Issue: 35
“The other day I accidentally overheard my assistant talking to a fellow young diplomat. My assistant was explaining what the South-South Cooperation was. After trying a few definitions, he began to tell him a well-known joke from our Turkish folk history, an anecdote from Nasrettin Hoca, a legendary popular character of 13th century Turkey.” This is how the head of Multilateral Relations Department H. Avni Aksoy of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs started to explain South-South Cooperation at a project launch in Ankara in mid-October. He quoted the following anecdote: “Nasrettin Hoca was once doing some chores on the roof of his home. He takes a misstep and slips, ends up falling into his front yard. He is in excruciating pain and the neighbors gather around him venturing ideas as to how to help Nasrettin Hoca after his injurious fall. As they debate, our poor fellow sees that his neighbors are at a loss as to what to do. He says ‘please find me somebody who has fallen from a roof; only he can understand what I am going through.’”
Aksoy continued his speech (click here to read full speech) by saying, “We Turks believe and say that analogies and metaphors are blameless. This little anecdote is a brilliant, if a little simplified, but accurate nonetheless, definition of how South-South Cooperation is designed to work: developing countries helping each other advance by empathizing and sharing their experiences and expertise. Under this concept, needs and resources have to be matched with one another. UNDP’s able guidance and assistance have produced results in this field that speak for themselves.”
These words were uttered at a conference which was organised to launch the “Bridging South-South Cooperation and Emerging Donor Roles: Strengthening Turkey’s Participation in International Development Cooperation” project on 9 October in Ankara. Along with the Ministry representative Aksoy, State Minister Prof. Dr. Said Yazıcıoğlu, President of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) Musa Kulaklıkaya and UNDP Resident Representative Mahmood Ayub were among the speakers.
During his speech TIKA President Musa Kulaklıkaya provided a brief history of TIKA. Accordingly when it was first established in 1992, the main objective of TIKA was to assist newly independent countries of Central Asia, in their efforts to align with market economy and and global politics. This initial objective then changed through the years and expanded its scope of activities to the Balkans, Middle Eastern and African countries upon request. Today TIKA reaches more than 100 countries through its 23 field offices in 20 countries. Kulaklıkaya stated that these developments have led Turkey to move from a position of recipient country to an emerging donor country. In this sense, Turkey’s official development assistance (ODA) that was $339 million dollars in 2004 rose to $650 million dollars in the last three years. Regarding the project, Kulaklıkaya stated that the South-South Cooperation as well as technical and economic cooperation – through the transfer of cost-effective technology, knowledge and experience to address development issues such as trade and investment, ICT and science - had proven to be an effective approach in strengthening partnerships among developing countries. Kulaklıkaya said: “The Government of Turkey, in cooperation with UNDP is now increasing the effectiveness of its development assistance to other countries through the South-South Cooperation project” and added that the project will strengthen Turkey’s participation in international development cooperation, emerging donor role and its capacity. “With the implementation of this project, Turkey’s contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing countries will also be strengthened through the sharing of ‘best practices’” (click here to read Kulaklıkaya’s full speech).
Speaking at the launch, UNDP Resident Representative Mahmood Ayub reiterated the aim of the project as strengthening capacities of the Government of Turkey as an emerging donor in order to increase the effectiveness of Turkish Official Development Assistance in line with the “Paris Declaration Principles” and said: “the project will put at Turkey’s disposal, UNDP’s global infrastructure of 166 country offices, regional centers, policy institutes and knowledge networks. Furthermore, it will aim to promote the consolidation of multilateral partnerships and regional cooperation with UNDP, with other emerging donor countries and with recipient countries as well, to coordinate the efforts towards the achievement of the MDGs”. Ayub reminded that UNDP Turkey will support TIKA in managing administrative, financial management and procurement issues related to project implementation (click here to read Ayub’s full speech).
Following speeches, Senior Project Advisor Sebahattin Gazanfer further introduced the project. After explaining the South-South Cooperation, Gazanfer provided the framework in which international cooperation for development was based. Gazanfer stated that the project is very important due to Turkey’s important driving force for its immediate region and the spillover effect of its economic activities and dynamism. Gazanfer stated that through the project, international development organizations such as UNDP will influence global economic/development actors to consider the voice of middle income countries as well and will thus shape the global development agenda to eradicate poverty. Gazanfer stated that Turkey is in a unique position to provide expert knowledge especially in the Balkans, the Middle East and the largely Turkish-speaking Central Asian region mainly because Turkey was a former recipient country and because it has deep cultural linkages with the countries in these regions. Gazanfer then provided background information on the Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) which constituted the first two phases of the South-South Cooperation and explained the expected outcomes of the project including strengthening Turkey’s emerging donor role, building technical and institutional capacities of TIKA, and the establishment of a Talent Bank of Turkish Experts (public and private Turkish institutions, individual experts and academics etc) (click here to view Gazanfer’s presentation).
