Lots of talk, little action, climate change back
The European Summit of 27 leaders of member states last week, under Slovenia’s rotating presidency, hardly raised any expectations, nor any eyebrows, as leaders came, attended and left. The subject of Climate Change, to which Spring Council 2007 was entirely devoted, was once again on top of the agenda for 2008, with leaders trying to balance industrial lobby demands with greenhouse gas emission cuts.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who, according to the EU grapevine is lobbying for a second term, was all smiles as he stressed his words to please both the industrial sector and European citizens.
Barroso spoke “in favour of keeping jobs and industry in Europe,” and promised to not only provide an EU-wide breathing space for industries but also get “an international agreement” on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
But an argument to use environmental concessions to keep EU-wide industries on the Continent seemed less convincing as environmental pundits and industry gurus confided on the sidelines of the Spring EU Summit.
Claudia Delpero of WWF told New Europe, “A global agreement will help make industries happier, because rules will be applied to everyone. But a strong global agreement will not be possible without strong European legislation.”
Explaining the underlying reasons for industries to shift locations, Delpero said, “The real question is: would weak environmental laws really keep businesses in Europe? History has shown that major factors for relocation are proximity to markets and labour costs, while environmental laws play only a small role in the relocation factor.
“European businesses should rather take this opportunity to become global leaders in clean technologies. The American car industry provides a very good example: after refusing the idea of fuel standards, the market is now overtaken by cleaner product from Asia. Europe should learn from history and avoid mistakes already seen in the past.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed the doubts about an international agreement saying, “If there is no international deal, we should already have a (law) ready on how to deal with energy-intensive industries, rather than only starting to think about it if nobody else joins us.”
The European Commission on January 23 had proposed an auction system for CO2 for industries, who immediately protested, arguing this would make it impossible for them to compete with firms in countries with less stringent environmental rules.
The Commission responded by promising to study the problem with an eye to proposing solutions by 2011 in the belief that to do so earlier would damage the EU’s position in global talks on climate change, which are set to culminate in Copenhagen in December 2009.
But at the Summit the conclusions insisted that the issue be “analysed and addressed urgently in the new (law), so that if international negotiations fail, appropriate measures can be taken.”
Moreover, the 27 leaders also diluted ambitious proposals from Nicolas Sarkozy on the creation of a so-called “Union for the Mediterranean” to promote cooperation in the area.
The first public salvo was fired by the European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering, insisting on a parliamentary dimension of the Union for the Mediterranean. Calling for an explicit reference to the Barcelona Process (launched in 1995 for Mediterranean region) said, “I am convinced that the European Commission will fully take into account the parliamentary dimension of the Union for the Mediterranean in its proposal and that the European Parliament will be fully involved in the debate which will lead to the final decisions on this project.”
According to sources familiar with closed-door talks, there were reservations from member states from Central and Eastern Europe that a Union for the Mediterranean would divert precious EU funds away from the region.
Turkey also immediately was in the news as Ankara got the notion that by being invited to join Union for the Mediterranean, its EU membership application will be left on the back burner forever.
Answering a question from a Turkish journalist, Slovenian Premier Janez Jansa said, “Turkey was not mentioned at the talks.” Saving the situation, he said, “The project for a Union for the Mediterranean was presented as an upgrade of the Barcelona process.” “And sometimes, changes get a new name,” he concluded.
Showing posts with label climate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climate. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Climate change action gets into fast lane
“Better late than never.” With that the participants heaved a sigh of relief in Valencia, Spain after a marathon 24- hour session ending November 16 as the compromise 20-page Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) document emerged to act as a manual on how to tackle global warming and set the tone for a crucial United Nations (UN) climate conference next month in Bali, Indonesia.
Officially unveiling the report in Valencia, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pointed out that the IPCC report states that climate change is “unequivocal” and may bring “abrupt and irreversible” impacts.
Fresh from a fact-finding mission to Antarctica and South America, Ban cautioned, “All humanity must assume responsibility for these treasures,” saying, “I come to you humbled after seeing some of the most precious treasures of our planet threatened by humanity’s own hand.” “Let us recognise that the effects of climate change affect us all, and that they have become so severe and so sweeping that only urgent global action will do. We are all in this together - we must work together,” Ban added.
In Brussels, the seat of the European Union, the untiring champion of the fight against climate change, it was hailed as “vital reading for decision makers,” by top EU officials. European Union Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a statement, “The Fourth Assessment Report is a milestone in our scientific knowledge about climate change and the grave threats global warming poses to the planet.”
