COP23 Information Hub
KEY STEPS
NEGOTIATIONS
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FOCUS: Mitigation
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Mitigation
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According to the Fourth Assessment Report of the International Panel for Climate
Change (IPCC AR4), global
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have grown since pre-industrial times, with an
increase of 70 per cent between 1970 and 2004. With current climate change mitigation
policies and related sustainable development practices, these emissions will continue
to grow over the next few decades. Continue
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National actions on mitigation in the context of the Bali Roadmap
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Central to the Cancun Agreements adopted by Parties in 2010 is the decision to hold
the increase in the global average temperature below 2 °C, or below 1.5 °C,
above pre-industrial levels. In order to contribute to this goal, more than 90
Parties made conditional and unconditional pledges to reduce emissions by 2020 under
the Cancun Agreements.
For developed countries, these pledges encompass quantified economy-wide emission
reduction targets under the Convention for all developed countries (FCCC/SBSTA/2014/INF.6)
and quantified emission limitation or reduction commitments under the second
commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol by developed countries assuming commitments
for this period. ( Doha Amendment (117 kB) )
Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions by developing country Parties pursuant to
decision 1/CP.16, paragraph 50, are compiled in document FCCC/SBI/2013/INF.12/Rev.2.
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More on UNFCCC Mitigation work
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Social Media Outreach
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Introduction to Mitigation, continued
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Societies can respond to climate change by reducing GHG emissions and enhancing sinks
and reservoirs. The capacity to do so depends on socio-economic and environmental
circumstances and the availability of information and technology. To this end, a wide
variety of policies and instruments are available to governments to create the
incentives for mitigation action. Mitigation is essential to meet the UNFCCC's
objective of stabilizing GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. Among others, the
Convention:
- Requires all Parties, taking into account their responsibilities and
capabilities, to formulate and implement programmes containing measures to mitigate
climate change
- Also requires all Parties to develop and periodically update national inventories
of GHG emissions and removals
- Commits all Parties to promote, and cooperate in, the development, application
and diffusion of climate friendly technologies
- Requires developed countries to adopt national policies and measures to limit GHG
emissions and protect and enhance sinks and reservoirs
- States that the extent to which developing countries will implement their
commitments will depend on financial resources and transfer of technology
The UNFCCC webpages on mitigation highlight the range of issues that are being
addressed by Parties under the various Convention bodies, including:
Action on mitigation: reducing emissions and enhancing sinks. A
range of policies and various economy-wide packages of policy instruments have been
effective in reducing GHG emissions in different sectors and many countries.
According to the IPCC AR4, there is substantial technical and economic potential for
the mitigation of global GHG emissions over the coming decades, that could offset the
projected growth of global emissions or reduce emissions below current levels.
Changes in lifestyle and behaviour patterns and management practices can contribute
to climate change mitigation across all sectors. [read more]
Latest information on action to reduce emissions by developed countries is
found under this
link. For developing countries information can be found here.
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Reporting on national implementation and MRV. Parties to the
Convention have agreed to submit to the Conference of the Parties (COP) national
reports on implementation of the Convention which include commitments and activities
relating to mitigation. The required contents and level of details of national
reports and/or the timetable for their submission are different for developed
and -developing countries. This
is in accordance with the principle of "common but differentiated
responsibilities" enshrined in the Convention [read more].
Resources. A number of resources relevant to mitigation is available
to Parties and the general public. By navigating to this link you will find more information on
data on greenhouse gases reported by Parties to the UNFCCC; the REDD platform;
training material; and the IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse inventories.
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