3 June 2013: The UNEP Risø Centre, in collaboration with UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), has released ‘Perspectives 2013,’ a publication that features articles on the “Elements of a New Climate Agreement by 2015.” The publication considers key issues to address with a view to reach a climate change agreement by 2015 to come into effect by 2020, as agreed at the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNFCCC.

The publication, which focuses on how to close the ambition gap and ensure the global mitigation effort, aims at providing recommendations to policy- and decision makers. It features articles addressing, among other issues: how to close the “ambition gap” between the current pledges submitted by countries and the 2ºC goal; measures for controlling international aviation emissions; the role of market mechanisms; REDD+; and implementing nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) under a new climate agreement, with focus on Southern Africa.

On the aviation sector, the publication explores how it can contribute to close the emissions gap and what is the status of the current negotiations. On markets, it examines whether the carbon market has a role to play in a post-2020 agreement and what is the role of that agreement in the creation and operation of a carbon market. On REDD+, the publication recommends, inter alia, that: a REDD+ programme be adopted to attract scaled, sustained private participation; collaboration with different actors be developed for monitoring-reporting and verification (MRV) systems; and a prompt-start programmes for credible REDD+ activities be established. [Publication: Elements of a New Climate Agreement by 2015]