for the Earth’s warming. The basic conclusion from the SPM is that “warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of
greenhouse gases have increased.” The SPM then continues with conclusions that the physical science has drawn on particular elements of the Earth’s climate system. If a 10,000foot view of the warming climate is not enough evidence to take action, policymakers should take a closer look into the effects of rising CO2 levels on the most important elements of our planet climate and its ecosystem. It’s a pretty bleak picture, unfortunately. Regarding the atmosphere, the report concludes that “each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850.” On top of that, the Northern Hemisphere has been warmest in 1,400 years. It is virtually certain that the upper ocean at depths upwards of 700 m warmed from 1971 to 2010. It is also likely that the upper ocean warmed earlier, between the 1870s and 1971, according to the SPM. The document also says, with high confidence, that
Mitigation is not going to reverse all the negative effects, neither in the short run, nor in the long run, nor ever, at least on a human timescale
IISD REPORTING SERVICES
The Stockholm meeting of IPCC's Working Group 1, September 2013
the “rate of sea level rise since the mid19th century has been larger than the mean rate during the previous two millennia.” Finally, the atmospheric concentrations of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in at least 800,000 years. CO2 concentrations have increased by 40 percent since pre-industrial times, primarily from fossil fuel emissions and secondarily from net land use change emissions. The ocean has absorbed about 30 percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, causing ocean acidification. NO STOP BUTTON While there’s no switch that humanity can push to bring climate change to a grinding halt, the IPCC chairman Rajendra K. Pachauri says that while
there’s not much time, mitigation could still make sense. But it’s not going to reverse all the negative effects, neither in the short run, nor in the long run, nor ever - at least on a scale imaginable for humans. “A large fraction of anthropogenic climate change resulting from CO2 emissions is irreversible on a multicentury to millennial time scale, except in the case of a large net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere over a sustained period,” according to the SPM. Surface temperatures will remain approximately constant at elevated levels for many centuries after a complete cessation of net anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Due to the long time scales of heat transfer from the ocean surface to depth, ocean warming will continue for centuries. Depending on the scenario, 15-40 percent of emitted
CO2 will remain in the atmosphere longer than 1,000 years, the document says. Irreversible might also be a part of mass loss by ice sheets that is causing ocean level to rise. The large net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere or managing solar radiation (MSR) on a global scale might be ways of speeding up mitigation, but it also poses many questions whether these techniques will bring on more risks than it would eliminate. “There is insufficient knowledge to quantify how much CO2 emissions could be partially offset by carbon dioxide removal on a century timescale. [Also], MSR, if realizable, has the potential to substantially offset a global temperature rise, but it would also modify the global water cycle, and would not reduce ocean acidification,” the report concludes.
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INTERVIEW
Agent of
understanding We talked with Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body, during his short visit to Warsaw, when he briefed international officials on IPCC’s latest work, the Working Group 1 report on the physical science basis of climate change. BY WOJCIECH KOSC PHOTOGRAPHY BY SZYMON SZCZESNIAK
FOR A CHAIRMAN of the body
whose work brings together climate change research across the world, Rajendra K. Pachauri walks softly. He enters the lobby of a Warsaw hotel unaccompanied, checks in and then disappears in the hallway leading to elevators, without attracting anyone’s attention, until thirty minutes laters, when he reappears again to talk climate change. Mr. Pachauri first developed his interest in the subject as the president of the International Association for Energy Economics in the 1980s. “In 1988, in my annual address to the Association, I focused extensively on climate change, and said that energy economists should start focusing on this,” Mr. Pachauri said. More than 20 years later, the issue of human-induced warming of the Earth has moved to the center of international debate. Established by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization in 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - whose chairman Mr. Pachauri has been since 2002 - is
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“
The stone age didn’t end because there were no stones. Human society has always found substitutes and we moved on”
tasked with providing the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts. NO LUXURY OF TIME The latest from the IPCC is so-called Working Group 1 (WG1) report on the physical science basis of climate change. It will be a part of the IPCC’s 5th Assessment Report whose completion is dues in the fall of 2014. The WG1 report says out of hand that climate change is unequivocal. “Since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased,” the report says. The IPCC also puts the certainty that climate change is man-made at 95 percent. According to Mr. Pachauri, the need for action has never been so pressing. “We don’t have the luxury of time. In the previous Assessment Report, we said that to limit the tempera-
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INTERVIEW ture increase from 2 to 2.4 degrees
Celsius at least cost, CO2 emissions would have to peak by 2015. Every day that we delay, we’re increasing the costs of mitigation and making the possibility of impacts much more serious. The sooner we take action, the more efficient will be the solutions that we will implement, both in terms of costs and minimizing or avoiding the impacts of climate change,” Mr. Pachauri said. PRESS GLOBAL AMBITION The year 2015 is, of course, when the world is expected to agree a global treaty on climate change. The treaty will bind all countries and the EU to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, concluding the painstakingly long negotiating process whose key moments are anticipated during COP19 in Warsaw. In the Polish capital, parties must agree on a road map leading to the 2015 accord. But will they? “I think the WGI report should certainly trigger a consideration of the scientific evidence, and therefore I hope that the conditions and the reasons for arriving at an agreement are more favorable now, but I also realize that these negotiations are very complex,” Mr. Pachauri said. So complex, in fact, that Dr. Pachauri feels that during the twoweek Conference of the Parties, it would be useful if some time was devoted exclusively to the consideration of the science of climate change, beyond the findings of the new Working Group I Fifth Assessment Report. “We have two weeks. Why can’t we spend two or three days just looking at options and benefits of taking action as well as what would happen if we don’t take action. If we did that, I think that the level of understanding and the level of ambition will increase substantially,” Mr. Pachauri said. The EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard recently provided assurance that the work of
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the IPCC would set the tone for the Warsaw COP. According to Mr. Pachauri, looking at climate change action as a costinducing exercise should be balanced by considering the opportunities that may also arise. “There will be benefits of taking action for every country in the world, we are able to prevent negative impacts of climate change,” he said. “Secondly, there are huge co-benefits from mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions. These include in energy security, lower levels of pollution at the local level, and health benefits associated to that,” Mr. Pachauri said. “There also are enormous economic benefits from using renewable energy, implementing energy efficiency, and low carbon energy solutions,” he said. SCIENCE & POLITICS, COLLIDE For every source of energy or energy technology gaining ground over the conventional burning of fossil fuels, however, there’s some group of interest that considers these developments a threat. What the IPCC has been calling for is, in short, an overhaul of methods of energy production worldwide to slow down emissions of greenhouse gases. In this sense, the IPCC is more a political body than a scientific one, and this is where a less straightforward game begins involving vested groups of interests that will be influenced by political decisions stemming, even if indirectly, from what the IPPC is doing. One example is a suggestion from the IPCC’s 4th Assessment Report from 2007 that a price on carbon should be set. “If carbon had a price associated with it, then the reaction from consumers and businesses would be to invest in low carbon products, technologies and processes. All externalities imposed would be internalized in the price of a product. Today
“
Some of the damage that could take place due to climate change cannot be converted into currency values. You need to look at cultural, human and other dimensions of the impacts that could occur”
they are not, and this is one of the reasons why the global commons have been overused and exploited to an extent that we are facing a problem now,” Mr. Pachauri said. The commons, in this case, include the Earth’s atmosphere, where the CO2 concentration has been driven to the important benchmark of 400 ppm, he adds. “There’s inertia in the system and this inertia is as much in human minds as it is in infrastructure. There are coal burning plants all over the world. This is infrastructure that exists and it cannot possibly be changed overnight, but, more importantly, we ought to decide on a road map to overcome the inertia. The UNFCCC came into existence in 1992 - 21 years later, have we really done what was expected of us? If we have, perhaps it hasn't been at a fast enough rate,” Mr. Pachauri said.
A NEW WARSAW PACT? It might be that the Warsaw COP will seal a global shift away from emissions-intensive economy that will then take until 2020 to enter into force and then some years to carry out. According to Mr. Pachauri, the potential of human society to creatively adapt to new conditions and move on should not be underestimated. “The Stone Age didn’t end because there were no stones. Human society has always found substitutes and moved on,” he said. That being said, there are people in the world for whom not to move on would mean a grave loss. These are the small island nations that are coming to COP19 aware of the fact that, for nations like Poland, the climate negotiations are fairly easily translatable into the language of economics, while for the islanders they’re about the physical existence of their
low-lying homeland. Mr. Pachauri acknowledges these concerns and hopes that international solidarity and responsibility will prevail. “Some of the damage that could take place due to climate change cannot be converted into currency values. You need to look at cultural, human and other dimensions of the impacts that could occur,” he said. “The dissemination of science, as contained in the IPCC work, for example, should help illuminate these non-economic, yet important, issues," Mr. Pachauri said. He draws on India's national hero and world peace icon. "As Mahatma Gandhi said: there’s a higher court than any court in the world and that is the court of the human conscience that should help us arrive at a larger set of objectives than merely dollars and cents,” Mr. Pachauri said.
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Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure. Whether we’re limiting the impact our activities have on the environment, promoting sustainable development, or improving the lives of those who come into contact with Alstom, we take our corporate and social responsibilities seriously. People, sustainability and the environment are at the heart of our decisions.
Emirates is one of the world’s fastest growing airlines with one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets. The average emissions per-passenger-kilometre of our technologically advanced fleet is 16.6%, better than the International Air Transport Association (IATA) global fleet average. As a partner of the COP19, Emirates is seeking to highlight its commitment to managing the environmental impact of its operations.