The project that will end in 2011 will mainly focus on Turkey’s Middle Income Country (MIC) status and will strengthen national capacities of Turkey as an emerging donor. The project will be implemented by UNDP and TIKA with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and State Planning Organization.
[BAGLANTILAR]
The dams built in Eastern Anatolia and the effects of climate change caused by global warming are resulting in water resources and wetlands to perish and endangering the living spaces of plants. The dwellers of the Büyük Boğatepe village in Kars, Eastern Anatolia have joined hands and have succeeded in reversing this negative situation through a project prepared by the Boğatepe Environment and Life Association (ÇEVDER). The “Boğatepe Village Life with Plants and Sustainability” project reliazed with the support of the Small Investments Fund established by UNDP and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Company (BTC) is a first in Eastern Anatolia and plays a leading role. The project aims to protect and develop the biodiversity in the region, ensure ecologic and economic sustainability and create a permanent environment-friendly conscious among the project’s target groups.
The main economic activity of the dwellers of the Büyük Boğatepe village is animal husbandry. In this context, feedstock is being produced and sold to the dairy products industry. However, the untimely and unconscious grazing and cutting of fields and grasslands is affecting plant diversity and is causing plant species to cease. All of these changes, have a negative impact on the local people that live on animal husbandry. On the other hand, cheese-making in homes, which, is one of the other means of livelihood of local women has been banned due to amendments in food law and the rug business which is another livelihood is almost extinct. Due to these reasons, production and production-based economy - therefore the sustainability of life - in Boğatepe is dependent on the permanence of the ecologic balance. In this context, the project, aims to raise awareness among villagers on the importance of preserving and developing biodiversity and to increase the income of poor village women in particular.
Until now, “Plant Life Gardens” have been established in the context of the project and botanic studies were conducted in which 58 new plant species were identified. Eastern Anatolia’s first medical aromatic gardens were thus established through planting, maintaining and reproduction. The plant identification process is still continuing. Moreover, several trainings were realized on the importance of biodiversity, ecology-economy relations, the plants that constitute the flora and their production and wide participation was attained. Alterations of the pre-processing workshop was made and an oil extraction machine was bought. In the trainings, trainers stressed that plants can be produced not only as feed for the animals but for other income-generating purposes and the making of aromatic oils, cremes and similar products from plants and how these products can be marketed were explained. Trainings and consultancy services were provided to villagers who wish to produce medical-aromatic plants and pursue a commercial path on the production and benefits of ten selected plants. Reproduction works were conducted on seeds collected from natural sites and planted in special gardens. Moreover, seeds were provided to 15 disadvantaged women so that they can plant these in their own fields and 15 “Plant Life Gardens” were created. In this context, women will be able to reproduce seeds and will be able to continue their production activities thus having a new source of income. In the context of the activities oriented towards children, trainings were given in primary schools on the importance of the environment. Moreover, awareness was raised among children with the “Love Gardens” established where voluntary children reproduced endangered endemic plants without any commercial concerns.
In the context of the project that ended in October a seminar was organized with the participation of Kars Governor Mehmet Ufuk Erden and local administrators and the project was introduced in the Caucasian Cultures Festival. On 22 October 2008, an International Rural Development meeting was held with the participation of representatives from 12 countries and representatives of 45 NGOs from Turkey which also created a platform for the introduction of the project. The project was widely mentioned in the local and national media.
The project team, have already started their works for the sustainability of the project following its termination. In this context the Eastern Anatolia Sustainable Rural Development Cooperative will collect dried and pre-processed plants from the producers, package them and market them and will play a leading role in encouraging the establishment of new commercial enterprises. Moreover, the curative oils gained from the products will be sold for massage services in the healthy life centre that is being planned to be established with the support of the Yer Gök Anadolu Association (YEGA). The project will thus also contribute to the generation of new employment.
Through the project, plants existing in the nature and that can be consumed as food but were unknown were identified. Villagers who had started to cultivate their own vegetables also started to use their own vegetables in their kitchen and this directly ensures that the money reserved for vegetable purchases is kept in the family budget. Moreover, the eating habits that include more meat than vegetables changed into a more vegetable-oriented nutrition. The “Boğatepe Village Life with Plants and Sustainability” project, became a source of inspiration for Kuyucuk, Çakmak, Büyükçakma and Yolboyu villages and 20 more gardens were established in these villages.
