Conference agrees to combat climate change<\/p>\n
Stevie Emilia, The Jakarta Post, Milan, Italy<\/p>\n
Some 95 ministers agreed to coordinate action against climate
\nchange, moving forward on making the final building blocks of the
\nclimate change treaty despite Russia's wait-and-see attitude
\ntoward ratifying the Kyoto Protocol.<\/p>\n
At the 9th Conference of Parties of the United Nations
\nFramework Convention on Climate Change, the ministers and heads
\nof delegations adopted some two dozen legal decisions and
\nexplored a wide range of options for limiting greenhouse gas
\nemissions, adapting to the impacts of climate change as well as
\npreparing further actions by national governments, civil society
\nand the private sector to prepare for the entry of the treaty,
\nthe Kyoto Protocol, into force.<\/p>\n
The 12-day conference's ultimate success was in making the
\ncarbon trade mechanism operational, with first projects expected
\nto be registered early next year as well as some developed
\ncountries -- The European Union, Canada, Iceland, New Zealand,
\nNorway and Switzerland -- renewing their pledge to contribute
\nUS$410 million annually to developing countries through these
\nfunds and other avenues.<\/p>\n
According to conference president Miklos Persanyi, discussions
\nduring the 12-day conference were difficult but constructive
\nsuccess has been reached despite Russia's apprehension about
\nratifying the treaty<\/p>\n
\"Ministers and heads of delegations agree at this conference
\nthat climate change poses a real challenge to humanity and they
\nindicate they will welcome the speedy entry of the treaty into
\nforce,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The upcoming conference is set to take place in Buenos Aires
\nin December next year.<\/p>\n
Head of Indonesian delegation Liana Bratasida, Deputy Minister
\nfor the Preservation of the Environment, welcomed the
\nconference's result, saying it has taken more important decisions
\nthan the previous one in Delhi.<\/p>\n
\"The conference shows that the commitment and the political
\nwill to deal with climate change-related disasters are there,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Although carbon emission trade is now fully operational, Liana
\nsaid a few little details were still missing on the scheme, like
\nimplementation details on land use, land use change and forestry.<\/p>\n
She said the conference so far had agreed on the definition
\nfor such projects as well as provided general guidelines, but it
\nstill could not be operational.<\/p>\n
\"We have no experience in conducting such projects so we need
\ndetailed implementation guidelines, not general ones,\" Liana
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Under the scheme, developed countries, high greenhouse gas
\nemitters, can meet their emission targets by organizing forestry
\nor clean energy projects in developing countries.<\/p>\n
A delegation member, the Minister of Forestry's senior advisor
\non partnership, Sunaryo, expressed regrets about the missing
\ndetails.<\/p>\n
\"I hoped at this conference, we could reach agreement on land
\nuse, land use change and forestry and that such projects could be
\nfully operational,\" said Sunaryo.<\/p>\n
Some environment groups decried such forestry projects,
\nfearing it might turn into a commercial project that sacrifices
\nthe environment in the process.<\/p>\n
\"It's true that from the land owner's side it's all about
\nmoney, but if it's for reforestation work, it's not only about
\nmoney but also about cutting down carbon emission which is good
\nfor the environment. People can say it's all about money but once
\nit is operational, there will be guidelines and strict control,\"
\nSunaryo said.<\/p>\n
\"Once Indonesia ratifies Kyoto, we can benefit from this
\nemission trade and I think it's not only us hoping the conference
\nwill make the forestry project under the carbon emission trade
\nfully operational, even developed countries have to meet their
\nemission targets by 2008,\" he said, adding that such a project is
\ncheaper than having to use or create clean technology that is
\ncostly and takes time to produce significant results.<\/p>\n
Developed countries have to meet their emission targets as
\nrequired by the treaty during the first commitment period between
\n2008-2012.<\/p>\n
The conference also progressed in developing the carbon
\nemission trade afforestration and reforestation guidelines that
\nare expected to provide a sound and credible foundation for
\nprojects, as well as the common reporting format and the good
\npractice guidance which is hoped to launch an era of better
\nforest data in national inventories as a basis for better
\ndecisions in the future.<\/p>\n
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) welcomes the conclusion of
\nfinal rules which recognize that such forestry projects can have
\nsignificant environmental and socio-economic impact.<\/p>\n
However, the environmental group raised concern as the rules
\ndo not adequately address issues like the potential use of large-
\nscale commercial plantations and genetically modified organisms
\nand vows to monitor the project implementation closely.<\/p>\n
WWF also praised efforts to reject attempts by the U.S.
\ndelegation at the conference to propose alternative approaches to
\nthe treaty with its calls for more scientific research and
\ninvestment in new technologies, dismissing the calls as
\nunrealistic and an excuse for delaying emission cuts.<\/p>\n
\"The Bush proposals are a mandate to keep polluters in
\nbusiness. They are not only woolly, economically unviable and
\nunscientific but the U.S. has no proof that they would deliver
\nany CO2 reductions at all,\" said Jennifer Morgan, director of the
\nWWF Climate Change Program.<\/p>\n
\"This meeting strongly reconfirmed that the only international
\napproach to tackling global warming is the Kyoto Protocol.\"<\/p>\n
According to WWF, Russia is still on track to join the world's
\nonly international agreement on climate change.<\/p>\n
\"The latest word from Moscow is that the Russian ratification
\nprocess is still under consideration and is most likely to happen
\nsometime after the presidential elections in March 2004,\" said
\nAlexey Kokorin, head of WWF-Russia's Climate Change Program.<\/p>\n
\"The Kyoto Protocol is built on solid foundations. The house
\nis now ready for 120 countries to move in. All we need is for
\nRussia to put the key in the door.\"<\/p>\n
Head of the Russian delegation Alexander Bedritsky, however,
\nstirred more controversy over Russia's ratifying process during
\nthe conference, saying the ratification is still under
\nconsideration, but the lack of clear and specific guidance on the
\nrealization of the joint implementation projects make the Kyoto
\nProtocol's concepts \"not very attractive for its industry as
\nwell as for potential domestic investors\".<\/p>\n
The head of the Russian Federal Service for
\nHydrometeorological and Environmental Monitoring said the
\nattempts to include legal sanctions or penalties had transformed
\nthe Protocol from an international treaty into a business
\ncontract clinching a deal under unfavorable conditions.<\/p>\n
He also quoted President Vladimir Putin saying that, \"We hope
\nthat Russia will not be the center of everybody's attention and
\nthat it will not be treated as a cow that the whole world would
\nmilk in attempt to resolve its problems. We want to resolve them
\nbut we want to ensure that we approach these problems in a fair
\nmanner\".<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/conference-agrees-to-combat-climate-change-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}