EuroPress Polska has been importing and distributing foreign titles on the Polish market for over 20 years. Our portfolio consists of over 1500 titles from around the world. Our company delivers foreign press to top selling outlets in the country, directly to points of sale of chains and to independent retail shops and wholesalers. EuroPress Polska also delivers press directly to offices and individual clients.
The Polish branch of LeasePlan manages a fleet of over 20,000 vehicles for over 800 customers. During COP19, LeasePlan will be responsible for fleet management and transportation of key participants. The fleet operated by LeasePlan will consist of 70 vehicles. LeasePlan will calculate and then compensate the CO2 emission of the vehicles by planting trees as a part of ecological programme - GreenPlan.
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ArcelorMittal Poland is the biggest steel producer on the Polish market. The company consists of six units located in Kraków, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Sosnowiec, Świętochłowice, Chorzów, and Zdzieszowice. ArcelorMittal Poland since 2004 has invested nearly PLN 5 billion (€1.2 billion) in technologies which have significantly reduced its environmental footprint. Please visit poland.arcelormittal.com.
PARTNERS OF THE COP PRESIDENCY The following companies have provided assistance and in-kind contributions to the COP Presidency
Stewardship of the forests and surrounding habitat runs deep in our company’s DNA. From product design and manufacturing in our own operations to end use, recycling and disposal, sustainability is integral to our approach at International Paper. So it should come as no surprise to hear that we have been recognized by Fortune magazine as “the Most Admired Forest and Paper Products Company” for 10 of the last 11 years.
General Motors is providing a fleet of ten Opel Vivaro small buses to provide mobility to the delegates at the COP19 climate conference in Warsaw.
The BMW Group is the leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. The reduction of CO2 emissions of the company’s vehicles through the EfficientDynamics technology package achieved more than 30% between 1995 and 2012. In the end of 2013, the new ground-breaking all-electric BMW i3 will transform emission-free mobility.
LOTOS operates in exploration, production and crude oil processing, as well as in sales and distribution of a range of petroleum products. LOTOS operates a state-of-the-art refinery located in Gdańsk. In 2011, the plant underwent a comprehensive upgrade (Programme 10+) which not only boosted the refinery’s capacity and added an eco-friendly value, making LOTOS the greenest refinery in the Baltic Sea Region.
Kaspersky Lab Polska operates as part of the Kaspersky Lab capital group, a vendor IT security solutions. As a Polish enterprise, the company has existed since 2000. Kaspersky Lab Polska sp. z o.o. is committed to educating computer and Internet users. As a partner to the COP19 climate summit the company will take care of the security of all the computers used during the event.
PGE Capital Group is Poland’s largest energy company with respect to revenues, net profit, and EBITDA. PGE is constantly decreasing its ecological footprint by reducing emission of undesirable substances, recultivating post-mining areas, and improving waste management. Moreover, we are modernising 10 power units at Bełchatów power plant at the amount exceeding USD 3 billion.
The international community is quick to characterize Poland as a country reluctant to switch to a low carbon economy. But the numbers tell a different story. Since 1988, Poland has reduced CO2 emissions by 33 percent, including a period in the 2000s when emissions shrank and GDP expanded. This feat owes in part to smart policies and dedicated funding. One example: the Green Investment Scheme combined with the EBRD funding administered through the POLSEFF program, a financing facility, have resulted in 1500 energy efficiency investments.
Our
PHOTOPIN/NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
Story
This section was financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOĹšiGW) under contract with the Ministry of the Environment. Please see www.cop19.gov.pl for more information.
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I Care Where there's a will, there's a way. Poland wants to do its part to reach a global agreement to tackle climate change, says Minister of the Environment and President of COP19.
L E T T E R F RO M T H E CO P P R E S I D E N T
BY MARCIN KOROLEC
DEAR FRIENDS,
You are reading these words during the 19th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COP19. The conference is crucial to everyone who wants to preserve our planet - not only here and now, but for the well-being of future generations. The November meeting in Warsaw will do its part to further negotiations on the new global agreement on climate change. The agreement shall be signed in 2015, during COP21 in Paris. It will enter into force in 2020, when the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires. For the first time in history, the new agreement will bind all 195 Parties to the UNFCCC (194 states and the EU as a bloc), to address climate change with particular measures whose basis is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. It’s the task of the Polish Presidency of COP19 to bring together all the Par-
ties who will walk down the path toward a new agreement with all their wishes, mandates and hopes. UP FOR THE JOB It’s a daunting task to find a common ground for so many different positions. We are keen to undertake this challenge. We want to define key elements of the new agreement, so as to maximize the odds for success in Paris. The Paris agreement will probably feature two important elements which were absent in Kyoto: the agreement will oblige all signatories to contribute with some effort and the level of commitment will reflect the capabilities of particular economies. In order to stop dangerous climate change, countries around the world must act together. Only an agreement that is universal, honest and applicable to all can be the medicine for the illness of our planet that climate change has become. The discussion on climate policy
Only an agreement that is universal, honest and applicable to all can be the medicine for the illness of our planet that climate change has become
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is, to a large extent, a discussion on the social and economic conditions in which we will have to live and develop. One of the key elements of the discussions is ensuring synergy between affordable energy sources and environmentally friendly development. This year in Warsaw, for the first time in the history of the COP, business will join the discussion on climate policy. Its involvement will determine the effort and the pace of introducing innovations and switching economy to a more sustainable track. Following the example of the COP16 conference in Cancun, we will also organise a meeting with the representatives of cities. I hope that such a model of cooperation will continue at COP20 in Lima and COP21 in Paris. WE HAVE A STORY TO TELL YOU You may think that the effects of climate change, or the constantly increasing consumption of resources, including water and energy, are remote issues. However, in order to ensure a secure future, it is necessary to adopt some remedies today, in the difficult times of economic crisis. One of the most important challenges for today’s world is to move towards a green economy that will enable countries and societies to develop their economies in an en-
MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
COP President and Minister of the Environment Marcin Korolec
vironmentally friendly way. Poland has a story to tell about this. Twenty years ago, Poland was one of the most polluted countries in Europe. Since then, we have managed to reduce emissions by more than 30 percent, while doubling GDP at the same time. We have reduced air and water pollution, created new environment-friendly jobs, and improved the standard of living. We have raised almost PLN 800 million (over EUR 190 million) from selling extra GHG reductions and employed them in over 300 environmental projects around the country. This success encourages us to continue. I hope that during this year’s climate summit, we will find a moment to share our story with you.
Marcin Korolec Marcin Korolec is the Minister of the Environment in Poland, a lawyer, career civil servant and a negotiator. He was appointed the minister in 2011. He completed his studies at the Ecole nationale d’administration in Paris, having previously graduated from the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of History and the Faculty of Law and Administration. Between 2005 and 2011, Mr. Korolec served as the Under-Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Economy. His responsibilities included
energy, competitiveness and trade, and climate policy. Mr. Korolec was a longterm member of the team negotiating Poland’s membership in the European Union. He was responsible for negotiations on free movement of goods and persons, agriculture, competition policy and consumer protection policy. Involved with Polish and international institutions that deal with climate and environmental protection, Mr. Korolec is a former member of the Supervisory Board of NFOŚiGW; he represented Poland in the Council of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
During the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, Poland held the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Mr. Korolec, as the President of the EU’s Environment Council, together with the EC, played a significant role in the Durban conference’s positive outcome: the Durban Platform. Mr. Korolec is the author of articles about the Polish accession negotiations and an academic lecturer. He’s fluent in Polish, English and French. He’s 43, married to Olga Korolec and a father of four. His hobbies include long-distance running and skiing.
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Look at Us EMISSIONS REDUCTION
Poland has managed a feat few other countries have done: both reducing overall emissions in difficult economic times and de-coupling emissions reductions from economic growth.
POLAND’S EMISSIONS HAVE
largely fallen continuously since 1988. Many say that there was an early, easy-to-achieve effect when the centrally planned economy transitioned to a market economy, with collateral damage done to emissionsintensive heavy industries. But the later emissions reductions amid economic growth renders such a view an oversimplification. Poland deserves further credit. Emissions continued to decrease even in times of economic growth and despite Poland’s energy sector’s reliance on coal. With the energy mix undergoing a shift to include more renewable energy and cross-sector efforts to increase energy efficiency, there are sound premises for emissions to take a further dip, while the economy is expected to show first signs of recovery in 2014. How have these emission reductions been put to use to create further mo-
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The suggestion AAU oversupply should be given up is missing an important point: these AAUs are sold to fund further reductions mentum? The country's oversupply of Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) under the Kyoto Protocol have been sold to economies struggling to meet their emissions reduction targets, such as Japan, Spain and Ireland, and the proceeds are being used, via the Green Investment Scheme, towards further greenhouse gas reduction. The suggestion AAU oversupply should be given up is missing an important point: these AAUs are sold to fund
further reductions. Sector-wise, Poland’s CO2 emissions in 2011 were estimated as 330 million tonnes, according to a report from KOBiZE, the national emissions inventory body. This is about 30 percent lower than in the base year. The main CO2 emissions source was fuel combustion that contributed 92 percent of total CO2 emissions in 2011. In that category, energy industries contributed 52 percent, manufacturing and construction 9 percent, transport 14 percent. Industrial processes - the biggest emitter in this category is cement production - contributed 6 percent of total CO2 emissions. To complete the picture, the CO2 removal in the LULUCF (land use, land-use change and forestry) sector was 24 million tonnes, or 7 percent of the total CO2 emissions (almost the size of transport sector) are offset by CO2 uptake by forests.
