UBC in the Joint Energy and Climate Platform

Over a decade ago, most countries joined forces in order to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with temperature increases. The countries joined an international treaty called the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) produced at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

In December 2009 the next UNCED will be held in Copenhagen. The protocol that will be adopted at the conference will succeed the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is linked to the UNFCCC. The major feature of the Protocol is the binding target for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encourages industrialized countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so.

The Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations and recognizes that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan 1997, and entered info force on 16 February 2005. 182 Parties of the Convention have ratified its Protocol to date.

After the first important step with the Kyoto Protocol towards a global emission reduction and stabilize GHG emissions, a new international framework is being negotiated. The next UNCED will be held in Copenhagen, December 2009. In preparation to the UNCED a number of Baltic Sea Region organizations have created a joint committee called "Joint Energy and Climate Platform of BSR Organizations" in order to promote the Baltic Sea Region with all it's possibilities and flaws. Among the organizations in the platform Baltic Development Forum (BDF), Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation (BSSSC), Baltic Island Network (B7) and the Nordic Council can be mentioned. The UBC Commission on Energy is a member of this group.

"It is important to join forces in our work before the UNCED. Together we can achieve much more than if we all work individually. It is a good opportunity for the UBC to work with these organizations and to promote the local perspective in energy and climate issues" - Stefan Windh, Chairman of the Commission.