SUSTAINABILIT Y AT THE C ANCUN CONFERENCE
Hernando Guerrero Cázares F e d e r a l A t t o r n e y f o r E n v i r o n m e n ta l P r o t e c t i o n a n d R e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e S u s t a i n a b i l i t y a t t h e COP 16 Mexico aspires to attaining sustainable development, so that society’s needs are addressed in a way that makes efficient use of the country’s natural capital to ensure that it endures through time. Sustainable human development is the basic premise of the National Development Plan 2007-2012 of Mexico, and environmental sustainability is one of its five areas of focus. In order to be consistent with this vision, steps were taken while organizing and holding the Conference of the Parties 16 to make it sustainable. This included training the ho-
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tel staff in eco-efficient practices; supplying renewable energy by installing photovoltaic cells and a wind turbine, using biodiesel in the vehicles used during the event, reforestation of green areas; the recovery and recycling of waste products with economic value and handling organic wastes correctly; also special attention was given to calculating and offsetting the carbon footprint. Most of the investments needed for this were made with the help of the Mexican private sector.
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SUSTAINABILIT Y ACTIONS AND INNOVATION Mexico is recognized worldwide for its environmental leadership. We are decarbonising the country’s economy, have set emission reduction goals for 2012 and 2020, and are taking steps to adapt to climate change. There is a firm belief in that economic growth and environmental protection are compatible and mutually reinforcing. So we introduced the unilateral goal of reducing 51 million of tons of CO2e by 2012, and seek to reduce our emissions 30% below the baseline by 2020 with international support.
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Mexico’s commitment to tackling difficult environmental issues was one of its main motivations for offering to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2010. Mexico took a series of steps to reduce the environmental impact of the Cancun Conference and also drew up a plan to offset its greenhouse gas emissions.
Renewable Energy A key concern was to guarantee that a significant amount of the energy used at the Conference came from renewable sources.
This led to the installation of a 1.5 power megawatt wind turbine, which was used for the Conference and will continue to provide electricity to Cancun for the next 30 years. As part of the environmental cooperation between Mexico and Italy, the Mexican government installed photovoltaic cells that generated up to 130 kW of power to supply the main venue of the COP16.
Transportation In terms of transportation, accredited participants had 20 ecobuses powered by biodiesel at their disposal that offered their service between the Cancunmesse and the Moon Palace Resort every day,. Each ecobus used about 95 liters of biodiesel per day. The delegations of the participating countries were given hybrid vehicles to use during their stay.
Bicycles were provided at the Moon Palace Resort, the main venue of the Conference, to make it easy for the participants to get around. In addition, the Mexican government guaranteed the transportation between the Moon Palace Resort, the Cancunmesse and the Climate Change Village. Eight bus routes were put in place from Cancun and the Maya Riviera to Cancunmesse; a ninth route went from the Cancunmesse to the Moon Palace Resort; and four more routes were put in place between
It is perfectly possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, at the same time, not only maintain economic growth but even find new types of productivity, growth and job creation in green development, in green growth, in sustainable development. Felipe Calder贸n Hinojosa President of Mexico
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mental impact. This was done through the “Environmental Leadership for Competitiveness Program”. Sixty-three hotels participated in this mentioned program, implementing 120 measures of eco-efficiency to reduce their use of raw materials, water and energy.
Cancunmesse and the Climate Change Village. Some of these buses used 90% diesel and 10% biodiesel, while others used 100% ultra-low-sulfur diesel.
Eco-Efficiency in the Hotels President Calderon’s administration supported to hotels in Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Tulum to operate in a more efficient way to reduce the environ-
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Each year, these projects will help to reduce the amount of water used by 700,000 cubic meters, it will decrease the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere by 13,870 tons, and reduce by 224 tons the amount of non-hazardous wastes produced.
Reforestation As a symbol to highlight the importance of restoring the forest ecosystems to fight climate change, 13 kilometers were reforested in the Luis Donaldo Colosio Boulevard, a Cancun’s main traffic artery.