P O L A N D ' S E M I S S I O N S V S K Y O T O TA R G E T
Cement Champions
GHG CO2 EQUIVALENT, MILLIONS
600
Kyoto Protocol Target
CO2 emissions trendline
CO2 emissions, annual
450 SOURCE: KOBIZE
300 150 0
1989
1994
1999
2004
2009
After an economic slowdown in early 1990s that caused emissions to slump, Poland returned to the path of economic growth but managed to de-link it from emissions growing back up. All this in a country where coal is still a staple fuel of the economy. Today, new factors contributing to emissions reducton are important as ever, like renewable energy and widespread energy efficiency investments.
POLAND'S EMISSIONS VS GDP PERCENTAGE CHANGE, NORMALIZED 1988
GDP
+90%
CO2 emissions
+60% +30% SOURCE: KOBIZE
---30% 1989
1992
1995
1998
2001
2004
2007
FILIP KWIATKOWSKI, WWW.WARSAWTOUR.PL ARCHIVES
Take a closer look at Poland's economic performance since the onset of democratic and economic change in the late 1980s. The divergence between GDP growth and CO2 emissions started to widen in the mid-1990s and has kept widening since. A number of policy and financial tools are helping Poland develop in ways smarter and cleaner that the typical pattern of rising GDP, rising emissions.
If you were to look for an industry that has done its homework reducing the carbon footprint of its activity in Poland, the cement industry would get the teacher’s approval. Industrial activities in Poland are responsible for about six percent of CO2 emissions, but a number of technologies have been adopted here in Poland to mitigate the environmental impact of cement production - making this sector a success story. Cement manufacturers have employed the use of waste resources like fly ashes from the energy industry or blast furnace slag in the production process. Owners have reduced the use of coal as fuel, replacing it with alternatives like biogas, and coupling clinker production with generation of electric power. These technologies allow for a reduction of CO2 emissions from a typical cement kiln of approx. 21,000 tonnes annually. Studies on Polish industries’ potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 2030 show the sector’s potential as lowest, meaning the effort has already been done, to a good effect, which provides a model of success for other sectors. Poland’s leading cement producers are HeidelbergCement, Lafarge Cement, Grupa Ożarów, Cemex Polska and Dyckerhoff Polska.
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Poland's
Green Toolbox ENVIRONMENT POLICY
Poland has a good record of developing tools to promote sustainable development. Here’s a brief overview of what support is available to commercial enterprises. GREENEVO − GREEN TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATOR
GreenEvo was created during COP14 in Poznań in 2008. Currently, the fourth edition of the project is in progress. Administered by Ministry of the Environment, the program awards the best Polish environmental technologies and supports successfully their worldwide transfer. All GreenEvo companies are verified by a professional jury. The winners of the annual contest are provided comprehensive assistance in improving their chances of success in international markets. This public support includes professional trainings on environmental markets strategic targeting. Until now, 48 companies took part in the GreenEvo project. Participation in the project always bears fruits. For example, in extremely difficult year 2011, the GreenEvo winners’ revenues increased by more than 30 percent whilst their export revenues grew by nearly 60 percent. Moreover, 18 percent of companies launched new production plants, 57 percent their technologies, and more than 50 percent increased employment. GreenEvo is a unique governmental project, representing the new image of Poland in the international
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arena. More information available on: www.greenevo.gov.pl. NATIONAL FUND FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND WATER MANAGEMENT (NFOSIGW)
NFOŚiGW is Poland’s chief organ for the effective and efficient use of funds from the European Union, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, European Economic Area Financial Mechanism, National Green Investment Scheme and Life+. These financial programs are implemented by NFOŚiGW towards development and modernization of the infrastructure of environmental protection in Poland, thus helping Poland fulfill its environmental commitments.
GreenEvo awards the best Polish environmental technologies and supports successfully their worldwide transfer
Between 1989 and 2008, NFOŚiGW concluded more than 14,000 contracts, mainly grants, loans and credits granted through BOŚ, the Bank of Environmental Protection, providing almost PLN 21.4 billion (€5.12 billion) for financing environmental projects, such as financing the purchase of solar collectors for rooftops, subsidies to construct energy efficient houses, or upgrading the grid to facilitate connection of wind capacity. The total cost of projects funded from the Fund’s exceeds PLN 76.5 (€18.21 billion). To find out more, go to www.nfosigw.gov.pl. NATIONAL GREEN INVESTMENT SCHEME (GIS)
GIS is an program for investments whose end result is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. For example, GIS helped to fund a recent modernization of the National Library in Warsaw, so that the building is more energy efficient and consumes less energy overall. GIS has its foundation in the Kyoto Protocol that specifies the legal commitments that industrialized economies must fulfill in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions via three mechanisms: Joint Implementation (JI), in which countries with a goal of reducing emissions finance emissions
MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Agnieszka Kozłowska-Korbicz is the head of the GreenEvo project
reduction projects in other countries; Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), where a Kyoto Protocol country funds an emissions reduction project in a developing country that’s also party to the Protocol. Trading Assigned Amount Units (AAUs), where countries emitting less than the assigned target of emission reductions can sell excess units to states that are exceeding their emissions caps.
The National Green Investment Scheme is managed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, NFOŚiGW GENERATOR OF ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS (GEKON)
The Programme is a joint initiative of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and the National Research and Development Centre. Gekon conducts R&D into innovative en-
vironmental technologies in five areas defined in the program’s charter. These are 1. the environmental impact of unconventional gas, 2. energy efficiency and energy storage, 3. protection and optimization of water usage, 4. producing energy from renewable energy sources and 5. innovative ways to obtain fuel, energy and materials from waste and the recycling of waste. For more information about the project visit www.program-gekon.pl.
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Climate Voices WE SURVEYED KEY individuals
who have a role in organizing COP19. The Mayor of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, says the COP19 is an opportunity to showcase the city’s organizational and environmental capacities. She reminds us that this is Warsaw's second international event since the National Stadium was completed. Krzysztof Bolesta, an aide to the Polish Minister of the Environment, who is trying to bring business into the discussion, says there’s every premise for the event to lay the groundwork for a global agreement in Paris 2015. According to Ms. Agnieszka Kozłowska-Korbicz, head of logistics for the event in the Ministry of the Environment, during the COP, Poland will showcase its green technologies Ms. Daria Kulczycka, head of climate and energy department at Lewiatan, a business organization, says what entrepreneurs should expect from the COP: business leaders want clarity on the scope and legal implications of a 2015 global agreement that could effect the future of commercial enterprise. In keeping with the spirit of the Polish COP19 presidency I Care - make your voice heard among your colleauges. Tweet #COP19 @ClimateWarsaw.
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HANNA GRONKIEWICZ-WALTZ,
mayor of Warsaw
What does COP19 mean for Warsaw? Organization of the climate change conference in Warsaw is a special honor for us. As a host of a worldwide event of such magnitude, Warsaw will try to repeat the organizational success of last year’s EURO 2012, a major sporting event that drew people from all over the world. We would like to once again prove that Warsaw is not only a city with the highest standards of organization, but also a place that leaves good memories among its visitors. Organization of COP19 is an impulse for the city’s further development. In fact, it is difficult to provide better promotion in the world media than the many reports that will come from the two weeks of sessions. We hope those reports will be favorable and that guests will appreciate the extra effort we have put into making them feel comfortable. Warsaw has for many years engaged in activities to promote energy efficiency and combat climate change. These efforts include the Special Climate Protection Team, participation in the Covenant of Mayors, and our own "Sustainable Energy Action Plan"
CITY OF WARSAW
VOICES
COP19 could bring about a road map to a global climate agreement, but it’s also an opportunity for Warsaw to shine, a chance for Poland to showcase clean technologies, and it will be the first COP during which business is expected to be drawn into the discussion.
which promotes energy efficiency and use of energy from renewable sources. These are just some of the examples related to climate protection. We hope that the climate summit will provide an excellent opportunity to present a wide range of innovative actions taken in the field of sustainable development by Warsaw. But COP19 is not just promotion of the city. It is also an opportunity to emphasize the role that ecology should now play in our daily lives. Numerous side-events, such as climate debates and the "Green Climate" exhibition at the Palace of Culture are great tools to educate children through play and strengthen environmental attitudes among citizens of Warsaw.
DARIA KULCZYCKA
How important is COP19 for the negotiations process of the climate agreement?
From the business point of view, what are your expectations of COP19?
Look at it this way: it couldn’t be more important. The international community is on the last lap before signing a global agreement in 2015. We don’t have a lot of time, so the importance of the Warsaw COP is even bigger. COP19 is the last time when we still can discuss in relative peace. In Lima and Paris, the pressure will be far greater. In order to relieve at least
There's an urgent need for governments to find sufficient political will to resolve the highly complex, but not insurmountable issues and create a new global, legally-binding climate regime under the UNFCCC in 2015. Warsaw can lead the way by fostering an environment conducive to a true collaboration on climate action. Business expects that COP19 will
some of the future pressure, we are already working with Peru and France towards a smooth process. COP19 places a huge responsibility on the Polish presidency and its role will be very different than if we were just one of the delegations. COP presidencies are unusual. A COP presidency starts with a bang and continues for the next 12 months until the next COP. The year following COP19 is going to be hard work implementing what we will have decided in November in Warsaw. Odds for success? I do see at all the meetings I’m attending that countries want to talk and they say that the global agreement is very much what’s needed now.
