IMBEWU Key Projects

Climate Law & Governance in the Global South Conference in the context of COP17, Durban.

The Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL) together with the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO) and Warburton Attorneys organised an international conference specifically focused on the legal and governance aspects of climate change mitigation, adaptation and finance in the global south. The Conference on 'Climate Law & Governance in the Global South' bought together country representatives, development practitioners, law & governance experts, researchers, academics and other key stakeholders to discuss the most pressing legal issues facing developing country governments and citizens.

The Conference was hosted at the Faculty of Law of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Howard College Campus in Durban on Saturday 3 December & Sunday 4 December 2011 in parallel with COP17.

The Conference was hailed as an unprecedented success by sponsors and supporters who have much experience in organising such events at COP's internationally. It was also the first such Conference in the developing world held simultaneously with a COP on the theme of Climate Law and Governance in the Global South. The objective of the Conference was to catalyze legal thought on climate change and its implications for the development of laws and institutions for developing countries, to promote south-south dialogue and the sharing of legal best practice.

The Conference exceeded expectations in terms of the quality of the keynotes, panels and workshops, the numerous and engaged audience as well as the fruitful exchanges, dialogue and debate that will be pursued beyond this event. Over 150 participants attended the event, including delegates to the UNFCCC COP17 as well as members of the South African legal community. Registration for the conference was open to all and free of charge. Keynote speakers included Ms. Amina Mohamed, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, Mr. Yannick Glemarec, Director of Climate Finance at UNDP, Mr. Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, Executive Director of ICTSD, and Prof. Charles E. di Leva, Chief Counsel, Environmental and International Law Unit at the World Bank. Dr Mary Robinson and Kumi Naidoo gave rousing addresses at the launch of the book "Climate Change Liability". The remarks of Dr. Subho Banerjee of the Australian Ministry of Climate Change and Energy were also very well received. The event was primarily sponsored by the Australian Ministry for Climate Change and Energy with support from other firms of attorneys and sponsors.

For more information on the Conference, please visit (http://cisdl.org/ICCLGGS/). For questions please contact (secretariat@cisdl.org).

Strategic Guidance to Facilitate Climate Change Governance (2010-2011) for a large mining group.

IMBEWU is currently developing a strategic analysis and report for Anglo American regarding climate change governance in South Africa. The analysis addresses the issue of climate change governance from a business and strategic perspective with a view to informing Anglo American in respect of, and providing analysis on, the evolving South African legal and policy framework relating to climate change in order to inform the company's strategic decisions into the future; and, its interactions with government on the question of climate change.

Central Energy Fund (CEF) (2006 - 2007)

IMBEWU was commissioned by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) to research and co-draft a carbon markets business strategy for CEF entitled: "Overview and Analysis of the Commercial Opportunities offered by the International Carbon Market and the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol". Based on this research IMBEWU co-authored a report providing advice to CEF on the establishment of a CEF carbon business unit. The report is entitled "A CEF Carbon Business Strategy".

Global Climate Network (GCN) Institute for Public Research (ippr) (On going since 2008)

The Global Climate Network (GCN) is an alliance of nine influential, progressive think tanks located in developing and developed countries around the globe, including the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Nigeria, Australia, China and India. Alone, each GCN member has significant credibility and influence, both, within its home country and abroad. By producing joint research, staging events together and seeking to influence policy, the GCN can help bridge the divide that exists and is currently widening between international negotiations and national politics. IMBEWU is the South African member of the GCN. The network has been organised into three themes: technology, finance, and economic opportunity (including economic diversification, job creation and industrial policies). See: (http://www.globalclimatenetwork.info/)

Ecologic Institute: Review of the South African Renewable Initiative (SARi) for the German Government (2010)

The Ecologic Institute is a private not-for-profit think tank for applied environmental research, policy analysis and consultancy with offices in Berlin, Brussels, Vienna, and Washington DC. See: (http://www.ecologic.eu/). As part of a multidisciplinary team brought by Ecologic Institute (including Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies - an independent, South African not-for-profit economic research institution - see: ( http://www.tips.org.za), IMBEWU conducted a policy and governance assessment of the proposed South African Renewables Initiative (SARi) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety German Government (via KfW the German government-owned development bank). In this context, IMBEWU provided a legal, policy and governance review related to the climate change and renewable energy sector in South Africa.

Regional Climate Change Programme (RCCP) (Ongoing since 2009)

IMBEWU is a core team-member of the Regional Climate Change Programme (www.rccp.org.za), a multi-year climate change policy, mitigation and adaptation programme serving the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Our responsibilities have included:

designing and implementing climate change law and policy training workshops for SADC delegates involved in the international climate change negotiations;
assisting delegates in their preparation for the 15th and 16th Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, December 2009 in Copenhagen and December 2010 in Cancun; and,
the drafting of legal opinions, for the use inter alia of senior SADC climate change negotiators, on matters pertinent to the climate change negotiations.

eThekwini Municipality (Ongoing since 2003 to date)

IMBEWU has retained since April 2003 to date, by the eThekwini Municipality to provide environmental and climate change & carbon legal and transactional advice in respect of the landfill gas to power generation CDM projects on the Mariannhill, La Mercy and Bisasar Road landfill sites. Our tasks include legal process advice on environmental authorisations, all climate change process and commercial, contractual and transactional aspects of the projects, including in the voluntary carbon market.

ARUP: Executive Report on Carbon Markets (2010)

IMBEWU conducted a high level overview of the carbon market and finance carbon, compliance and voluntary based, including the CDM and assessment of its potential implications for a large industrial project in Africa. This task involved a high level introduction to the international carbon market and carbon finance, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the voluntary carbon market. The overview also presented the CDM project cycle, the key international and national requirements to undertake a CDM project in South Africa, and the current CDM pipeline in South Africa. It included an identification of the potential sources of funding to undertake a CDM project in South Africa.