Among the other partners of the project are Büyük Boğatepe Village Mukhtar’s Office, Yer Gök Anadolu Association, and Kafkas University Faculty of Letters and Sciences Department of Biology and Iğdır University Faculty of Agriculture that will be responsible for transforming research results into scientific publications. Other participating agencies are Eastern Anatolia Sustainable Rural Development Cooperative, Kars Provincial Directorate of Agriculture, Kars Provincial Directorate of Industry and Commerce, Kars Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Kars Municipality.
The Small Investments Fund established by UNDP and BTC Environmental Investment Programme in 2004, is responding to the needs of the poor people who depend on the region’s natural resources with environment-friendly new solutions in the areas that the pipeline traverses.
“Building an open and transparent Government is challenging and it involves building robust institutional legislations”. These are words uttered by UNDP Resident Representative Mahmood Ayub in his opening speech at the launch of the “Inclusive Civic Engagement in Legislation Making in Turkey” project.
In his opening speech, Ayub stressed the importance of accountability, transparency and openness for democratic governance and stated that an open government structure – that is a government that listens to its partners and citizens – is very important in engaging civil society to legislation and decision-making. Ayub gave an example from the 1993 Human Development Report that defines civil engagement not as an event but as a process and stressed that access to information, consultation and public participation are key to success. Ayub also highlighted the importance of NGOs as another crucial pillar and stated that a strong, active and diverse civil society can discipline the State and foster greater civic and political participation. Finally Ayub reminded that citizens would be the ones assessing the success of building open governments not international organizations or other governments.
In her presentation, General Coordinator of the Human rights Joint Platform Feray Salman first provided with a brief history of the Joint Platform. Accordingly, the platform was established in 2004 between Helsinki Citizens' Assembly, Human Rights Association, Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People and Amnesty International Turkey in order to join efforts for establishing a strong human rights approach. The platform has been working for the past three years on participatory democracy and is aiming to be a voice in Turkey’s basic areas such as women’s rights and poor people’s rights. Salman shared her observations with the participants and stated that the relations between the State and NGOs were not healthy and even in conflict. Salman stated that although participatory democracy was more dominant on the agenda after 2000, NGOs were still excluded or cooperation was made with only a limited number of them. Commenting on the limitations NGOs face in participating into law-making processes, Salman stated that the public administration was not taking into consideration the opinions of NGOs. NGOs on the other hand are not aware of how their ideas are evaluated by the public administration which creates a gap between the two parties. Salman emphasized the importance of a participatory environment that is not discriminatory, that has principles and that does not take different ideas as threats and added that the accession to EU was an important process for Turkey to democratize.
One of the speakers was Bjoern Foerde, Director of the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre. Foerde shared lessons learned and international experiences. Foerde said that participation should not include only the elite but also the poor, marginalized etc. Foerde stated that this was a problem for every country but that each country needed to find its unique solution. Foerde stated that dialogue and establishing consultative mechanisms between the State and citizens meant making voices heard and stressed that complaints and protests were also part of dialogue. Foerde said that voice is very important in the sense that it has an intrinsic value for democracy and is essential for accountability. Foerde stressed that voice is not always easy as it requires capacity and added that quality vs. quantity is also important saying: “You should have broadness but quality as well”.
Following Foerde’s speech, UNDP Senior Consultant Simon James made a presentation on overcoming the obstacles for civil society. James reiterated the importance of having consultation as it has intrinsic democratic value as well as strong political value in the sense that the government could obtain valuable reflections. James stated that consultation was an inexpensive source for policy development but that it also had drawbacks as it lengthens and complicates the procedures and exposes the process to criticism. James then provided more technical information on the tools for consultation, the timing, other techniques and limits.
The speeches and presentations were then followed by roundtable meetings on the meaning of civil participation and current trends, contribution to law-making prior to the parliament and the Parliamentarian Consultants Association in Turkey and its possible role in law-making. Workshops were also held in the context of the project launch including “who do Ministries and parliament commissions contact with in law-making and how?”, “how can NGOs be strengthened in order to overcome limitations to participation and which mechanisms should be established?” and “enhancing local NGOs”.
Bjoern Foerde further explained the importance of civil societies’ inclusion into legislation making in an interview he gave to New Horizons.
Bjoern Forde (B.F.): I think because we have seen over the last decade or two at the global level that the formal procedures of democracy though important, did not always resolve in the quality type of legislation which address the concerns of citizens. So if we can develop roads so to say from organized citizens into the legislative system, then the chance of getting better responses to what people are concerned about is greater which means that legislation will be more relevant to people. It does not mean that it will now be citizens deciding on legislation. It just means that a legislative process will be better informed than they have been in the traditional systems of democracy.
