Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) in tropical countries is an important and contested element of the post-Kyoto climate regime. For policy options which generate controversy between diverse actor groups, such as REDD+, mass media plays an important role in defining and supporting policy possibilities. Analysis of the way in which national media frames issues of climate change and deforestation can offer insights into the nature of the contested domains of the REDD+ policy process. Here, we examine the Brazilian national media discourses surrounding REDD+ because it contributes to setting the tone of policy debates at the federal level. Specifically, we ask the following: (i) How was REDD+ portrayed in the Brazilian national print media and whose opinions and perceptions were represented? and (ii) How have media frames on REDD+ in the national print media changed over time? Our results contribute with new knowledge for understanding the observed progress of REDD+ in Brazil. We identify two main themes that dominate the focus in the national media coverage of REDD+, specifically “politics and policymaking” (representing half the coverage) and “economics and market” (with over a third). Results show that discussions around carbon markets were amongst the most contested and that optimism in relation to REDD+ effectiveness declined over time. The analysis suggests that positions adopted on the national REDD+ strategy were shaped by state and federal collision of interests. We demonstrate an evolution of national concerns from an initial focus on efficiency (e.g. finance and carbon markets) to a recentred focus on equity issues (e.g. implementation of safeguards). We conclude with some thoughts on the implications of these features for REDD+ interventions and implementation in Brazil.

Interpreting bargaining strategies of developing countries in climate negotiations. A quantitative approach

Climate change is one of the most severe global problems in the 21st century. Main drivers are the combustion of fossil fuels, the emissions of industrial gases, emissions from agricultural sites and animal husbandry as well as deforestation. A new cooperative climate regime is necessary to meet the World’s energy and environmental problems against the background of China’s and India’s energy consumption growth. For the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol after 2012, a successor regime has to be agreed on. The current approaches, however, have a common weakness. They at the same time (a) do not acknowledge the historical responsibilities of the industrialized countries for the historical greenhouse gas emissions and the responsibility of developing countries for a large fraction of the current future emissions, and (b) do not provide for a fair distribution of emission rights. Against this background, this article aims at forecasting China’s and India's CO2-emissions up to 2050 and developing a new suggestion for a post Kyoto climate regime based on a cumulated per capita CO2-emission rights taking the weaknesses of the currently discussed post Kyoto approaches into account.

The international regime for climate change is embodied in the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol sets the mandatory quantified emissions limitation and reduction (QELAR) targets of greenhouse gases (GHGs) for Annexure I developed countries. However, it excludes the maritime transport sector from its purview and mandates the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to address the issue of the mitigation of marine GHG emissions. Inter-governmental negotiations are underway in this regard, within the framework of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). Presently, there is an impasse in the negotiations as nations have failed to arrive at a consensus on the contents of the regulatory framework for the mitigation of marine GHG emissions. This paper seeks to identify the legal issues and challenges in mitigating marine GHG emissions in post-Kyoto policy and to contribute to the ongoing debate on the challenges before the Conference of Parties (COP15)/Meeting of Parties (MOP5) of the Kyoto Protocol in addressing the issue of mitigation of marine bunker emissions. It provides an overview of the ongoing inter-governmental negotiations on post-Kyoto climate regime from the maritime transport perspective and reviews IMO's work on mitigating GHG emissions. It analyses the legal issues that add to the intricacies of bunker fuel negotiations due to limited jurisdiction of the countries in controlling emissions from maritime transport activities occurring outside their national borders. It looks at a number of legal issues, like “common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR),” “flag of convenience” etc., that need to be resolved for evolving a mandatory regulatory framework for mitigation of marine GHG emissions.

According to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report, global emissions of carbon dioxide have to be reduced by about 80 per cent by 2050 in order to stabilise the increase in global temperature at 2 to 2.4°C by 2100 compared with its pre-industrial level. An increase of only 2°C would bring about “acceptable” negative impacts on the eco-systems and the world economy. Without a reduction in CO2 emissions in China, however, it will be hard to achieve this goal. Currently, China is already responsible for about 50 per cent of the worldwide increase in CO2 emissions recorded over the past ten years. On the other hand, it is the industrialised countries that are mainly responsible for the greenhouse-gas emissions of earlier years. Taking the challenges of China's economic growth, its impact on future CO2 emissions and the development of China's climate policy into account, this article develops a new post-Kyoto regime based on cumulative per-capita emission rights.

Is it fair to treat China as a Christmas tree to hang everybody's complaints? Putting its own energy saving into perspective

This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.

Linking biodiversity conservation and climate change: Embedding biodiversity-sensitive forest preservation incentives in the post-Kyoto climate regime

Is it Fair to Treat China as a Christmas Tree to Hang Everybody's Complaints? Putting its Own Energy Saving into Perspective

The role of technological development and policies in a post-Kyoto climate regime

PM production and properties of porous titanium : M. Bram et al. (Forschungzentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany)