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Outline
1. What are indicators of sustainable
2. 3. 4.
development? Why are indicators of sustainable development useful for measuring climate change impacts and responses? Which indicators are used by countries? Where are the main challenges for developing climate change indicators of sustainable development?
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Brundtland Commission) Sustainable development integrates economic development, social development and environmental protection. Sustainable development has three overarching objectives and essential requirements: Poverty reduction; Changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption; Protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development.
different frameworks.
Frameworks determine what to measure and why Policy-oriented frameworks Guaranteed policy relevance, flexible, buy-in form stakeholders Prone to change with change in government, sometimes Theory-based frameworks More stable across time, more commonalities across countries, less
subject to political change Need to agree on theory, validity and relevance of theories varies across time and space, less buy-in from stakeholders, policy relevance can be low Extended capital theory advocated by some (see e.g. Joint ECE/OECD/Eurostat Working Group on Statistics for Sustainable Development)
theoretically weak
Mandated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in 1995; Third edition released in late 2007.
for each indicator available online. Methodology sheets will be updated regularly. http://www.un.org/esa/sustd ev/natlinfo/indicators/isd.htm
Provision of statistical methodologies and standards; In some countries, official statistics have a lead role in analysing and reporting of indicators
Climate change threatens to erase progress made in achieving sustainable development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals. Greenhouse gas emissions depend on economic and technological pathways. Current emissions impact on the living conditions of future generations. Poor and vulnerable countries are expected to face the greatest burden of climate change, while having contributed the least to the problem.
Existing sustainable development indicator sets are a useful point of departure for the derivation of climate change indicators. Recognizes the important linkages between climate change and other sustainable development issues, e.g. Reducing emissions from combustion of (imported) fossil fuels can increase energy security. Improved disaster risk management helps to address not only climate related events (droughts, floods,), but also non-climate related ones (earthquakes, volcanoes) Preserving forests to maintain natural capital and to sustain livelihoods also increases carbon absorption.
commitments and actions on mitigation, financing, technology and capacity-building Performance indicators on technology transfer Reduced emissions form deforestation and forest degradation
National climate strategies and action plans Progress on System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Climate change-related work on CSD indicators
Meeting held in New York in October 2008, see
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/15Oct_2008/egm.htm
Many indicators used by countries to monitor their national sustainable development strategies (NSDS) relate to climate change. There are different possibilities to determine which indicators of sustainable development are climate change related.
Indicators on issues that the strategy explicitly identify as being linked to climate change (Revealed preference). Indicators on issues that other countries identified as climate change relevant in their strategies. Indicators on issues that experts identified as climate change related, for example in the IPCC reports. Climate change and development are not fundamentally new issues.
Number of occasions where concentrations of pollutants exceeded NEPM standards for ambient air Expert quality in major urban areas Total SOx, NOx and particulate emissions Expert
Indicator
Emissions of GHGs Emissions of GHGs per person Emissions of GHGs per GDP Forest area as a percent of land Wood harvesting intensity
Type of reference Own NSDS Own NSDS Own NSDS Own NSDS Own NSDS
Generation of industrial and municipal solid Own NSDS waste Waste recycling and reuse Own NSDS
Agriculture
Agriculture Ozone layer
Other NSDS
Expert Expert
Air quality
Expert
Indicator
Human life and economic loss caused by natural disaster GDP per capita Number of species in danger of extinction Protected area in % of total area Annual withdrawal of ground and surface water
Type of reference Own NSDS Other NSDS Other NSDS Other NSDS Expert
Indicator
GHG and CO2 emissions, and CO2 emissions associated with UK consumption CO2 emissions from industry, domestic (residential), transport sectors GHG emissions from UK-based international aviation and shipping fuel bunkers Renewable electricity generated as a percentage of total electricity Electricity generated, CO2, NOx and SO2 emissions by electricity generators and GDP
Own NSDS
Own NSDS
Road transport (CO2, NOx, PM10 emissions Own NSDS and Gross Domestic Product) Private car CO2 emissions, car-kilometres and household spending Own NSDS
Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) CO2 emissions, Own NSDS kilometres, tonnes and GDP
Own NSDS
Indicator
UK indigenous energy production and gross inland energy consumption Domestic Material Consumption and GDP Fertiliser input, farmland bird population, ammonia and methane emissions and output Area covered by agriculture, woodland, water or river, urban
Type of reference Other NSDS Other NSDS Other NSDS Other NSDS
(a) Number of trips per person by mode (b) Distance traveled per person per year by Other NSDS broad trip purpose Waste arisings per disposal Other NSDS
Bird populations
Water resource use Water stress Flooding
Expert
Expert Expert Expert
Country
Morocco Morocco Spain
Country
Finland
Main challenges
Defining the scope of climate change indicators of
sustainable development
Indicators expressing significant linkages should probably be included. To remain focused, indicators expressing indirect linkages could be
excluded.
Additional specific climate change indicators may be useful E.g. climate indicators, CO2 intensity of fuels, CO2 emissions from
policy relevant sources such as cars
Definitions of climate change adaptation are often vague. People and economies adapt to a multiple factors, climate change
being one of them. If development is the best form of adaptation, are all development indicators climate change related?
Main challenges
Statistical classifications and methodologies for indicators in some important domains remain incomplete Land cover, land use and land degradation. Key area for both mitigation and adaptation Ecosystem services Spatial classifications for capturing spatially differentiated climate change impacts Technology transfer Lack of common definitions of climate change related technologies Technology can be transferred through many modes (trade in
goods, trade in services, inward foreign direct investment, outward foreign direct investment) Transfer can be at commercial or at preferential terms.
Main challenges
Time lag between climate change measures and
climate change impact
Measures on climate change mitigation and adaptation are in response to future climate changes. Climate change impacts are uncertain Extreme events can be devastating, but cannot be ignored (Fattailed distribution)
Thank You
Contact: Matthias Bruckner Division for Sustainable Development Department of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations email: brucknerm@un.org http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/index.html