In the Cancun Agreements in 2010, it was established that the increase in the global average temperature should remain below
2 °C. At that time, more than 90 Parties made conditional and unconditional pledges to reduce emissions by 2020. These pledges represent approximately 80 per cent of global total emissions but, while significant, will not be sufficient to meet the 2 °C goal.

The UNEP Emissions Gap Report (2013) found that there is a need for additional reductions between 8 and 12 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2020. The report also found that there is much untapped potential to reduce emissions at a relatively low cost. Given rising emissions, it is urgent that ways are explored as to how this potential can be tapped. The findings of the recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlight the need for urgent action to close the gap by tapping into this potential.

Parties to the convention are very aware of this and have emphasized the need for a game-changing and increased effort that aligns with both climate and development goals and taps into the existing potential to reduce emissions. But the road to increased emission reductions through, for example technologies such as renewable energy, is often still littered with barriers and lacks adequate support. Addressing these barriers through effective scalable policies, practices and actions can take time but is urgently needed. In response to this, Parties have moved to the technical examination of opportunities. This technical process aims to examine effective emission reduction policies, barriers to their implementation and the scaling-up, incentives and feasible options for support.

The technical examination process consists of regular in-session thematic technical expert meetings and focused in-depth inter-sessional work to be conducted by Parties, international organizations and partnerships throughout the year.

At the March session of the ADP, policy options and opportunities to scale up renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency improvements were explored during two technical expert meetings. Specific follow up actions were identified as summarized in the technical summaries from the meetings and in the updated technical paper and its addendum on mitigation benefits of actions, initiatives and options to enhance mitigation ambition presented to the ADP in June.

During the June 2014 session of the ADP, the two technical examination meetings looked at the opportunities in Land Use and Urban Environments, and were complemented by a Forum on Cities and Sub-National Authorities. At the October session (ADP 2-6), technical expert meetings focused on opportunities for action on non-CO2 greenhouse gases and carbon capture, use and storage. Ultimately, a successful outcome of this process would be a policy menu and options for overcoming barriers and the lack of support so that more transformational action can be taken on the ground in the period before 2020.

The updated technical paper compiles information on thematic areas with high mitigation potential examined at the technical expert meetings held in June and October 2014. It contains the main text and four thematic addenda, each providing information on policies, practices and technologies to unlock mitigation potential for raising pre-2020 ambition in land use, urban environments, carbon capture, use and storage and non-CO2 GHG emissions drawing on information provided in the submissions from Parties and observer organizations, at the technical expert meetings and in relevant literature. This technical paper builds on the first update of the technical paper for 2014o FCCC/TP/2014/3 Available at http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2014/tp/03.pdf and its Addendum http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2014/tp/03a01.pdf and further elaborates policy options for enhancing pre-2020 ambition.

Interested Parties and organizations are invited to upload here relevant material for the technical expert meetings on non-CO2 greenhouse gases and carbon capture, use and storage, in addition to the existing cooperative initiatives already presented in the portal on the UNFCCC website. 
All uploaded material can be found at the ADP Virtual expo.                               

Visit the ADP virtual expo on renewable energy and energy efficiency (ADP 2-4) and on urban environment and land use (ADP 2-5).