INECE Secretariat: Call for Contributions - Special Report on Compliance with Climate Laws

Call for Contributions

Effective Enforcement and Compliance Strategies for Climate Laws

The International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) is soliciting abstracts for the upcoming Special Report: Practical Strategies to Assure Compliance with Climate Laws.

This Special Report will present case studies and examples of good practices that highlight the critical importance of compliance with national laws and policies as part of an effective governance strategy to meet climate change mitigation objectives.

The INECE Special Report will give preference to practical case studies and recommendations for tools that can assist compliance and enforcement practitioners. Examples of pragmatic reforms and other policy development related to compliance and enforcement are also welcome.

National and Local Enforcement

· Carbon Markets: A collection of practical case examples of:

o enforcement actions taken by governments to assure integrity and delivery of climate benefits through market mechanisms;

o overcoming challenges with regards to monitoring emissions from specific sectors and particular approaches that have been successful in specific sectors; or

o monitoring, reporting and verification for large installations and stationary sources as well as carbon offset projects.

· Renewable Fuel Mandates: Examples of responses to fraud in regulatory fuel markets, for instance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan for a quality assurance program.

· Effective Prosecution: Examples of challenges faced by prosecutors seeking to enforce climate-change related laws and regulations and tools used to overcome them, and discussion of how a prosecutor's network could assist in addressing these challenges.

· Penalties and Sanctions: Examples of penalties and sanctions that have assisted enforcement and produced compliance with climate change-related laws.

· Short Lived Climate Pollutants: Practical case examples of strategies used to ensure full compliance with existing national laws to control Short-lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs).

· Climate Considerations for Environmental Impact Assessments: Examples of enforcement of requirements to consider climatic factors in environmental impact assessments.

· Energy Efficiency: Case studies and examples of enforcing requirements for energy efficient appliances and energy use in buildings, for instance, auditing self-certifications under the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme in the United Kingdom.

· Motor Vehicles: Examples of effective methods for enforcing fuel economy and greenhouse gas emission standards for passenger cars, trucks and buses.

· Unconventional Gas Extraction: Examples of enforcement of laws governing unconventional gas extraction (a.k.a. hydraulic fracturing), including regulations designed to curtail fugitive methane emissions and ground water contamination

· Other Relevant Topics and Emerging Issues

Global Governance

· Forests Carbon Offsets and Management: Practical case examples related to integrity of forest carbon credits or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).

· Ozone Depleting Substances: Guidance on preventing, detecting and deterring the illegal trade in ODS and effective enforcement practices at both international and state levels.

· Marine Environment: From international and state perspectives, strategies to enforce reductions of emissions from ocean-going vessels, including best practices for seaports around the world to control emissions at port.

· Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions: Examples of transparent and effective implementation of measurement, reporting, and verification requirements of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), with consideration of enforcement of national legislation as indicator of accountability at the international level.

· Green Climate Fund: Analysis of governance provisions outlined in the Fund's operating protocols, in particular as related to accountability and transparency.

Abstracts of 150-250 words should be sent to Elise Stull at estull@inece.org by 15 March 2013 and will be reviewed by an editorial committee. For accepted submissions, final manuscripts will be due by 30 April 2013. Case examples should be short in length (500 words or less). Other articles should be concise, 750-1,000 words in length. The Special Report will be published digitally in the summer of 2013.

INECE (www.inece.org) is a network of government and non-government compliance and enforcement practitioners from more than 150 countries. INECE's goals are raising awareness of compliance and enforcement; developing networks for enforcement cooperation; and strengthening capacity to implement and enforce environmental requirements.