In anticipation of the establishment of an international joint implementation pilot program, the Administration included in the Climate Change Action Plan a set of draft Groundrules for the United States Initiative on Joint Implementation (USIJI). These draft Groundrules were opened for public comment by the Department of State last December. This resulted in the publication of final Groundrules for the Initiative on June first of this year. These Groundrules set the criteria under which a proposed project will be considered for inclusion in the Initiative's portfolio. These Groundrules also set up an Evaluation Panel composed of senior policy officials of eight departments and agencies. The Panel Co-chairs are Assistant Secretary Susan Tierney of the Department of Energy and Assistant Administrator David Gardiner of the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to the Panel, the Co-chairs have set up a Secretariat to carry out the day-to-day functions under the Panel's direction. At its first meeting in June, the Panel provided initial guidance on what should be included in project proposals. The draft guidelines for a proposal application were the subject of a Public Workshop this past September 21, attended by nearly 200 participants. The participants provided a rich cross-section of interested parties to Joint Implementation -- including business interests, utility representatives, representatives of environmental groups, and representatives of other countries. The discussions resulted in some useful modifications to the guidelines. With these changes, the Panel has proposed that the interested organizations submit their proposals of projects for inclusion in USLJI during the period of early October to November 4, 1994. A schedule is attached. (Attachment 3) These first proposals, as stated in the USIJI Groundrules, will be evaluated within ninety days. The first portfolio will be announced no later than early February. This schedule will allow the United States delegation to the eleventh meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to report our first lessons learned to the Committee as the Committee designs the international pilot program. As you can see, the Administration is committed to playing an active role in the establishment of an intemational joint implementation regime. I believe joint implementation is critical to the success of the Convention and the achievement of its objective, namely, the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations at levels below those which cause a dangerous interference with the climate system. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report Mr. Chairman, in your invitation letter you specifically asked me to discuss the significance of the recently issued report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This report is a Special 1994 Assessment Report, which is a preliminary draft of a report that will be published in 1995. The 1994 Report deals with special questions that the climate change negotiators requested, including: the relative warming effect of the various greenhouse gases; the persistence of the gases in atmosphere; the best estimates of levels and timing of emissions reductions required to assure that the gas concentrations do not exceed stated levels; and the appropriate range of global emission projections, given that there have been no new policy actions taken to reduce global emissions beyond those known in 1992. The 1994 report constituted a first peer review. The more complete 1995 Assessment Report is scheduled to be completed, peer reviewed, and reviewed by governments by September 1995. In full disclosure, I should mention that several of the scientists that contributed to this report work at our national laboratories or are supported by Energy Department funding. I know that later today you will hear from Bob Watson, one of the esteemed scientists from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy who was intimately involved with this Panel. Since he is a scientist, I will leave the details to him. But here are my views as from where I sit as a cabinet officer with a lot at stake on this issue. For a policy maker, the most significant message in this report is that the fundamentals of this issue remain unchanged since the 1990 assessment. The loading of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere remains a threat to the climate system. But it also shows that we are still learning. Methane's global warming potential turns out to be greater, and recent emissions of methane appear to be decreasing globally. The effects of the eruption of the Mount Pinatubo volcano appear to be confirmed-- it had a cooling effect that might mask the warming that might have occurred otherwise. The Need to Cooperate Along the Road to Sustainable Development Finally, Mr. Chairman, where do we go from here? As we examine the next steps needed to reach the ultimate objective of the Framework Convention, it is clear to me and this Administration that we need to set out an international process that builds on the principles already contained in the Convention. While the State Department representative this afternoon will expand upon this, I just want to point out that the work that the Department of Energy is doing in preparing the next National Energy Policy Plan, in its participation in the Policy Dialogue Advisory Committee on Personal Motor Vehicles, and through my active participation in the President's Council on Sustainable Development, will all contribute to the Administration's post-2000 strategy. I am personally committed to helping bring about a sustainable world with far less greenhouse gas emissions than we see now. In fact, I have scheduled trips to China and the Republic of South Africa to further these interests in the coming year. There is a powerful lesson that we in this Administration continue to learn: whether in the deliberations of the President's Council on Sustainable Development, or the negotiation with Climate Challenge utilities, or the discussions with Ministers in India, Pakistan, Austria or Costa Rica the only way we will ever achieve the goals of the Framework Convention on Climate Change will be through cooperative efforts and partnerships. In my many trips within the United States, I have begun to understand the desire of many of our citizens to work internationally on reducing the threat from global emissions. I have experienced many of the same sentiments in my travels abroad. We are facing an incredible opportunity to meet the sustainable development demands of our global partners with our domestic supply of investment capital, technology and good old American know-how. And we at the Department of Energy plan to do all within our capabilities to turn these opportunities into realities. Thank you. This completes my testimony, and I would be pleased to answer any questions. 'Incremental FY 1995 funding not required; action funded in base programs at approximately $1.5 million. • Assumes entire solar international reduction is taken from joint implementation. Action Schedule for ATTACHMENT 2 Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Emission Reductions Notice of Inquiry to solicit initial public comments Date July-September 1993 November-December 1993 Public Workshops for the development of the Public Review Draft Draft Guidelines and Support Documents opened for public comment June 1, 1994 |