AGNIESZKA KOZŁOWSKA-KORBICZ
head of COP logistics team and creator of GreenEvo
How could Poland use COP19 to promote clean technologies? GreenEvo is a government program that supports Polish companies in the development and export of green technologies. With the GreenEvo program, we are applying next year to become members of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), a UNFCCC body that sets out to to facilitate the effective implementation of
LEWIATAN
MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
head of climate and energy Lewiatan, a business organization
MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
KRZYSZTOF BOLESTA
aide to Minister of the Environment
provide clarity on scope and the legal form of the 2015 agreement. The new international climate framework should enable global level playing field by addressing major economies’ competitiveness concerns, fostering efficiency measures, and pursuing marketbased approaches. It's also important to deepen the trust among Parties and to ensure a transparent and workable mode of action, or we will all fail. Hopefully Warsaw will move the process in the right direction and will be the first step on the road towards a workable new agreement. We hope to deliver a new global goal and pursue sustainable economic development at the same time, doing our part to bring the world a global agreement.
green technologies worldwide, under the guidance of the COP. The important thing about CTCN and how GreenEvo operates is that they’re technology-neutral. In other words, we are not promoting just one technology, but rather a range of technologies that can be used in a variety of conditions. What’s a technology for if it cannot meet anyone’s needs? We hope to showcase GreenEvo as a program that’s perfectly suited to responding to the demands of climate change. Down on the ground, everyone needs practical solutions to mitigate the effects of rising temperatures or at least to adapt to them without further impact on the environment. Poland would like to show that it has a lot on offer in that respect.
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Our story Poland's story of mitigating climate change is impressive. Since 1988, the year chosen as a base year for Poland in the Kyoto Protocol, emissions have dropped 33 percent, thanks to a number of policy and financing initatives. We will be proud to tell you more during COP19.
Financing energy efficiency investments in companies
Financing thermal insulation and construction of low-emissions public buildings
Subsidies and preferential loans for individuals investing in energy efficient houses
Modernization of the grid in order to facilitate connection of wind energy installations
Ho
w di we do d
? t i
Our the last 25 years Poland has reduced its emissions by more than 30%. Although a portion of this reduction was due to the collapse of heavy industry, much of the reduction came at a time of increasing GDP, and was accomplished thanks to programs that favored the thermo-modernization of buildings, and energy efficiency investment in business enterprises.
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SOURCE: KOBIZE, NFOSIGW, CLEANTECH POLAND RESEARCH
Development of energy from renewable sources
ADVERTORIAL
Warsaw is proud to host another worldwide event after the city hosted EURO2012. The COP19 will bring 9,000 delegates from all over the world to Warsaw who will get to see how the city is developing in a sustainable direction.
T
CIT Y OF WAR SAW
Warsaw Green Capital of COP19
his climate conference is a unique opportunity for the city to showcase its strengths - a modern capital developing with respect to the principles of sustainable development. Warsaw is the city with the highest volume of constructed buildings certified with LEED and BREEAM standards among the CEE capitals, a city that invests in a modern, green public transport system. Th e City of Warsaw is proud to organize an exhibition: "Green climate educational activities and technologies for environmental protection" which will be held from November 12th to the 22nd, 2013 in the Palace of Culture and
PHOTO: PZ STUDIO
PHOTO: GAJA CLUB
Planting 9,000 trees is our tribute to nature and an expression of the involvement of the Polish capital in environmental issues.
Science in Warsaw. The exhibition will tackle the issues of ecology, climate change and sustainable development. Exhibition space has been divided into six zones, centered around specific topics - renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, waste management, water and wastewater, biodiversity and air protection. 9,000 TREES PLANTED It is worth mentioning that Warsaw has not forgotten that the COP19 delegates arriving to Poland from around the world also contribute to increasing of greenhouse gas emissions, because of long travels. Together with the Gaja Club, the Ministry of Environment, the State Forests Association and other partners of the Partnership for Climate initiative, the city is planting 9,000 trees to help offset carbon dioxide emissions - about as many delegates who will visit Warsaw for COP19. “The climate summit is an organizational challenge for us, but in the excite-
ment of preparation we shall also be aware of environmental protection. Planting 9,000 trees is our tribute to nature and an expression of the involvement of the Polish capital in environmental issues,” said Hanna GronkiewiczWaltz, Mayor of Warsaw. Warsaw would also like to mark its presence on the international stage by organizing an event for local governments, which is called Warsaw Dialogue on Scaling-Up Local and Sub-national Climate Action. The conference will be held on November 20th in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, and will bring together representatives of cities as well as local governments organizations and NGOs from all over the world. “We hope that the strong representation of the cities will raise the importance of this dialogue and make it become a part of building a substantial debate on the global agreement and a standard for programming the next steps towards reaching the agreement. In this sense the COP in Warsaw may have a historical dimension,” said Leszek Drogosz, Director of Infrastructure Department of Warsaw City Hall.
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NGO VIEWS
Counter Voices Environmental NGOs cannot be overlooked in the climate change debate because they bear witness to what they perceive are huge shortcomings of the global political process. COMPILED BY WOJCIECH KOSC
TOBIASZ ADAMCZEWSKI,
KATARZYNA GUZEK,
PROF. ZBIGNIEW M. KARACZUN
Climate and Energy Expert WWF Poland
Spokeswoman for Greenpeace Climate and Energy campaign
How can COP19 address wider public about climate and energy?
What does Greenpeace expect from the Warsaw COP?
Suppose COP19 does pave the way to a global agreement in 2015-what will be the importance of that?
The Warsaw COP is a great opportunity to educate society about the benefits of a low carbon economy. Conveying the message that renewable energy is de facto a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels will have impacts beyond Poland's borders. The Polish government has been blocking progress on EU emission ambitions, hence limiting the EU’s capacity as a climate leader. False arguments that coal is cheaper than renewables and that sustainable development is reserved only for rich countries have long prevailed in Poland. Now we have an opportunity to talk about health costs of burning fossil fuels, subsidy levels given to conventional energy and that everyone needs to play a role in fighting climate change. If through this COP Poles become convinced that climate change needs to return to the political agenda, it will be a success with a regional and global impact.
Poland must stop blocking EU climate and energy policies, move away from coal, and support renewable energy in order to be a credible host to the climate negotiations. In order to land a meaningful international climate agreement at the Paris COP in 2015, countries must put their commitments to reduce emissions on the table as soon as possible. Otherwise there is no way to review whether the commitments are adequate to avert the disastrous climate change. The EU must agree on a package of binding targets for 2030: emissions reductions, renewables and energy efficiency. This will pave the way to an ambitious climate deal in 2015. The Polish government must stop trying to block EU policies before the international deal has been agreed on. Committing to nothing before a deal has been sealed holds the whole world hostage. This is a losing strategy for the COP hosts.
It’s necessary to have such an agreement in place so as to solve the 21st century’s most important social, economic and environmental problem, which is stopping the man-made climate change. Paris will only be the first step towards creation of effective mechanisms protecting climate. The agreement will likely cover the period of 2020-2030. During that time, developed countries should reduce their emissions by at least 40 percent against the base year, while developing nations should at least stabilize their output. That’s why even signing the Paris agreement will not automatically mean that the effort will cease to restrict emissions further. We have technologies today that make it possible to maintain quality of life at a much less environmental impact. What’s lacking are clear-cut economic and legal stimuli to firm up the transformation.
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Polish Climate Coalition
TECHNOLOGY POLAND
Low Carbon
Leaders As Poland converts to a cleantech economy, SMEs need access to clever technology and financing. After all, SMEs in Poland employ 70 percent of the workforce, and energy smart decisions are the low hanging fruit for climate mitigation. With the support of the European Climate Foundation, Cleantech surveyed Poland's low carbon leaders who are moving the country in a sustainable direction. BY HUNTER DIAMOND
ADDING CO2 FOR GROWTH AN ORCHID IS an exotic flower,
colorful and fragrant. A company based in Stężyca, Poland, has been growing orchids for a decade in a massive greenhouse that nearly spans an area the size of a football pitch. Previously, the owners vented the waste gas from a small power plant located on their farm. But after a farsighted investment in the energy efficiency of their greenhouse, the orchids now use the waste carbon dioxide from an adjacent co-generation facility, where heat and power are produced from natural gas.
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Rather than venting the flue gas into the air, the company financed the purchase of a CodiNox catalytic reactor. The equipment converts the flue gas that would be otherwise released to the atmosphere into an airstream that can be used for CO2 dosing, the process of adding CO2 to a greenhouse to get the flowers to grow larger. The CodiNox system, produced by a company called Hanwel, can boost production by 40 percent. Because the waste stream is utilized, there’s less heat lost to the atmosphere, which translates
to energy savings for the horticulturalist and reduces the owners operating expenses by some 10 percent. Purchase of the equipment was financed by POLSEFF, a financing facility supported by the EU and EBRD, and administered in Poland. A bonus of 15 percent was given to the owners, in addition to preferred financial terms. POLSEFF is a program aimed at improving the energy efficiency of SMEs in Poland. To date, at least 1500 projects have been financed through this energy efficiency mechanism.
