The age of standards

Climate change posses the most daunting challenge to humanity, and we need to mobilize actors from all sectors to address it. Industry is by far one of the most relevant stakeholders as we challenge our global economy to reduce green house gases. The International Standard Organization (ISO) announced at the most recent meeting of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol (COP11MOP1) their international greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and verification standards (ISO14064). ISO 14064 promises to provide an “unambiguous and verifiable requirements or verifications to support organizations and proponents of GHG emissions reduction projects”. The opportunities behind ISO 14064 are unique. As the emissions trading system develops in the European system and the Chicago Climate Exchange in the Unites States, the need to unify the Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) methodologies has become evident. ISO brings a new aspect to compliance to soft law, as it has been observed with ISO14001. The adoption of ISO14001 in international trade under the “Good Practice for the preparation, adoption, and application of standards” at the WTO provides a reference to the potential of bringing industries in the developed and developing world to the same level. A well-established ISO standard could allow the introduction of carbon credits created by industry. For the establishment of a commonly accepted standard it is necessary to overcome the controversy behind ISO 14001 regarding stakeholder involvement at the Technical Committee 207 (TC207). The work of the TC207 in the development of ISO14001 created a ceiling in accepted practices that has lowered national legislation requirements, and that could be a double edge- sword in the future of CERs. The future of ISO14064 remains uncertain, and its role in filling the gaps in the legal continuum of state and private action in the deployment of norms and regulations needs to be scrutinized. The industry needs standards to move forward, whether under binding or non-binding schemes. International Standards can facilitate the creation of strong international emission trading schemes, but they must be embraced bearing in mind the need to develop revolving systems that push the bar higher and higher. If the transformation of soft law to hard-law continues to happen in the market place, the adoption of ISO14064 deserves profound scrutiny.

A different beast

I have been doing research on compliance mechanisms and carbon finance recently. I wont comment on carbon finance right now because there is too much that I am still trying to digest. In relationship to compliance, I have come to concluded that dealing with compliance to climate policy is a unprecedented task. Although the Montreal Protocol offers some insight, the market nature and extensive legal spectrum of climate policy makes it a whole new monster. Someone recommended that compare compliance to the Rotterdam convention on prior informed consent (PIC) to analyze the law creation process. Unfortunately, I was only able to conclude that PIC and Climate policy can only be compared for the sake of showing extreme contrast. The linear history of awareness -raising to binding law in the case of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals shows a very different normative intent. The "common but differentiate responsibilities" nature of climate policy takes the discussion to a new level where players have bipolar roles.

I still see hope in creating incentives for GHG reduction when looking at the case of SO2 in the United States under the Clean Air Act 1990. Unfortunately, the process to reduce GHG is much different from the process of reducing SO2 and, in the GHG world, there is not political willingness to create regulations and incentives such as the ones used to reduce SO2. Although this is an evolving process, current federal behavior suggest that we are far from taking strong steps to phase-out GHG from our environment.

Perhaps we need more drowning polar bears to create a sense of urgency similar to Rotterdam or the Clean Air Act...

Going to Costa Rica!

I just bought my tickets to go to Costa Rica for the summer! I will be leaving on June 5th and returning on August 25th for the SustainUS retreat. This is going to be an interesting summer indeed. I will be working as an intern for the United Nations University for Peace and the GEF doing research on participatory decision-making for grant allocation of the GEF-UNDP Small Grants Programme. the most exciting thing is that i will be working in a rural community in the southwest of the country - a coffee plantation area-.
yeay for Costa Rica!

Ode to the youth

I am still in the process of getting my life together, so please don’t expect much from me right now. I have chosen to write this entry on my own page as it has a more personal tone perhaps inappropriate for other more visited pages.The Commission on Sustainable Development has ended, but I do not want to speak of policy like I normally do. A beloved friend of mine just asked me not to be depressed. How could I be depressed? I have been energized by some of the most beautiful people in this world; I have shared dreams and become enlightened by the most sincere advocates of a better future. I have come out of CSD with renewed sense of passion and urgency that reminds me that there is a lot that needs to get done, and that I am not alone.

Working with the youth movement has become one of my reasons to wake up every morning and seize a better day. As my friend Lauren said sometime last week; “ Sustainable Development is not about projects. It is about the way a society works, the way its economy functions, and the way its people live”.

The youth movement keeps bringing insights to my life; the empowerment brought by common causes has allowed me to engage in policy action bearing in mind that our movement must hold environmental justice as guiding principle, a goal and a means.

This movement is made of people who have decided to dedicate their lives to a meaningful cause, people who walk the talk. There are some perspectives that unite us and some that make us critical of each other, but together they create a powerful impetus that makes our fights a unified struggle.

As my friend Michael Gale commonly asks: What have you done for the movement today?

The power is yours. Together we are creating commons under the sun


I hereby thank those who validated my hopes of bringing a youth perspective to climate change and sustainability debate at CSD14
Salut to…
All the AoCs for briging the energy we need to spark hope, Fatema for being a source of wisdom and tranquility,
Dominc and Yochi for their honest hearts and hard work,
Josh Tulkin for being an endless source of guidance and support.
Monika and Elizabeth for bringing the light to the darkness of the UN basement,
Michael Gale and Chloe for unifying the world,
Bernise and Sud for bringing the good news,
Anushka and Erin for all the late nights on the phone,
Josh Arnold and Steve for making the impossible happen,
Amanda for solving millenary puzzles,
Jin and Lauren for priceless advice and guidance,
Elissa and Matthew for coordinating the world,
Mark for being the awesome friend that reminds me that it is good to have fun.

To all you of you, SALUT!

I love you all!

For more pictures, click here

I am alive

Ok, some people have asked me why I have disappeared from my own page. The short reason:
I am coordinating the SustainUS National Programs at the United Nations for the Commission on Sustainable Development.

To follow the details of what I am doing with my life please visit www.SustainUS.org/blog until further notice.

thanks!

UN Reform: not necessarily a tangent

I am sorry if this blog seems to be a tangent, but an issue keeps coming to my attention and i feel i need to vent. Yesterday i was at an strategy session organized by ANPED and TWN for the Commission on Sustainable Development. Susan Brown from WWF presented (very eloquently!) on the issue of UN Reform and system-wide coherence assessments. I have superficially encouraged the idea of a reform as i am aware of the major issues with the UN System. As i start following the issues now i am realizing that the UN reform might be the most relevant issue of all. The potential changes on the humanitarian, environmental and development branches of the UN might change the course of the already inefficient programs of the UN. The outcomes relating to paragraph 168 of the 2005 World Summit Declaration dealing with environmental governance could affect the capacity that developing countries have to develop their infrastructure to comply with current multilateral environmental agreements. I know the UN needs reforms, but if we disappear the environmental, humanitarian and social branches, who is going to do the international work?