This report presents two series of studies performed before COP-6 and COP-6bis, in order to provide DG Environment with economic analysis of the issues at stake in international climate negotiations. These analysis used the background information provided by the large scale world energy partial equilibrium model POLES. They were also based on an extensive use of the Marginal Abatement Cost Curves produced by the POLES model through the ASPEN-sd software, specifically designed to produce assessment.

For African countries, it is imperative to increase capacity for implementing both the Climate Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, in view of the continent’s vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change, including the threat to food security and sustainable development. The country surveys, which are framed around the list of perceived capacity building needs annexed to Decision 10/CP.5, provided insight into the capacity building needs of the project-countries. Hence, the aspects examined during the assessment exercise reflect some of the concerns of African countries; and the stakeholders’ responses can be taken as indications of the capacity building needs of the African countries assessed.

This study analyzes the employment, macroeconomic, energy and environmental impacts of implementing the Climate Protection Scenario.

This paper takes as its initial premise the assumption that there are important and significant populations in the world's drylands who, given the right conditions and incentives, can achieve good livelihoods, accumulate assets to reduce vulnerability and escape from poverty. However, to make a convincing case it is necessary to challenge current wisdom on the distribution and condition of drylands populations, and build more realistic scenarios that decision makers can take seriously. This is a major task, and this paper will only set the challenge and introduce some of the new evidence that is required.

New data from tree rings from 500 sites around the world are now available from NOAA. These data are important because they provide climate scientists and resource managers with records of past climatic variability extending back thousands of years.

This feature article provides a summary of study about the role of clouds in the balance. Until recently, scientists were uncertain whether clouds had an overall net cooling or heating effect on the Earth's climate. But recent studies show that, in the tropics, a "near cancellation" between shortwave cooling and longwave warming exists, which indicates that the amount of incoming radiant energy is roughly equal to the amount of outgoing radiation. However, small changes in tropical cloudiness can disrupt this precarious balance.