Recycling During the Cancun Conference, and with the assistance of Coca Cola, a recycling program was begun to recover and re-use various materials and avoid their disposal. Recycling modules were installed at the official venues and at various locations throughout Cancun.
Cancun’s Carbon Footprint: Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mexico made great efforts to offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with preparing for and holding the COP16 and the CMP6. The Cancun Climate Change Conference inventory of greenhouse gas emissions was taken by Pronatura MÊxico, A.C.
Total greenhouse gas emissions recorded prior to the COP16 and CMP6 were 756.38 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent. This resulted from the air travel of the Mexican delegation in 2010 to prepare for the conferences. Total emissions during the COP16 and the CMP6 were 18,302.31 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent. Of this, 11,090.42 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent corresponded solely to activities carried out directly in Cancun. It excludes, for example, emissions generated by the commercial flights taken by the delegates and staff to Cancun. Therefore, the total emissions before and during the conferences were 19,058.69 tons of carbon dioxide non equivalent.
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Carbon Neutrality: Offsetting Greenhouse Gas Emissions The greenhouse gases emitted by the air travel of the Mexican delegation before and during the Conferences were offset using a Payment for Environmental Services (PES) program. PES programs put a value on the services offered by the forest eco-systems—such as the filtration of rainwater, carbon sequestration and the conservation of fertile soil—and offer an economic incentive to the owners of the forests where these services are created to compensate them for the costs of conserving the forest and practicing good forest management. This program was also used to offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with
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the air travel of the delegations of the NonAnnex I countries, the stay of all of the accredited participants, the energy used during the official events at the conferences (including the side and cultural events); the transportation used by the participants, and the security services used in the area. The Mexican government, with the generous sponsorship of the Coca Cola Foundation, CEMEX México S.A. de C.V., Banco Compartamos, S.A., and SCA Consumidor México y Centro América, S.A. de C.V. , purchased 757 carbon sequestration certificates to offset the emissions generated prior to the COP16 and CMP6, as well as 16,041 more to offset the emissions generated during the Conference. This means that a total of 16,798 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent were offset.
These certificates were purchased from the Carbon Sequestration in Indigenous and Rural Communities in Oaxaca program that has been developed by Environmental Services of Oaxaca, A.C. (SAO), which is verified by the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) and it is part of Mexico’s Voluntary Forestry Market. SAO’s projects involve indigenous communities in the Mixe and Chinanteca regions and in the Sierra Sur and Sierra Norte of Oaxaca. These regions possess fragile forest ecosystems including cloud, rain and tall perennial forests. The SAO seeks to encourage the sustainable maintenance and management of forest resources, identifying potential environmental services, goods and services in the communities that inhabit these regions. It tries to ensure that the productive activities engaged in by the communities are compatible with forest conservation.
In addition, the Mexican government offered the Annex I countries that participated in the Cancun Climate Summit the option of offsetting the 2,262.55 tons of carbon dioxide generated by their delegations’ air travel. The COP16 and CMP6 participants had access, both online and in modules at the conference, to a carbon footprint calculator they could use to calculate the emissions caused by their activities on their trip. Once they had calculated their impact, the conference attendees had the option of offsetting their emissions by selecting one of the projects of the Mexican Voluntary Forestry Market or of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.
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C onclusions an d the w ay for w ar d
Mario Molina Pasquel Nobel Prize in Chemistry and President Center for Energy and Environment The United Nations Climate Change Conferences succeeded in forging an environment of confidence and hope to reach international agreements against climate change. Despite the difficulties, the understandings provide us with tangible, balanced and inclusive outcomes motivated by a common aspiration: to achieve a result that allows us to face, as humanity, an enormous cha llenge of global features. Science demonstrates that if we continue with the current greenhouse emission le vels, there are very significant probabilities of catastrophic and irreversible damages on climate. Furthermore, economic studies reveal that inaction is more cost than taking measures to confront the phenomenon. Recent experiences of intense and extreme events with immeasurable damage force us to act. Therefore, we have scientific, economic, social and human arguments that prove the urgency of taking ambitious actions of the same magnitude as the level of the threat.