Dimas said, “The report’s findings amount to a stark warning that the world must act fast to slash greenhouse gas emissions if we are to prevent climate change from reaching devastating levels. The good news is that it also shows that deep emission cuts are both technologically feasible and economically affordable.”
He added: “This synthesis report is vital reading for decisionmakers everywhere ahead of the UN climate change conference in Bali starting in just over two weeks. It fully supports the EU policy that global warming must be limited to no more than 2ºC above the pre-industrial temperature. The global community must respond to this scientific call for action by agreeing in Bali to launch negotiations on a comprehensive and ambitious new global climate agreement.
Efforts will be needed by all major emitters if we are to have a chance of controlling climate change before it is too late.”
Reiterating its commitment, the European Commission listed the key elements of EU action:- To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, that will be strengthened to 30 percent reduction in the context of a fair global agreement - A firm target to increase the use of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2020- A broad range of measures to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020- Further evolution and strengthening of the EU’s emissions trading scheme;- An ambitious limit to CO2 emissions from cars- A framework for introducing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in power production- Development of an effective adaptation strategy
Moreover, the United States, which has earned the wrath of climate change campaigners for not doing enough, did participate along with nearly 150 countries to nod the compromise report through after five days of haggling.
Rajendra Pachauri, an Indian scientist who heads IPCC warned that even if global emissions are curbed and the present levels of CO2 in the atmosphere stayed at the same level there would be a rise between 0.4 and 1.4 metres of the present day sea-levels simply because water expands as it warms.
“If you add to this the melting of some of the ice bodies on Earth, this gives a picture of the kinds of issue we are likely to face,” Pachauri said in post-publication comments on the report.
The synthesis report forms the final part of “Climate Change 2007”, the IPCC’s report. The other three parts were released earlier this year and covered the physical science of climate change; impacts, adaptation and vulnerability and ways to mitigate climate change.
The IPCC was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize jointly with former US Vice-President Al Gore “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”.
Officially unveiling the report in Valencia, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pointed out that the IPCC report states that climate change is “unequivocal” and may bring “abrupt and irreversible” impacts.
Fresh from a fact-finding mission to Antarctica and South America, Ban cautioned, “All humanity must assume responsibility for these treasures,” saying, “I come to you humbled after seeing some of the most precious treasures of our planet threatened by humanity’s own hand.” “Let us recognise that the effects of climate change affect us all, and that they have become so severe and so sweeping that only urgent global action will do. We are all in this together - we must work together,” Ban added.
In Brussels, the seat of the European Union, the untiring champion of the fight against climate change, it was hailed as “vital reading for decision makers,” by top EU officials. European Union Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in a statement, “The Fourth Assessment Report is a milestone in our scientific knowledge about climate change and the grave threats global warming poses to the planet.”
Dimas said, “The report’s findings amount to a stark warning that the world must act fast to slash greenhouse gas emissions if we are to prevent climate change from reaching devastating levels. The good news is that it also shows that deep emission cuts are both technologically feasible and economically affordable.”
He added: “This synthesis report is vital reading for decisionmakers everywhere ahead of the UN climate change conference in Bali starting in just over two weeks. It fully supports the EU policy that global warming must be limited to no more than 2ºC above the pre-industrial temperature. The global community must respond to this scientific call for action by agreeing in Bali to launch negotiations on a comprehensive and ambitious new global climate agreement.
Efforts will be needed by all major emitters if we are to have a chance of controlling climate change before it is too late.”
Reiterating its commitment, the European Commission listed the key elements of EU action:- To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, that will be strengthened to 30 percent reduction in the context of a fair global agreement - A firm target to increase the use of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2020- A broad range of measures to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020- Further evolution and strengthening of the EU’s emissions trading scheme;- An ambitious limit to CO2 emissions from cars- A framework for introducing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in power production- Development of an effective adaptation strategy
Moreover, the United States, which has earned the wrath of climate change campaigners for not doing enough, did participate along with nearly 150 countries to nod the compromise report through after five days of haggling.
Rajendra Pachauri, an Indian scientist who heads IPCC warned that even if global emissions are curbed and the present levels of CO2 in the atmosphere stayed at the same level there would be a rise between 0.4 and 1.4 metres of the present day sea-levels simply because water expands as it warms.
“If you add to this the melting of some of the ice bodies on Earth, this gives a picture of the kinds of issue we are likely to face,” Pachauri said in post-publication comments on the report.
The synthesis report forms the final part of “Climate Change 2007”, the IPCC’s report. The other three parts were released earlier this year and covered the physical science of climate change; impacts, adaptation and vulnerability and ways to mitigate climate change.
The IPCC was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize jointly with former US Vice-President Al Gore “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”.
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