123RF
The flowers in the greenhouse utilize the captured CO2 from a nearby co-generation palnt
LOW E M I S S I O N S T EC H N O LO GY
Type
Details
power from natural gas
Date Completed Investor Environmental Benefit Manufacturer
2012 Jarex CO2 is captured from the waste stream Hanwel, CodiNox
SOURCE: CLEANTECH RESEARCH
Location Stężyca, Poland Technology Type Co-generation, heat and
HANWEL
Rather than being vented to the air, the CO2 is captured and then used in a greenhouse to "dope" the air, making the flowers grow better. The CodINOX system in cut-away, an emissions solution for SMEs
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TECHNOLOGY POLAND MODERN CHILLING EQUIPMENT
Type
Details
Location Lublin, Poland Technology Type Ammonia chiller in fruit processing facility
Date Completed 2012 Investor Profesjonal Volume 5 tons of fruit
a year
Manufacturer
MYCOM
SOURCE: PROFESJONAL SP Z O.O.
PROFESJONAL
A more efficient chiller does the same work but uses less energy, reducing carbon emissions, and improving resource efficiency.
Profesjonal, a food processing company, installed a modern chiller that improved energy efficiency.
KEEPING POLAND'S EXPORTS COOL WHAT'S RED, DELICIOUS and
produced in greater quantities in Poland than in any other country in the world? That's right, raspberries. According to the central statistical office, Poland achieved a record harvest in 2013 because of soil conditions, favorable weather and modern equipment. Profesjonal, a fruit processor near the Polish city of Lublin, freezes and exports nearly 5000 tons of frozen fruit a year. An essential piece of equipment in a fruit-freezing operation is the compressor, and the one Profesjonal had been using to freeze their raspberries was inefficient and outdated.
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Profesjonal's president Edmund Podolak financed the purchase of a modern ammonia compressor made by the Japanese company MYCOM. In 2012, he was awarded a loan by the POLSEFF program, an energy efficiency financing vehicle. By replacing the compressor, Profesjonal improved the overall efficiency of their operations. The loan was provided by Bank BGĹť with support from the EU and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). According to an interview with Mr. Podolak that was broadcast when he won a POLSEFF sponsored Gold Leaf award for his investment, in addition
to preferred financing terms, ten percent of the total was awarded as a bonus. Still unknown among many Polish business leaders, the POLSEFF program deserves credit for promoting energy efficiency to small and medium sized enterprises, as these companies make up the backbone of industrial production in Poland. According to the European Commission, SMEs in Poland employ 70% of the workforce and comprise 99.8% of all registered enterprises. "I would describe the POLSEFF program this way: our loan was processed quickly and there were no hangups," Mr. Podolak said.
ADVERTORIAL
During the Conference of Parties, COP19, the UNGC aims to create a space for UN representatives, dignitaries and country representatives to meet business leaders and other key stakeholders to discuss climate change mitigation and adaptation.
O
PHOTO: UNGC
"It would be unfortunate if the dialogue among governmental bodies and businesses stopped after COP19. We need to continue."
MR. K AMIL WYSZKOWSKI
Caring for Climate Business Forum: Nov 19-20
n 19-20 November 2013, the Caring for Climate Business Forum: Innovation, Ambition, Collaboration takes place in Warsaw. Held in cooperation with the Polish COP19/CMP9 Presidency, the Caring for Climate Business Forum is a platform for representatives of 400 of the largest companies, who discuss their activities in a social and environmental context. Although COP19/CMP9 gives the floor for key stakeholders to discuss important issues concerning climate change, we recognize the need to create a special event dedicated to business. The Caring for Climate Secretary-General Initiative was launched in New York in 2007 and is led by the UN Global Compact, the UN Environment Programme and the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The initiative is designed to assist companies in the development of effective
climate change strategies while also providing a channel for the business community to directly interface with policymakers on key climate change issues. Currently, over 400 companies from 65 countries have endorsed Caring for Climate. During the business forum, on 19th November, there will be the inauguration of the Polish participation on this international initiative. UNGC and the Ministry of Environment will sign a memorandum of understanding to continue climate change dialogue with business in the aftermath of COP19/ CMP9 events. Kamil Wyszkowski, the UN Global Compact national representative says, “It would be unfortunate if the dialogue among governmental bodies and business stopped after COP19. To mitigate climate change, we need to assure a continuation of these meetings.” UNGC Poland will thus host a series of
debates and consultations in 2014, built on environmental and social issues with the participation of private sector, UN representatives and national or international political representatives. The Polish application of the global initiative Caring for Climate is going to allow the promotion of activities, products, services and solutions developed and implemented by Polish business. ABOUT UN GLOBAL COMPACT In 1999, the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan called on corporations to help make economic globalization beneficial for all in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. UN Global Compact, launched officially in July 2000, is a leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible and sustainable corporate policies and practices. With nearly 8,000 corporate participants in over 140 countries, the UNGC is the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative. www.globalcompact.org.pl
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TECHNOLOGY IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Type
Details
improved insulation
Date Completed Investor Environment benefit
2010-2012 Mine Master Less fuel is used emissions are reduced
SOURCE: MINE MASTER
Location Wilków, Poland Technology Type New HVAC units,
MINE MASTER
A production hall used to make mining equipment was insulated to improve the building's energy efficiency, and new HVAC equip. purchased.
Mine Master, a producer of mobile mining equipment, renovated their production facilities to be more efficient
REDUCING THE IMPACT OF COAL MINING HORIZONTAL COAL SEAM
mining requires mobile, custom machines that drill holes to assess direction and stability. Mine Master based in Wilków, Poland is one of the world’s few specialized manufacturers of drilling and bolting machinery. Although the company is forty years old, and boasts a rich history selling specialized equipment, until recently the assembly halls where these machines are constructed were energy inefficient. The owners were paying a lot to heat the space. Wanting to modernize their operations, the owners invested in a new heating system and constructed a housing unit for a new oil-fired
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boiler. Still, the production and warehouse halls were poorly insulated, so the new HVAC equipment was underperforming, and the cost of heating was extremely high. “The facility has a building envelope designed from the 1970s, so the thermal performance was very poor,” said Bogusław Regulski, Production Manger of Mine Master, explaining the reasoning that prompted the investment decision. In 2010, analysts from POLSEFF, an energy financing facility, modeled Mine Master’s energy usage and suggested insulating the production halls. To finance the costs of improvements, Mine Master participated in the Pol-
SEFF programme, and used the investment support of BNP Paribas. “Although we expected to achieve thirty percent savings, in the end we achieved fifty percent savings. Which for a company like ours really makes a difference,” said Jerzy Dolny, President of the Management Board. Observing the incredible savings, Mine Master decided to invest in its second production hall, in the first half of 2012, resulting in an overall reduction of 82 percent. According to POLSEFF, this modernization reduced annual CO2 emission by 231 tonnes and brought more than 50 percent cost savings to the company’s operations.
ADVERTORIAL
A country-wide campaign entitled Give a gift to yourself and the environment will be launched in December. It will be aimed at the general public and also – in a special edition planned to start in January 2014 – at the business community.
ECO -DRIVING FOCUS
PHOTO: BMW I3
"This campaign is for companies willing to minimize the negative impacts of their operations on the natural environment to counteract climate change."
Entrepreneur – give a gift to yourself & the environment
I
n selected radio stations of the EUROZET Group and on their websites media spots will be aired that will encourage listeners to visit a web portal, www.ekoprezent.org, specifically developed for the campaign. The portal will contain useful information, practical guidelines, interesting facts and expert materials concerning climate change and ways to reduce negative effects of human activities (on the scale ranging from individual people to whole corporations) on the natural environment. ECO DRIVING The main topic to be addressed in the campaign aimed at the business sector
will be eco-driving: driving vehicles (e.g. corporate fleets) in a more economic, effective, safe, and environment-friendly manner. Companies willing to follow principles of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), including taking pro-environmental measures, in their business activity will be able to actively engage in the campaign through, for example, participation in seminars for the management staff or in specialized trainings on eco-driving; they will also receive information materials for distribution among their employees. Involvement in project activities may be a good chance to broaden the range of CSR activities performed by the company. Simultaneously with the campaign for entrepreneurs, a parallel campaign targeting the general public will take place. Its objectives would be to encourage everyone to exchange special proenvironmental virtual gifts (eco-gifts) and to make New Year’s eco-commitments to develop simple eco-habits that could make at least small ecochanges in the surrounding world.
The campaign is co-financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) and is being coordinated by the Environmental Information Centre UNEP/GRID-Warsaw: the Polish node of the global GRID (Global Resource Information Database) network established within the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Centre co-operates with self-government authorities, educational institutions and companies pursuing CSR principles in a wide range of projects devoted to environmental management, geographic information systems (GIS), and environmental education. Companies interested in participation in the project are invited to contact the coordinators at biznes@ekoprezent.org. WEBSITES www. ekoprezent.org www.gridw.pl www.nfosigw.gov.pl
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TECHNOLOGY BASF
FUTURE IMPROVING RESOURCE EFFICIENCY
Type
Details
Company BASF Technology Type Nano-technologies for
consumer goods
Design Paradigm
Certain coatings that use nano-technology can repel liquids or semi-solid substances
Expected?
2020
SOURCE: BASF, WWW.PACKAGING.BASF.COM
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT The material slides out of the packaging, leaving little or no residue behind; makes recycling and incineration more resource efficient
PACKAGES THAT EMPTY THEMSELVES to clean out the plastic. Incinerators require energy to evaporate the remaining yoghurt. A better idea would be to design yoghurt cups so the yoghurt slides out. Call it “no residue left behind.” According to research done by BASF, a chemical company, products are beginning to
"combine ecology and economy in all stages of production." BASF is working on a state of the art nano-coating that would allow the yoghurt to slide out of the packaging on its own. New packaging could be made stronger and could use less resources without sacrificing quality.
