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Uncertainty ends as Kyoto dawns
THE coming into force of Kyoto Protocol may be a rather small step towards improving the global climate, but it closes a long period of uncertainty, according to Joke Waller-Hunter, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Since 1996, the convention’s secretariat has been located in Bonn, in the aftermath of the first Conference of the Parties to the convention, which was held in Berlin. The convention gave birth to Kyoto Protocol, which was agreed upon in Kyoto, Japan, in late 1997.
“The Protocol offers powerful new tools and incentives that governments, businesses and consumers can use to build a climate-friendly economy and promote sustainable development,” said Waller-Hunter in an interview recently. An abridged version of the interview follows:
Question: The Kyoto Protocol enters into force nearly seven years after it was adopted. Isn’t it already too late in the day for the protocol to be effective?
Answer: It is never too late. In fact, a period of uncertainty has closed. Climate change is taking its place again at the top of the global agenda. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the most up-to-date scientific research suggests that humanity’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases will increase global average temperatures by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Centigrade by the end of the century. They will also affect weather patterns, water resources, the cycling of the seasons, ecosystems and extreme climate events.
The clock is ticking, and in 2005 we must grasp the nettle of designing climate strategy beyond 2012. If you ask me whether Kyoto Protocol is enough, I’ll say by itself it will not suffice. But the Kyoto Protocol brings movement.
Given the political will, it can go a long way in dealing with global warming. Feb 16 marks the beginning of a new era in efforts to reduce the risk of climate change.
Question: What new policies and new approaches does the coming into force of Kyoto Protocol mean?
Answer: For the first time in the history of international environment policy, the rules have been set for the use of unique instruments that allow emission reductions in the most cost-effective manner. A new commodity has been created: carbon. A new modality for support to sustainable development in developing countries, with associated private investments and technology transfer is operational: the Clean Development Mechanism.
As a result of the Kyoto Protocol, 35 industrialized countries and the European Community are legally bound to reduce their combined emissions of six major greenhouse gases during the five-year period from 2008 to 2012 to below 1990 levels.
The ‘emissions trading’ regime enables industrialized countries to buy and sell emissions credits among themselves; this market-based approach will improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of emissions cuts.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) gets a major boost. The CDM encourages investments in developing country projects that promote sustainable development while limiting emissions. Also, the protocol’s Adaptation Fund, established in 2001, can become operational to assist developing countries to cope with the negative effects of climate change.
In the private sector, many pro-active companies have chosen to be part of the solution. Climate friendly technologies are finding their way into the market. The pace of research on new technologies, like hydrogen and large-scale application of carbon sequestration, seems to be picking up.
Question: Australia and the United States have refused to ratify the protocol. With 21 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and enormous technical and technological capacity, it is hard to imagine a successful climate future without active US participation. Are there concrete signals that under pressure from businesses and environmental NGOs, these countries would take necessary steps to meet Kyoto targets availing of all the instruments the Kyoto Protocol offers?
Answer: Even though Australia has not ratified the protocol, its government has committed itself to fulfilling its targets. The US has not ratified the protocol, but some action is underway, particularly at the state level. Nearly 40 US states have developed their own climate plans, an emission-trading system is emerging in the Northeast states, and nearly 20 states have adopted aggressive standards for renewable energy. Additionally, there have been more than 100 congressional proposals related to climate policy, from representatives of nearly every state, in the past two years. Businesses too are beginning to take emissions reductions more seriously. — Dawn/IPS News Service
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