UNDP Turkey: But how we can bring together all these civil socities? How will their participation into law-making be encouraged?
B.F.: I think the encouragement has to come from the institutions: like from the government, the parliament etc. Specially because it’s in the interest of law-makers to get the best information possible. Now how you then organize that voice into the system is something civil society will have to struggle with. I personally do not believe that that should be government deciding. I think government can provide a framework. Let’s say the example of environment which people are concerned about these days so a lot of legislation takes place in the area of environment. Now if you have 300 different NGOs working on environment it’s not feasible for government to establish a dialogue with everybody. Civil society will have to do its homework, find out ‘how can we represent the many different voices? Either we will do written inputs to the government or we will have meetings’ So for me its really a bit challenge to civil society. Once government opens up, civil society has to be mature and reponsible and respond in a productive manner.
UNDP Turkey: Assuming that the civil society does manage to submit their input in one voice, how can it be then ensured that relevant legislative institutions such as relevant ministries and the parliament take into account the contributions and the opinions of civil society?
B.F.: I think there is an issue of will here which we have to start with. I mean fundamentally there has to be leadership in the country which needs to be approved so that this dialogue is established. Because we know that the lower levels of the system will not respond adequately unless there is at the top of the political system a voice saying “this is important for us. This is a new avenue of deepening democracy”. Having said that I think that capacity needs to be developed from both sides. Many members of parliament doing legislation dont necessarily have the capacity to digest all the information that comes in. You know its not easier to work on laws when you have those traditional places where you seek information and advice. But when you certainly have a host of different and maybe very divergent and conflicting points of view how do we let together in a manner so that you can extract the core, what united people rather than what holds people apart. So on the side of legislators its also about having people who can sit down and read, who can prepare the short memos which will go into the legislation process. On the side of civil society, its also about moving from I would say the level of ideology to the level of practical politics. You know civil society needs to understand when they communicate with legislators its different when they are communicating with the citizens of the village. So its different roles and civil society is not always ready for that as well. So in a way you need to create a common language which is a common platform of understanding. “whats the purpose of this? What are the techniques involved?”. Both sides need to understand that and then they need to understand they have different roles of course in that process. So its a lot of I would say basic work. Its not just a bird you reach up and grab at the top of the roof. It takes a lot of work.
UNDP Turkey: Ok. But how can one know that the laws adopted by the government, by the parliament are the product of joint work between the governement and the civil society?
B.F.: Again, two things. As already said earlier today, the fact that you have a voice does not mean that you have the right to get your voice and only your voice heard. In a democracy the beauty is that voice means a thousand voices and very different voices. The, I would say difficult job of a politician and a lawmaker who is elected or like to be elected again the next time is to arrive at a legislation which is beneficial to the country but of course also reflects what people think. There is only one way that you can know. Work. So if you are a civil society organization, what you need to do once the process is over and the law is there, you need to go back. You need to understand it, not only understand why it ended up being like it is overall but also understanding maybe “why are my ideas not reflected in the law?” Because may be you spend a year providing information to the government and nothing comes out of it. Why is that? And the gut reaction of most civil society organizations is “oh our voices are not part of the law, the politicans don't like us”. That may not be the case. The case could very well be that there are other concerns that are more important than the voices that came from you. Now on the part of politicians I think there is always the need to provide a rationale, explain why we cut it like we did. And you know in most legislations thats one of the problems we have. Most legislation is very technical. Its not written in a language that ordinary citizens understand. I mean I’m a political scientist. I’ve worked many years, I meet many laws from other countries which I don't understand. So again you need intermediaries who can translate their languages into a language which people understand. So to say in a different way, there is never an end to this process. Consultations take place, a law is made, a law is implemented, its being monitored. A new law will make changes because you find out that certain issues need to be covered which we did not think about four years ago. Not because the environment changes but also because people change. To me this is a circle. It’s a constant feedback or loop which feeds into new consultations, new laws etc. It never ends, its always changing.
UNDP Turkey: And about the project, how will UNDP Oslo Governance Centre contribute to the project?