Terra Pacis: Review of the Electricity related Legal Framework in South Africa (2010)

IMBEWU conducted a legal review of the legal framework related to electricity generation projects, including a review of the various environmental legal requirements for energy and renewable energy projects in South Africa, identifying the key environmental authorisation.

Coastal Environmental Services (CES): Eastern Cape Climate Change Strategy (2010)

IMBEWU assisted CES in developing the Eastern Cape Climate Change Strategy by providing a strategic analysis of the Legal and Policy Framework, internationally and nationally. The analysis also provided an explanation of the Eastern Cape Province (ECP) obligations and responsibilities concerning climate change. The legal and policy review provided a high-level analysis of the relevant national climate change and environmental policy and legal framework. Where possible, the analysis assessed the potential legal risk that Municipalities and Metros will be exposed to with regard to climate change in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act (56) of 2003.

DBSA: Leaders Papers (2009)

IMBEWU drafted for the DBSA the following 'Thought Leader Discussion Papers' (reference Elsa Kruger-Cloete):

The first dealing with how South African municipalities are participating in the international carbon market and, in particular, how municipalities may be dealing with issues arising from the requirements of the Municipal Finance Management Act (No. 56 of 2003) (MFMA), and associated regulations, in their carbon market participation; and
The second assessing 'why Africa has not benefited from the carbon market, and how this situation may be rectified?

CEF Carbon (Pty) Ltd

IMBEWU was commissioned by CEF Carbon (Pty) Ltd (CEF Carbon) to research and draft a the implications for CDM project implementation, in South Africa of the development of a Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariff (REFIT) and a South African market for Tradable Renewable Energy Certificates (TRECs).

Massmart Holdings Limited: Preliminary overview of the international and national legal framework pertaining to climate change (2009)

IMBEWU was requested by Massmart Holdings Limited (Massmart) to prepare a Preliminary overview of the international and national legal framework pertaining to climate change, which framework was likely to inform Massmart's development of its strategic corporate response to climate change. The report provided an overview of the international legal framework and key "sectoral" international legislative developments/approaches related to climate change, with direct implications for Massmart. The report also provided an analysis of the South African policy and regulatory framework related to climate change and a set of preliminary recommendations.

CES/Transnet: TNPA Climate Change Strategy Development (2009)

This project was a collaborative effort between IMBEWU AND Coastal Environmental Services for the National Ports Authority. The Climate Change Risk Assessment and Strategy Development is aimed at identifying, financially assessing and providing recommendations to address the main risks and liabilities associated with ports in the light of global climate change. The overall objective of the project is to develop TNPA's Climate Change and Strategy that must ultimately seek to identify those TNPA activities and assets that are at risk from climate change impacts. Our role in the project was to, inter alia:

Develop the problem setting for the project;
Develop an overview of the international, national and other legislative developments relating to climate change;
Develop an overview analysis of ports internationally in relation to the issue of climate change;
Develop an overview analysis of transport and the shipping industry in relation to the issue of climate change;
Provide general strategic guidance and comments on other aspects of the project.

Transnet National Ports ("TNPA")

This project is a collaboration between IMBEWU and Coastal Environmental Services ("CES"). The Climate Change Risk Assessment and Strategy Development is aimed at identifying, financially assessing and providing recommendations to address the main risks and liabilities associated with ports in the light of global climate change. The overall objective of the project is to develop TNPA's Climate Change Risk Assessment and Strategy that must ultimately seek to identify those TNPA activities and assets that are at risk from climate change impacts.

IMBEWU's role in the project was to, inter alia:

Develop the problem setting for the project;
Develop an overview of the international, national and other legislative developments relating to climate change;
Develop an overview analysis of ports internationally in relation to the issue of climate change;
Develop an overview analysis of transport and the shipping industry in relation to the issue of climate change;
Provide general strategic guidance and comments on other aspects of the project.

Technology and the Bali Action Plan: Defining technology needs and addressing the barriers to its development and transfer.

IMBEWU has been contracted by the Institute for Public Research (IPPR) to provide specified environment legal and policy assistance for the project "Technology and Bali Action Plan: Defining technology needs and addressing the barriers to its development and transfer". This project, part of a portfolio of Bali Action Plan-related projects is being jointly developed by members of the Global Climate Network.

Basic capacity-building project

IMBEWU was a team member of the BASIC Project (South Africa, Brazil, India and China), Building and Strengthening Institutional Capacity on Climate Change, a project of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, to be operated under the auspices of the European Union during 2005 and 2006. IMBEWU’s role is inter alia to conduct research into, and develop materials on, policy coherence, institutional coordination and clarifying institutional responsibilities in the international climate change arena, including for CDM. See www.basic-project.net.

Royal Danish Embassy: Climate Change Programme

Within the context of the international CDM regime IMBEWU was contracted, for a period of seven years from 2003 to 2010, by DANIDA (Danish International Assistance) and the Royal Danish Embassy as a member of a team of local and international consultants responsible for the following work items: (i) seeking to identify and develop CDM projects in South Africa, including . providing advice on domestic and international CDM requirements, monitoring of local and international developments in climate change, the content of agreements for the purchase and sale of Certified Emissions Reductions, and general environmental legal issues pertinent to the various CDM projects under development; (ii) providing guidance to the (then) Danish Climate Change Attaché to Africa in preparation for the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention, held in Copenhagen in December 2009; and, (iii) conducting research and providing guidance on use of carbon markets for implementation of solar-voltaic technology in South Africa, and in the context of the implementation of municipal projects.

For further information regarding projects or experience in a particular area or discipline please contact us.