H Y P E R LO O P
Type
Details
Inventor Elon Musk Technology Type High speed
transportation system
Design Paradigm
Pods travel through a de-pressurized tube to minimize friction and can travel at high speeds
Expected
2040
SOURCE: HYPERLOOP, WWW.TESLAMOTORS.COM/BLOG/HYPERLOOP
HYPERLOOP
According to research done by three year olds everywhere, its hard to get all the yoghurt out of the plastic cup. Sticky yoghurt cups is not just a matter of losing resources to the waste bin, but also of spending resources to recycle the packaging. Some recycling centers ask consumers
According to Musk’s calculations, a hyperloop between San Francisco and Los Angeles would cost USD 6 billion compared to the USD 60 billion price tag for the proposed high speed rail project.
HYPERLOOP - A NEW FORM OF TRANPSORT Much fuss has been made in California with a proposed high speed rail project that could cost no less than USD 60 billion (€44 billion) and has yet to get started. If designer and entrepreneur Elon Musk has it his way, it might never get built. A better idea is Mr. Musk's proposed hyperloop.
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After a series of startups that made him a billionaire (PayPal, SpaceX, among others) he has proposed a concept document for a "fifth form" of transport. The hyperloop could shuttle passengers in depressurized tubes as fast as 760 mph (1,220 km/h). Why build an expensive, high speed rail that
doesn't improve travel times and costs much more to build because of right-ofways? If Mr. Musk's vision gets executed, the hyperloop could replace air travel as the optimal way between two cities. His design even allows room for your car - how's that compared to space in the bin?
ADVERTORIAL
Svetlana Robinson is organizer of Future4Build, an event focused on the technical, economic, social and legal aspects of sustainable development in construction.
MS. SVETLANA ROBINSON
PHOTO: BEATA JARZĘBSKA
"Future4Build’s home is in Warsaw, but its audience is international. We hope it will influence other Eastern European markets as well."
Future4Build - Green Building Conference and Trade Show
F
or three years you have been promoting sustainable development with Future4Build. What is sustainable development when it comes to building? Sustainable development means that we are concerned not only about straight figures but also about long term performance. Developing in a sustainable way means thinking about the influence we have on the environment, both natural and social, and how to do it in the best possible way. Green building is certainly about clean technologies, materials and energy. But on the other hand, it’s also a social issue: trying to plan and build things that harmonize with their surroundings. Your slogan reads: who cares about building green? Who, in your opinion, should care about building green?
pensive, not to mention international agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol and certain EU directives, which require us to reduce emissions. In just a few years, we will all have to switch to green. Not only in terms of low-carbon energy but also in terms of how we treat our water, how we manage our waste, and how we interact with one another. Who should care about building green? Anyone who is doing something that will last more than 5 years. Future4Build is not a regular trade show. What is your aim? Sustainable development is about harmonizing your ideas with those of others. So we need to meet, and we need to get to know recent ideas, technologies, research and regulations. This is what Future4Build is designed for – to network people and exchange ideas.
Ten years ago, getting 5 to 10 percent of a building’s energy from renewable sources such as solar power or wind energy, was quite an accomplishment. Today we know that buildings can produce more energy than they use. Traditional energy is becoming more ex-
Future4Build is annually hosted in Warsaw. What is your opinion about green building in CEE? When we first started Future4Build three years ago, few people in Poland were well educated about the specifics of sustainable development. Low carbon technologies were available, but to want to make use of them, developers and suppliers needed to discover the main idea that stood behind those technologies. After two editions of the conference we already see results. And next year's edition promises to be even larger and better attended then the first two. Future4Build’s home is in Warsaw, but its audience is international. We hope it will influence other Eastern European markets as well.
www.future4build.com
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weeks
2 Warsaw
WARSAW FOCUS
in
Warsaw rose from the ashes like a mythical Phoenix. Your first impression of the Polish capital may not captivate you, but give the city some time and you will grow to love it. There’s plenty to explore, at any hour, and not far from the National Stadium. BY HUNTER DIAMOND
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WARSAW COP
PICTURES: 123RF, CITY OF WARSAW, WWW.WARSAWTOUR.PL ARCHIVES, RESPECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS IF NOT MENTIONED
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Old Town
WARSAW FOCUS OUT & ABOUT
Warsaw is a modern city with medieval roots that was destroyed at the end of World War II. To find the heart of this rebuilt city, take a walk in the Stare Miasto (Old Town) and there you’ll find a multi-colored panoply of five and six story houses. You may be surprised to know the old town is not old, at least not by European standards, but a 65 year old replica, painstakingly rebuilt house by house after World World II based on a set of 18th century oil paintings. What can you do there? Old Town’s a hub of cafes, restaurants and gift shops. Visit an amber shop in the old town square or taste the fruit tea in the basement of Same Fusy. PRACTICAL: Take any bus heading north from the Palm (a plastic palm tree from artist Joanna Rajkowska) in the middle of Charles de Gaulle roundabout and get off at the Castle Square (Plac Zamkowy). The Old Town is in walking distance of the Bristol, Sofitel and InterContinental Hotels. Le Régina is the Old Town’s only five star hotel.
Plac Zbawiciela
Łazienki Królewskie
Nowy Swiat
This Warsaw roundabout gets its name from the Church of Christ the Savior at the south end. Other than that, it’s where Warsaw hipsters meet, reportedly. Need a drink? Go round the place to stumble upon a number of cafes and bars to suit anybody's taste.
Although it won’t be very green in November, it’s worth taking a walk in this premiere park area. See the Pałac na Wodzie, the Palace on the Water, the summer residence of Poland’s last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski. You can feed the peacocks or dine at the nearby Belvedere Restaurant.
Nowy Świat (New World) street is the place to unwind after a long day of negotiations. Among jewelry boutiques and clothing stores you’ll find Krakowski Kredens (a Polish brand of smoked sausages) and dozens of restaurants offering Polish and international cuisine.
PRACTICAL: Any of the trams heading south from the Centrum tram stop will get you there in about four stops. From the National Stadium, take any tram to Centrum then change.
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PRACTICAL: From the COP, take any tram across the river, and change at the National Museum to bus 116, 180, or 503 heading south, get off at the third stop.
PRACTICAL: From the National Stadium, take any tram across the river two stops, and get off at the Museum Narodowe, National Museum, then head north.
WELCOMES DELEGATES FROM THE COP19 CONFERENCE
We invite you to Experience Warsaw’s Highest restaurant located next to the Palace of Culture adjacent to Warsaw Central Railway station. STUNNING PANORAMIC VIEWS OF THE CITY
Reservations from COP19 delegates welcome - Call 22 250 11 11 / Email info@pureskyclub.com Pure Sky Club, 22nd Floor, ul. Złota 59, Warsaw www.pureskyclub.com
Jewish Museum
WARSAW FOCUS OUT & ABOUT
The Museum of the History of Polish Jews opened in 2013. Built on the site of the departure point from which Jews of the Warsaw ghetto were transported to Auschwitz, the museum is mostly the achievement of a modest historical association with a dream: to commemorate a rich Polish Jewish history that was swallowed by the Holocaust. The museum was built, in part, to the credit of the late president Lech Kaczyński, who laid the cornerstone a few years before he died in a plane crash in 2010. The museum pays tribute to Poland's Jewish population that once numbered several million. Designed by Finnish architects Rainer Mahlamäki and Ilmari Lahdelma, the museum is admirably approachable, painted the color of sand, and hinges upon a large divide that symbolizes the parting of the Red Sea. PRACTICAL: Anielewicza 6, (+48) 22 471 03 00, info@jewishmuseum.org.pl, hours: Mon-Sun: 10am-6pm, Tuesday: closed. Reservations By telephone, open from Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm (+48) 22 471 03 01
Chopin Museum
Palace of Culture
Uprising Museum
The Fryderyk Chopin Museum (Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina) is dedicated to the 19th century Polish composer who died in France at only 38. You'll find love letters and musical manuscripts, attesting to a precocious and tortured talent. Interactive exhibitions run on several floors.
It’s where COP's side events are being held. Owned by the city of Warsaw, the Palace of Science and Culture (Pałac Kultury i Nauki) was built by Stalin in the 1950s, as a “gift” to the people of Warsaw. It's aging gracefully though. The clock was added at midnight during New Year’s Eve in 2000.
Learn how the underground Home Army fought, in vain, against the Germans in 1944. The defiance meant the city’s destruction, as it was razed to the ground. Later, a mountain of carted-off rubble was made to commemorate the uprising. You can see it from the viewing terrace at the Palace of Culture.
PRACTICAL: To get there, look up and head to the “syringe in the sky” - there’s a viewing terrace on the 30th floor; open 9am– 8pm. Costs €5.
PRACTICAL: Grzybowska 79, hours: Mon, Wed and Fri, 8am-6pm, Thu 10am-8pm, weekends 10am-6pm, (+48) 22 539 79 05, biuro@1944.pl
PRACTICAL: Okólnik 1, (+48) 22 44 16 251, muzeum@chopin. museum, hours: Tue-Sun 11am-8pm. As you leave the museum, make sure you visit the Chopin Shop opposite.