B.F.: Well, we are involved in the sense that in Oslo, issues of civil society, voice and accountability are part of our agenda. So we have advisors sitting in Oslo working on these issues incidentally. Right now we are starting work on a guidance note on voice and accountability and we will have a meeting in Columbia, at the beginning of December where we will bring together people from all the regional centers of UNDP and some few selected country offices as well as the regional bureaus in New York to discuss not only at the principal level what should be part of our guidance note but also what are the good examples from around the world that you can benefit from. To give one example, the example participatory budgesting in Porto Alegre in Brazil was mentioned. Thats one of the examples of how a municipality in addition to the elected politicians involve people in the various parts of the city in actually setting up the budget. Whats interesting in that example is that its not only a right citizens have but they also take responsibility in monitoring and implementing. So they are literally a symphony I would say of experiences coming up in what some would call voice and accountability, others would call participatory governance. UNDP and the Oslo Governance Center is part of the advisory board of “Civicers” which is a global NGO set up for civil society organizations on participatory governance and in that context we are developing toolkits which tell about all the different examples from around the world. Now my final observation on that one is, there is a lot of technique in this. There is a lot of learning in this from different parts of the world. Civil society has to extract what they think is useful in their context. You can not export democracy. You can not import democracy. But you can support democracy at the national level by learning what is going on around the world. Two more things: This does not fit into a three or four year programme cycle of UNDP. This is a long term process. Yes you need certain resources. Ultimately it’s a political will that decides. And I think thats the beauty of this type of activity. You know its not like a real project or climate change project that requires hundreds and millions of dollars. Small resources can actually make quite a change. I’ve seen in countries like Brazil, what we’ve seen, what works in Porto Alegre, does not necessarily work in other cities. So other cities need to choose how they want to do it.
UNDP Turkey: Can you name, a few countries that have been successful in bringing the government and civil society together in legislation making?
B.F.: My first response would be, even in those countries where you have advanced democracies than you have in Turkey, you will find that there is an atmosphere of contention between governments and the civil society. And some people see that as a danger or as a problem. I see it as natural. We have the formal legal system and then we have the informal avenues that we are trying to create now, so we shouldn't worry about that. And civil society has to learn to live with the fact that they don't get their way all the time. I mean in Denmark which has fairly advanced systems of consultations, committers of parliament will call civil society, I’ve been there in numerous occasions talking to individuals, political parties, talking to committers of parliament when legislation or budgets were being made. And although its well functioning, I would say that civil society in Denmark is not at all happy about the level it has reached at this point of time. Obviously countries like Britain and western European countries have had a longer time in actually establishing these mechanisms. So most of our good experiences are probably from this part of the world. And let me mention one African example just to balance. In Africa, I think now 29 countries have signed up to whats called the African Peer Review Mechanism. That’s a process where the country accepts inputs both externally and internally, they go through a process discussing and they set up some recommendations on how to take it f
The Kyoto Protocol and Carbon Trading
Recognizing that traditional forms of development finance would be insufficient to address the challenges of climate change, the Kyoto Protocol introduced the Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to leverage private financing for climate-change mitigation. The CDM is intended to help developed countries (Annex I parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC) to reach their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol as cost effectively as possible, and to contribute to sustainable development in transition and developing countries.[1] GHG emitters in annex I countries must ensure that their emissions are within authorized limits either by reducing GHG emissions themselves or by purchasing corresponsing amounts of Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) elsewhere. This application of the “polluter pays” principle gives GHG emitters a financial incentive to minimize their burden on the global carbon balance, and gives those countries with a low carbon footprint an incentive to maintain that position.
CDM and JI also allow Annex I countries and companies to bring themselves into compliance with the Kyoto obligations by sponsoring “clean development” projects that are implemented in developing countries or countries in transition. In addition to reducing GHG emissions by promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and improvements in waste management, these projects can provide additional development finance. In addition to the project funds themselves, this finance takes the form of revenues from the sales of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) (from CDM projects) or ERUs from JI projects. The buyer country can count those CERs/ERUs against its national emission reduction target. Since the 2005 establishment of the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), CERs can also be purchased and used (albeit with certain limitations) by EU companies to ensure compliance with their ETS obligations.
While CERs have been in existence since 2000, the rapid development of the CER market began with the Kyoto Protcol’s entry into force in 2005. Certificates (mainly CERs) worth some $5.5 billion were transacted in 2006, covering a volume of 508 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) at an average price in excess of $10. These numbers reflected a 36 percent increase on 2005’s volumes, and a doubling over 2004. According to PointCarbon, the CDM market expanded to 947 million tCO2e in 2007, and reached a capitalization of 12 billion EUR.[2] In April 2008 the 1000th project was registered by the CDM Executive Board; most of these are in the Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions.
Carbon Markets and Transition Economies
High carbon intensity is a distinguishing feature of most CIS and Eastern European countries, six of which are among the 20 most GHG-intensive economies in the world (see Table 1). Large GHG emissions per dollar of GDP underscore the potential cost-effectiveness of CDM and JI projects in these countries, which could yield large reductions in GHG emissions per dollar invested. Such “green investments” could provide capital and efficient energy technologies to countries where both are in short supply.
Despite this, transition economies have been very slow to capitalize on their GHG reduction potential by designing and implementing CDM and JI projects that can attract carbon finance. As a result, their share of world carbon markets remains insignificant. Only eight of the 1,000 projects that had been registered with the CDM Executive Board by April 2008 were from CIS countries (Armenia, Georgia and Moldova), and only one JI project from the region (in Ukraine) had been certified. No CDM or JI projects have yet been certified in southeast Europe or Central Asia.
Table 1: Most Carbon-Intensive Transition Economies
|
Country |
Carbon intensity of GDP, tCO2eq/mln$ PPP |
World rank |
|
Uzbekistan |
3,081 |
2 |
|
Serbia |
2,265 |
5 |
|
Kazakhstan |
1,872 |
8 |
|
Ukraine |
1,380 |
11 |
|
Turkmenistan |
1,376 |
12 |
|
Russia |
1,302 |
15 |
Source: Climate Analysis Indicators Tool 2008, http://cait.wri.org
Only a handful of countries in the region (Armenia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine) have acquired some practical carbon-market experience, and have started to develop CDM and JI project pipelines. Most of these projects are “low-hanging fruit”: they have high and cost-effective GHG emission reduction potential, and are easy to develop and implement. However, their broader development impact (in terms of income or employment generation) is often minimal.
Carbon finance revenues by themselves are rarely sufficient to make the underlying projects economically attractive. This is particularly the case with energy efficiency, renewable energy, and bio-sequestration projects, which may have a strong development impact, but whose GHG emission reductions are relatively small or uncertain. By contrast, “end-of-pipe” projects that reduce GHG emissions from landfills or leaky gas pipelines may have no direct development benefits. But because they can deliver relatively large GHG reductions at low cost, these projects can be extremely attractive to buyers. A review of the projects in the regional CDM pipeline[3] found that CDM revenues would only have a decisive financial impact for one project (concerning cement production in Armenia). This review also found that increases in project profitability are particularly marginal (1-2 percent) for those CDM projects that have the largest development impact (e.g., small hydro power in Armenia, wind power in Cyprus, or afforestation in Moldova). Carbon finance therefore needs to be combined with other funding sources, including official development assistance, state budget support, and private funds, if climate change mitigation projects are to have a significant impact.
Institutional Frameworks for Implementing the Kyoto Protocol
In order to participate in carbon markets, a designated national authority (DNA) and national policy and regulatory frameworks must be established by a country wishing to host JI or CDM projects. Unfortunately, progress in creating DNAs and the institutional capacity needed to evaluate and approve carbon projects in Eastern Europe and the CIS has lagged behind other regions. Of the 14 potential CDM host countries in the region (Armenia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,[4] Moldova, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), only eight have notified the UNFCCC Secretariat about its DNA contact point.
However, such notification does not necessarily mean that a fully functional DNA has been created. Of these eight countries, only Moldova has to date established a fully fledged DNA whose project criteria and approval procedures are nearly in place. In Armenia, Georgia, and Uzbekistan, national CDM approval procedures have been drafted and are awaiting government approval. Kazakhstan has developed unified project submission guidelines and has approved two JI/CDM projects, but has not yet agreed on a final institutional framework for project review-and more importantly, has not yet decided on its status under the Kyoto Protocol.[5] Tajikistan is the furthest behind in the CIS region, and is still in the process of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were the last countries in Europe to ratify the Kyoto Protocol (in 2007) and have not yet set up the DNAs and associated regulations.
International Development Agencies and Carbon Finance
Although some donors are preparing to provide significant funding for climate-change mitigation and adaptation projects, compared to the scale of these problems and the private sector carbon finance that is potentially available, these donor funds are rather small. Their impact can be magnified, however, if they help developing countries to tap carbon finance that would otherwise be unavailable. Playing this “market maker” role means helping governments create the policy and institutional frameworks needed to attract carbon finance, as well as ensuring that carbon finance projects are of the highest possible quality.
UNDP has supported the establishment and development of DNAs in Albania, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. UNDP has worked with the Kazakhstani government on the policy, legal, and institutional reforms needed to promote greater private investment in wind energy, with a particular focus on alternative energy legislation. Through its MDG Carbon Facility,[6] UNDP provides a one-stop-shop project development package for investors in CDM and JI projects, helping them to attract carbon finance. MDG Carbon is a partnership between UNDP and the Dutch-Belgian finance group Fortis established in 2007. Within this partnership, UNDP helps developing countries design viable climate change mitigation projects with tangible development impact, while Fortis purchases the carbon credits generated by these projects. The liqudity provided by these purchases reduces the financial risk faced by developing countries and communities, while helping to deepen carbon finance markets in the region. MDG Carbon financing has to date been arranged for projects in Uzbekistan and Macedonia, which are currently in the design stage.
