Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and the group met three times, the most recent meeting taking place in March
2008. The working group agreed on a set of recommendations for promoting
inter-treaty synergies nationally, regionally and globally. On the basis of these
recommendations, almost identical draft decisions were produced, which
were accepted with small exceptions by the meetings of the parties to all three
Conventions in 2008 and 2009 (the synergy decision). These decisions
resulted in the establishment of service units. More importantly, however,
they led to a historic meeting of the parties to all three Conventions in
February 2010 in Bali.
The synergy decision resulted in some interesting proposals, of which only
a few can be considered here. Coordination will be increased at the national
level: for example, through processes initiated by the parties to implement all
three conventions; focal points will be named, and joint preparations will take
place for the meetings of the parties of all three regimes. The parties are
encouraged to adopt a programme of both national and regional cooperation
and to include an action strategy in their national development plans. In this
way, they are able to implement all three conventions and to clarify their own
national priorities in implementation.
The Convention secretariats are encouraged to submit proposals to the
meetings of the parties as to how the compliance committees (once they are all
operational) could function in a more coordinated way. The synergy
decision gives such examples as shared secretariat services for the compliance
committees, and the presence of the compliance committee chairs at each
other's meetings; the decision also encourages the nomination in the compliance
committees of one person who has experience of the compliance committees
of other conventions. The secretariats of the three regimes are expected to
work jointly in communication and education, and in developing systems for
the exchange of information on environmental and health impacts, and joint
representation in other international processes.
The synergy decision also encourages administrative reform: for example,
whether to appoint a single secretary-general to supervise all three secretariats
(this has now been adopted). Further, the three are encouraged to join their
services, such as legal services, and to arrange meetings of the parties in a coor-
dinated way. These decisions were agreed and refi ned in a shared meeting of the
parties in 2010. The cooperation between these three treaty regimes will most
likely prove a signifi cant example for other international environmental treaties.
How can we solve the most urgent environmental
problem: climate change?
To date, the climate change regime has not been able to rise to the challenge
of climate change. There are several reasons for this: climate change calls for
a restructuring of the foundations of modern economies, especially their
energy systems.
 
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