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Kampinos National Forest
AND MORE... n Wilanów Palace, Stanisława Kostki Potockiego 10/16, (+48) 22 842 07 95 n Neon Lights Museum, Soho Factory, Mińska 25, (+48) 22 323 19 00 n Warsaw Zoo, Ratuszowa 1, (+48) 22 619 40 41
Copernicus Center
Metro Construction
n Museum of Modern Art, Pańska 3, (+48) 22 596 40 10
This science center is so hands on you won’t find an exhibit that doesn’t encourage you to blow, yank, pull, stuff, twist and turn. Absolutely perfect for the kid in you, but also a serious science business at the same time.
Warsaw’s population is growing, so an east-west metro line is being added, which requires building a tunnel under the Vistula river. For a construction site loving engineer or curiosity seeker, there’s a few “peep holes” cut into the construction fencing. There’s a visitor center too.
n Skaryszewski Park, jogging path next to National Stadium
PRACTICAL: Buy tickets in advance at bilety.kopernik.org. pl, hours: Tue-Fri, 9am-6pm, weekends 10am-7pm, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20, info@ kopernik.org.pl, or call the ph: (+48) 22 596 41 00.
PRACTICAL: The visitor center is where the Marszałkowska and Świętokrzyska streets meet, at the metro Centrum station, adjacent the Palace of Culture.
n National Opera, Plac Teatralny 1, Midsummer Night's Dream on Nov 14-16, Nabucco on Nov 21, (+48) 22 826 50 19 n Saska Kępa, arguably the best neighborhood in Warsaw, from the National Stadium, cross Waszyngtona street, check out the umbrellas at Francuska 30 and a number of cafes and restaurants
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WARSAW FOCUS
PRACTICAL: You can take a natural gas powered cab ride with Ecocar (+48) 123456789 for about €70 round trip or you can rent your own car at Express.pl (+48) 123 000 300 for €50 a day. Rent a bike at (+48) 667 836 863, info@bikecity. waw.pl, Nowogrodzka 10. Tune the GPS to Tetmajera 38 and you’ll arrive to the Kampinos National Park’s education center, (+48) 22 722 60 21.
OUT & ABOUT
Had enough non-stop talking? Nature lovers, who are willing to take a day away from the city, should drive west, then north, for 25 kilometers (15 miles) to the Kampinos National Park. There you’ll find a forest with elk and lynx. The soil is sandy and the moss is thick, which makes for an amazing acoustic experience, as the forest is utterly silent. You can mountain bike, hike or jog. You can rent a horse. If it’s snowing, you may find a local with a horse-drawn sled. A good Saturday adventure.
Atelier Amaro
WARSAW FOCUS FOOD & DRINK
The first and so far only Polish restaurant to receive a Michelin star, this restaurant is a modern interpretation of traditional Polish cuisine. Rather than a menu, the chef offers sets: three, five or eight pleasures to choose from. The wine list is curated by an award winning Polish sommelier, and a range of traditional liquors and meads are on offer. Located in the Łazienki Królewskie park, the restaurant has marble floors and large windows. The heart of the place is Wojciech Modest Amaro and you can see him work in the kitchen if you wish so. PRACTICAL: Agrykola 1 (on foot from nearby Plac Na Rozdrożu). Call ahead for a reservation: (+48) 22 628 57 47 or mobile (+48) 607 970 000, or write to reservations@atelieramaro.pl
AND MORE... n Akademia Smaku - a blend of Polish and Italian, Oboźna 9 (+48) 22 828 99 01
n Warszawa Wschodnia, at the Soho Factory combo of art, business and food, Mińska 25, (+48) 22 870 29 18 n Boathouse Restaurant, along the river, Wał Miedzeszyński 389A, (+48) 22 616 32 23 n Why Thai, modern Asian, Wiejska 13, (+48) 22 625 76 98 n Mąka i Woda, new Italian, Chmielna 13A, (+48) 22 505 91 87 n Izumi Sushi, Mokotowska 17, (+48) 22 424 00 51 n Platter Restaurant, InterContinental Warszawa, Emilii Plater 49, (+48) 22 328 8730 n Cafe Baobab (Senegal's food), Francuska 31, (+48) 22 617 40 57
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Brasserie Warszawska
Butchery & Wine
Brasserie Warszawska is reflective of combined traditions of Warsaw and Paris, suffused with elements of the new European modernity. The menu emphasizes simplicity, yet simultaneously reinforces the quality of ingredients, methods of preparation, elegance of appearance, and heavenly flavors.
Awarded twice the Michelin Bib Gourmand for outsanding value at a good price. B&W guests enjoy a short, intelligent menu: roast bone marrow, seared scallops with boudin noir, bavette steak with shallots, and T-bone steak. A comprehensive wine list and friendly service.
PRACTICAL: From the COP, take any tram across the river, get off at DH Smyk, take bus 107, ride and get off at Wiejska at the restaurant’s doorstep.
PRACTICAL: Not far from the city center at Żurawia 22. Call ahead: (+48) 22 502 31 18, restaurant@butcheryandwine. pl. Gift certificates available.
La Rotisserie Chef Paweł Oszczyk chooses only fresh and unique ingredients of the highest quality and creates perfect culinary compositions. His signature cuisine is based on the Italian and French experiences, influenced by the Polish traditions and local products.
n Miedzy Nami Cafe Bracka 20, (+48) 22 828 54 17 n Champions Sports Bar, Aleje Jerozolimskie 65/79, (+48) 22 630 51 19 n Kufle i Kapsle, beers on tap, Nowogrodzka 25, (+48) 22 127 72 18
Cafe Bristol
Pure Sky Club
Go there to experience pre-war Warsaw, known as “Paris of the East”. This elegant cafe has good sweets, and is one of the few places to get English and American styled breakfast. It's located in the 5-star Bristol Hotel, Warsaw's oldest and longest serving hotel.
Located on the 22nd floor of the Skylight office tower adjacent to the Złote Tarasy mall, Pure Sky Club is a private club and a place to meet not only for businesspeople. There are private conference rooms and a fine restaurant and bar. A suitable location for events too.
PRACTICAL: Take the 116 or 180 bus north from the Palm, get off adjacent the President's Palace at Krakowskie Przedmiescie 42/44, (+48) 22 551 1828.
PRACTICAL: From the National Stadium, take any tram across the river, get off at the Centrum stop and walk across the large square along the Palace of Culture.
n Patricks Irish Pub, a fine pub Nowogrodzka 31, (+48) 22 628 93 71 n Platinium Club, a night club, Aleksandra Fredry 6, (+48) 22 596 46 66 n Pawilony Nowy Świat, Nowy Świat 22/28, (+48) 22 826 53 51 n Szpilka, open 24 hours, Pl. Trzech Krzyży 18, (+48) 22 628 91 32 n The Eve, a night club, Pl. Piłsudskiego 9, (+48) 604 145 462
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WARSAW FOCUS
AND MORE...
FOOD & DRINK
PRACTICAL: From the COP, take any tram across the river two stops, change to bus 185, get off at Sanguszki and walk 300m west. Or just take a taxi (€10). (+48) 22 531 60 00.
CONSULTING THEY TRUST US
About Us Investors who want to grow their business in CEE need access to clients. Cleantech Poland is a smart consultancy that provides business data and sales leads. Get connected. BY PARKER SNYDER, DIRECTOR
CLEANTECH POLAND IS a con-
sultancy for sustainable business: a team of motivated, multilingual, and passionate low carbon advocates. Our works moves Poland in a low carbon direction in both renewables and oil & gas These are our services: marketing and promo-
tion, commercial due diligence, equity fundraising and introductions to local-partners. Flagship client: Bloomberg EU-27 data on RES and unconventional oil & gas. Call us today and we’ll boost your low carbon CEE portfolio ahead of a 2015 global agreement.
Skanska, a developer, hired Cleantech to develop a key visual that promoted Skanska’s deep green philosophy 90 | CLEANTECH | Q4 2013 | SPECIAL ISSUE COP 19
APEX CONTRACTING BIRETA TRANSLATIONS BLOOMBERG CAPITAL PARK CB&I CDM SMITH CH ROBINSON DTZ EIP EPS SYSTEM ESPEROTIA ECF EXALO GEO-DATA GEOFIZYKA TORUN GEOKRAK GHELAMCO GOLDEN SUN GREENFIELD WIND GREENVIRONMENT GREYSTAR HALLIBURTON HAYS IP GROUP LINDE GROUP LUFTHANSA MARATHON OIL MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT MND DRILLING NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT NTS CONSTRUCTION PACKERS PLUS PACWEST CONSULTING PENSPEN PGE PORR PRO EURO PSEW PWC SCHLUMBERGER SIEMENS SKANSKA SOLARPRAXIS SSW SWEDECENTER TECH-POMPE TENARIS THINKTANK TUP UBM US STEEL TUBULAR VEOLIA WATER WEATHERFORD
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KEY CLIENTS
SCOPE: DATA CLIENT: BLOOMBERG
SCOPE: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLIENT: SIEMENS
SCOPE: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLIENT: PACKERS PLUS
SCOPE: MARKETING & PROMOTION CLIENT: SKANSKA
SCOPE: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CLIENT: GREYSTAR
SCOPE: MARKETING CLIENT: CH ROBINSON
Bloomberg Industries hired Cleantech to provide EU-27 data on the development of renewables subsidies regimes and unconventional oil & gas. The client receives quarterly data made available to their customers through terminals: bringing clarity to equity, corporate and risk decision makers across Europe.