Conclusions
Initial steps have been made in establishing the institutional frameworks needed to implement the Kyoto Protocol in the transition economies of Europe and the CIS. However, weak institutional frameworks continue to limit abilities to benefit from the opportunities presented by carbon finance. Still external assistance is needed to help these countries establish their DNA structures, set up the institutional framework for evaluating projects, define sustainable development criteria, and examine project eligibility.
Carbon finance is not a panacea; it is still in its infancy, and can only provide an additional revenue stream to complement traditional sources of project finance. At current market prices, carbon revenue streams are unlikely to transform development-oriented CDM projects into attractive investments – particularly for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and bio-sequestration projects, as these typically have strong development benefits but relatively small (or risky) carbon benefits. Over time, however – as the implicit price of carbon rises and as carbon markets improve their abilities to manage risk – the importance of this form of development finance is likely to grow. According to the Stern Review[7], carbon markets can provide annual revenues of at least $25-30 billion for developing countries – once the pieces fall into place.
This article was taken and translated from "Development and Transition" Issue 10 published by UNDP and London School of Economics.
1] The JI is the CDM-equivalent mechanism for GHG projects that are developed jointly between Annex I countries.
[2] Carbon 2008: Post-2012 is Now.
[3] “CDM Project Pipeline”, UNEP Riso Centre on energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, 2008. Available on-line at: http://cdmpipeline.org/ (last accessed May 2008).
[4] Hereafter: Macedonia.
[5] Kazakhstan secured a special agreement after the Kyoto Protocol negotiations, whereby it would participate in the Kyoto Protocol as an Annex I country. Once it ratifies Kyoto, Kazakhstan will take on binding GHG emission targets and will be eligible to participate in JI projects. Because of the country’s special status, Kazakhstani project proposals are assessed as both JI and CDM projects, but follow the general procedures for CDM project review and submission.
The reception organized in Ankara was attended by Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Babacan, ambassadors, Turkish public administration officials, academics, representatives of the civil society, and the media. Speaking at the reception, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkey Mahmood Ayub congratulated Turkey on its well-deserved success for its election to the UN Security Council for the 2009-2010 sessions. Ayub said: “the celebration also comes at a time when Turkey is stepping up its role as a regional peacemaker between countries such as Syria and Israel, Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as other peacekeeping activities in Kosovo, Lebanon, Haiti and other countries. Foreign Minister Babacan on the other hand stated that Turkey had worked hard prior to the election process and that Turkey would show a strong existence with a new approach in the UN Security Council.
To mark the importance of the day, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon issued a message to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the UN. Here is how Ban Ki-Moon interpreted his feelings regarding the day:”
“On this 63rd anniversary of our Organization, I join you in celebrating UN Day.
This is a crucial year in the life of our United Nations. We have just passed the midpoint in the struggle to reach the Millennium Development Goals -- our common vision for building a better world in the 21st century. We can see more clearly than ever that the threats of the 21st century spare no one. Climate change, the spread of disease and deadly weapons, and the scourge of terrorism all cross borders. If we want to advance the global common good, we must secure global public goods.
Many countries are still not on track to reach the Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015. I am also deeply concerned about the impact of the global financial crisis. Never has leadership and partnership been more important.
This makes our success at the high-level MDG event in September all the more remarkable. We brought together a broad coalition for change. Governments, CEOs and civil society. We generated unprecedented commitment in pledges and partnerships to help the world's poor.
The final tally is not in yet, but the total amount pledged at the MDG event may exceed 16 billion dollars.
Partnership is the way of the future. Just look at the advances on malaria. Our global malaria effort has brought us within range of containing a disease that kills a child every 30 seconds. It is doing so through focused country planning. Greater funding. Coordinated global management. Top-notch science and technology.
We need models like these to tackle other challenges, including climate change, as we approach the conferences on Poznan and Copenhagen. We need them to achieve all the other Millennium Development Goals.
Let us keep building on this as a way forward. There is no time to lose. The United Nations must deliver results for a safer, healthier, more prosperous world. On this UN Day, I call on all partners and leaders to do their part and keep the promise”.
The theme of this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was “Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty”. During the 21st anniversary of the rallies against extreme poverty – on 17 October – millions of people called for governments to keep their promises, show leadership in taking collective actions to end poverty and inequality and to make progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. 100 million people in over 2 thousand events across more than 100 countries registered to Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty this year.