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In Cancun, we were able to show our ability to reach political understandings that respond to this urgency. We made an agreement on the aspirational goal to keep the global average temperature below 2°C with a process of review and we formalized important announcements on mitigation for developed and developing countries to reduce our global emissions. It is mandatory to do more on mitigation to avoid exceeding the threshold established. A clear framework of action was defined by the Cancun Agreements on finance, technology and adaptation through mechanisms that allow us to do more and in a better way. The achievements reached in Cancun offer the possibility to move from words to action in different areas: adaptation, finance, technology and emission reduction from deforestations and forest degradation. Now, it is our responsibility to implement our agreements in all these areas for guiding any future action. This document explains the actions that we undertook as a international commu-
nity in 2010 to achieve successful results in the multilateral negotiations on climate change. There were multiple efforts to promote dialogue and participation of all countries in a topic of general relevance. The sum of all voices involved made able to reach an agreement on the morning of December 11, which were enthusiastically welcomed by the international community.
our lifestyle to stop climate change or the climate change will alter permanently the lifestyle of our civilization.
We have demonstrated to the world that we are able to build common understandings from our differences and similarities and this spirit of commitment and cooperation must prevail in the future.
We have different options: the implementation of actions to reduce emissions from soil deforestation and degradation, energy efficiency and the use of technologies that allow us to produce the same or much more with less energy consumption and gas emissions.
In my opinion, the road to follow has two sides: the implementation of the Cancun Agreements and the progress towards a strong, comprehensive and designed climate regime to reach the goal to limit the average increase in temperature to 2°C, as well as the implementation of actions at national level that allow us to build our development forward a Green Growth path. We know that carbon dioxide acts as a “thermostat� in regulating the temperature of the planet, and the rise in its concentrations is the principal cause of the problem we are facing today. This increase in the global temperature is the result of human activity as part of our own development in the industrial era. Paradoxically, as part of our own evolution, we must find models that allow us to reduce, neutralize and eliminate the emission and accumulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. We are responsible of this problem and we must find the reasons and solutions for this critical situation that endangers the vital conditions of our planet. Either we change
Having in mind the route to green growth is possible, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hold the economic growth, find new paths of productivity, job creation and social welfare.
These actions cannot be isolated events; they must be part of national, regional and global policies. With a challenge of this magnitude any individual decision or action will solve, by itself, the climate change problem. This process requires countless actions in all diverse areas from all the countries and all of us as citizens of the same planet. The power to overcome this crucial problem is the power of humanity; only seven billion people can build a better world from their respective sphere of action. We cannot fail in this outstanding endeavor. We must contribute with our efforts to a new era of understanding between nations and provide impulse to our actions towards a green and sustainable growth. Thank you!
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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AOSIS
Alliance of Small Island States
ALBA
Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas
BASIC
A bloc of four large developing countries: Brazil, South Africa, India and China
CIFOR
Center for International Forestry Research
CCS
Carbon capture and storage
ECLAC
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
UNFCCC
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
CMP
Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol
CMP6
6th Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol
CONAFOR
National Forestry Commission
COP
Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC
COP16
16th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC
ECCAP
Climate Change Strategy for Protected Areas
GRULAC
Latin American and Caribbean Group
AWG-LCA
Ad hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action
AWG-KP
Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol
ICA
International Consultation and Analysis
IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
CDM
Clean Development Mechanism
MRV
Measurement, Reporting and Verification
WHO
World Health Organization
NGO
Non-governmental organization
UN
The United Nations
UNIDO
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
SB
Subsidiary Body
UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme
KP
Kyoto Protocol
REDD+
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
SCA
Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget
SAO
Environmental Services of Oaxaca
SENER
Ministry of Energy
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