Siemens needed a low-carbon sales strategy for southern Poland, so they hired Cleantech to analyze which low-carbon solutions could be commercialized in Wrocław. Cleantech produced a business development strategy describing new market opportunities and generating a list of business leads. Find our work at issuu.com/cleantechpoland
Packers Plus, a Canadian technology company, wanted to import their advanced oilfield technology to Poland’s emergent unconventional oil and gas markets. Cleantech worked for Packers Plus to develop a market entry strategy, hang city-wide advertising, arrange meeting with clients, and train Polish oilfield engineers, all to aid the commercialization of shale.
Skanska, a Swedish developer, hired Cleantech to develop a key visual to celebrate their 20 year anniversary in green building. Based on a review of the Polish green building market, Cleantech promoted Skanska’s deep green philosophy by marketing their commercial properties with a four page 840 mm x 297 mm graphic that debuted in Cleantech.
GreyStar/Penspen, an engineering company, hired Cleantech to arrange a series of introductions to operators in the Polish unconventional gas markets. Working on a day rate, Cleantech arranged a dozen meetings with potential clients, giving the business development manager access he would have otherwise not had.
CH Robinson, a logistics company, hired Cleantech to sponsor a business mixer to generate client leads in oil and gas. Cleantech rented the facility, created a guest list, marketed CH Robinson in the Shale Gas Investment Guide magazine, and provided follow up advice for winning clients.
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MAGAZINES
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EVENTS
Cleantech created an event for executives. The first edition of PRESIDENTS CLUB was held on October 16th at the Belvedere Restaurant in Łazienki Park. Executive networking re-invented, in partnership with Future4Build, for the markets that connect environment and business.
Ms. Agnieszka Kozlowska-Korbicz (center) at the PRESIDENTS CLUB next to Lufthansa hostesses
C O V E R P R O J E C T B Y B E ATA JA R Z Ę B S K A PA R T Y P H O T O S B Y S Z Y M O N S Z C Z E Ś N I A K
Mr. Robert Lipnicki (left) of EPS System and Mr. Bart Buyse (right) of Lufthansa unveil the cover project on stage
Red carpet was laid out for the executives who attended
The Leading Ladies of the Cleantech cover project for the green building issue vol. 5
Ms. Svetlana Robinson of F4B and Mr. Parker Snyder of Cleantech, hosts for the evening
Cleantech on display for 120 guests of the PRESIDENTS CLUB
Waiters greet the guests with a welcome drink as they arrive to the venue
Members of the Future4Build and Cleantech Poland teams who organized the event
SPONSORS
ORGANIZERS
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WWW.CLEANTECHPOLAND.COM
Cleantech
Cleantech Coal
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A H E A RT F E LT T HA N K S TO O U R I N K I N D C O N T R I B U T O R S F O R T H E I R 5 - S TA R S E RV I C E
Cleantech cover project organized at Hotel Mamaison La Regina in the old town
Ms. Agnieszka Stankiewicz, partner in the law practice of Norton Rose Fulbright, delivered a dynamic speech about sustainability
Networking spaces set up outside for conversation in the park
Guests fill the pavilion at the Belvedere Restaurant in Łazienki Park
Guests are waiting for the presentation of the Leading Ladies at the Belvedere Restaurant
The Leading Ladies after the presentation of their portrait photos and Wittchen gift certificates
Ms. Katarzyna Zawodna of Skanska donated hers and a number of the ladies' gifts to charity
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PARIS 2015
Born in Warsaw,
Loved in Paris In two years, when you will be thinking about what’s going to happen during the Paris COP, think also it will have originated here in Warsaw. BY THOMAS SPENCER*
POLAND LIKES HOSTING the
UN’s climate change summit. In 2008, it welcomed the world at the climate summit in Poznań, and once again, Warsaw is hosting COP19. COP19 will be an important meeting because it could lay the foundations for the COP in Paris in 2015, where a global climate change treaty should be signed. The conditions for this to happen, while not ideal, are nonetheless better than they were four years ago, at the close of the Copenhagen climate conference. The mandate for the Warsaw COP is much stronger than it was in the case of Copenhagen. There, countries representing 80 percent of global emissions and 90 percent of the global economy came forward with voluntary emissions commitments. But these commitments were not strong enough in scope, nor did they carry any legal weight, to keep the global warming below two degrees Celsius compared to average pre-industrial temperatures. They were also short term, going only to 2020. BIND’EM ALL To make up for the Copenhagen shortcomings, at the Durban summit
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in 2011, countries agreed to solidify a new agreement by 2015. This will apply to all countries and will be legally binding. The countries’ rhetoric since Durban reflects those goals. For example, during a September 2013 meeting of the so-called BASIC countries, or major emerging economies: Brazil, South Africa, India and China, the environment ministers “emphasized the need for commitments by all countries and recalled again that responsibility for climate change, as contemplated in the UNFCCC, rests on all countries.” Similar statements have been coming from the EU. Countries coming to the Warsaw conference are, in addition, much more experienced in the development and implementation of policy. Many have climate change legislation. And many, in particular the major economies such as China and the EU, are preparing long-term emissions re-
duction strategies to prepare their positions for the 2015 negotiations. ENGAGED, MARRIED, PARENT? Even with the awareness that it’s everybody’s job to make Paris in 2015 a success, the Warsaw COP won’t be a walk in the park. Mainly because to date, governments have been reluctant to put numbers on the table. This precaution will invariably lead to a last minute scramble, which has two consequences: national targets are weakly upheld domestically and international cooperation is flimsy. To have commitments be made firmer and be ready sooner, the Warsaw COP should define a timely and transparent process for countries to come forward. A step-by-step process for developing and submitting commitments could show governments are preparing to take action. Then proposals can be developed with mutual assurances. You can think of
Good faith negotiations, based on the progress launched in Warsaw in 2013, can produce an acceptable package for Poland - a package that Poland itself can certainly help conceive.
BARBARA TEKIELI, WWW.WARSAWTOUR.PL FILE
Frederic Chopin: born in Warsaw, loved in Paris. Just like the climate deal?
it like an engagement period before marriage. The Warsaw COP needs to launch this process of preparation at the national level. Countries come back in late 2014 and propose first “offers” for emissions reduction commitments. This would leave time during 2015 for review, clarification and increased ambition - in some ways, a fundamental and positive change in how the parties negotiate. Europe then will need to prepare its emissions reduction commitment for the post-2020 period. So far Poland has been against EU consensus, but, sadly, Poland’s apprehension rests upon two misconceptions. Firstly, Europe will not negotiate in 2015 with a legislated commitment. With the Commission and
Parliament leaving in 2014, there is not sufficient time to come up with one. Secondly, Poland is incorrect to state that Europe is alone in preparing its commitment. Other major economies, in particular China and Brazil, have begun the intensive inter-ministerial process to determine their commitments. In Brazil this is taking place under the Brazilian Climate Forum reporting to the President. The US may also be ready to come forward with a commitment: early 2015 will be after the 2014 midterms and towards the end of the Obama mandate. If the Warsaw COP can get this process under way worldwide, these two weeks will have set the scene for success in Paris in 2015. Progress in Warsaw could also mean that Europe
can make its first political decisions at the March 2014 Environment Council on its post-2020 framework. Poland’s reluctance is well known, but it cannot delay for ever. Neither will it be favorable to this ambitious country to do so while in the center of the world’s attention. Good faith negotiations, based on what will have been achieved in Warsaw in November 2013, can help to produce an acceptable package for Poland - a package that Poland itself can help conceive. *Thomas Spencer is program director energy and climate at IDDRI, a non-profit research institute based in Paris, analyzing strategic issues linked to sustainable development from a global perspective.
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PORTRAIT
BY WOJCIECH KOŚĆ P H O T O : A D O P T A N E G O T I AT O R , G C C A
Bernarditas C. Muller Ms. Muller was there at the beginning of a process that she says used to be more open and transparent. What is your personal background? What do you remember as the most controversial moment in COP history? All COPs are difficult. But the Copenhagen COP debacle was a complete travesty of the multilateral process. The negotiations on the resulting "Copenhagen Accord" were limited to an exclusive, handpicked, small group of Parties, and there was constantly conflicting information on what was happening. Parties at the end were given "one hour" to decide their future, and no discussions were initially allowed until the clamor for it became too overwhelming to be ignored. It was totally unexpected from a country that prides itself on open and democratic institutions.
My father was a general in the Philippine Armed Forces and a lawyer. After his retirement, he had a position in the Marcos Government from which he resigned when martial law was declared. That was when I quit the Foreign Service after serving for two years. I returned to the Service at the end of the dictatorship. I did my university and post-graduate studies in the Philippines, in Paris at the Institut d'études politiques, and at the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales in Geneva.
What do you like doing when you're not working? I love to read. Right now, I have four books on my table: The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco, Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan, Making Peace with the Earth: Beyond Resource, Land and Food Wars by Vandana Shiva, and The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson.
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You are from the Phillipines, but live in Switzerland. How do you keep connected to the developing world? For more than twenty years, I was a career diplomat of the Philippines. I remain an adviser and consultant at the Department of Foreign Affairs and now at the National Climate Change Commission. It is in this capacity that I continued to be part of the Philippine delegation, and also continue to act as lead coordinator and negotiator for the G77.
What do you expect from COP19? An outcome that would help all Parties to act urgently to achieve the objective of addressing climate change and its adverse effects, with a focus on financing and technology for developing countries, in particular for adaptation, in accordance with treaty obligations.