For 24 hours, people including children, high school students, university students, scouts, members of churches and diplomats etc came together in universities, parks, hospitals, theme parks, schools, streets, churches and other public places and literally stood up against poverty and realized marches, rallies, tree-planting actions, concerts, football matches and all kinds of different actions to send their voices.
In Turkey, 13 events took place in which 7 thousand 450 people participated. The UN Turkey staff came together to mark the day in which 93 people attended. Atılım University and Bilkent University also participated the events. In Istanbul and Afyonkarahisar, western Turkey and in Konya, central Anatolia, scouts observed a one-minute silence against poverty. Other events also took place in Samsun, northern Turkey, Yalova, western Turkey and Adıyaman, southern Turkey.
During the day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon issued a message on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Here is how he reflected his thoughts:
“The theme of this year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty – “Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty” – recalls the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60 years ago. The Declaration affirms that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family”.
Sixty years on, hundreds of millions of people are still deprived of basic human rights such as food, housing, education, and decent working conditions. Those forced to live in poverty often face social exclusion, discrimination and disempowerment. Poverty robs the poor of their human dignity.
Our efforts to eradicate poverty must pay close attention to respect for human rights and the dignity of all. They must go beyond basic material needs and address discrimination and inequality. That means ensuring that all poor people have access to the resources they need - land, capital, knowledge and skills – to escape poverty. It means empowering the poor to effectively participate in decision-making and other activities that directly affect their lives.
Current economic uncertainties make this task even more challenging, but also even more important. Rising food and fuel prices, and the global financial crisis, are threatening to negate the progress made to reduce poverty and hunger in many parts of the world. An estimated 100 million people are now at risk of falling into poverty.
At the high-level event last September, Governments reconfirmed their commitments to the Millennium Development Goals. Many pledged new resources to bolster food security, eradicate disease, ensure access to water and sanitation and manage the financial crisis. These commitments are not a matter of charity, but an obligation in the pursuit of human rights for all. If we fail to keep our promise on the MDGs, we create the conditions for greater human misery and global insecurity.
Poverty will not be eradicated without due respect for human rights. On this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, let us guarantee the inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family and strive for a world free of poverty and injustice”.
UNDP Administrator Kemal Derviş also issued a message to mark the day. Here is how Derviş shared his feelings:
“This year’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty comes at a particularly challenging time for the world’s poor. While we are yet to see the full impact of the global financial crisis on developing countries, it’s clear that together with high and volatile food and fuel prices, current global economic conditions threaten the gains that have been made to reduce poverty and advance development for large numbers of people.
The effect of the financial crisis could reduce demand for developing countries' exports, as well as the availability of credit and foreign direct investment to finance projects. Donor countries must recommit to meeting development assistance targets in recognition that in our inter-dependent world in which our destinies are inextricably tied to each other, leaving the poorest and most vulnerable further behind is not acceptable.
For developing countries, it’s vital that governments formulate a strong mix of social and economic policies that stimulate productive public and private investment that sustain inclusive growth. Importantly, governments need to resist the pressure to reduce service delivery which impacts the poor particularly hard, and instead ensure that social safety nets are in place for the most vulnerable. It is of particular importance to ensure that poor farmers and small scale entrepreneurs have the protections and opportunities they need to improve their livelihoods.
In these difficult times, it is, therefore, important that we strengthen the protections and recognize the rights of the poor and vulnerable. The theme of this year’s Day, “Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty,” is, for that reason, especially pertinent. In this, the 60th year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are reminded that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and that the fight against poverty is not an act of charity, rather a matter of economic and social rights for all people.
UNDP supports the strengthening of countries’ capacity to mainstream human rights in national development programmes and policies, focusing, in particular, on the principles of non-discrimination and equality. In practical terms this means that UNDP supports the design and implementation of national development and poverty reduction strategies that improve opportunities for marginalised and vulnerable groups and supports their participation in the development process.
On this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, let us redouble our efforts to give the most vulnerable individuals and groups the chance to escape poverty and destitution, in respect of human rights for all”.
In the context of the “Stand Up Against Poverty” campaign, UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors and football stars Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane will realize the sixth annual Match Against Poverty in Morocco on 17 November 2008. This will be the first match played outside of Europe. Ronaldo and Zidane will each captain an international team of world renowned footballers in a friendly game and will contribute to the efforts to mobilize the public in the fight against poverty and to promote the Millennium Development Goals, goal one in particular which targets to halve world poverty by 2015.
To receive more information on this year’s Match Against Poverty please click here.