Industrialized states to blame for global warming

By J. Brian Atwood

WASHINGTON: The international community is discussing terms for limiting emissions of greenhouse gases this week in Kyoto.

Obscured amid the swirl of controversy surrounding the conference is a rare opportunity for progress and cooperation.

Reaching an agreement will not be easy. Nonetheless, the negotiations process creates the opportunity for global partnership to combat climate change -- a threat all nations face. If that partnership is to be formed, it must include developed and developing countries, and it must fully embrace market forces.

We are now very familiar with the doomsday economic scenarios that surround a commitment to reducing carbon emissions. Some developing nations fear that the industrial world will force slow growth strategies upon them.

This is not the case. Active engagement in a new development partnership will help reduce local air pollution, increase industrial efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while maintaining economic growth. The United States is committed to helping make this promise a reality.

While the impact of climate change will vary from country to country and region to region, the greatest costs will be borne by poor nations least able to cope with crisis and adapt to change.

Many developing nations are low-lying or island states, have limited water resources, or economies that are highly dependent upon natural resources and agriculture.

In short, many countries have limited capacity or means to adapt and cope with change.

As sea levels rise, 100 million people around the world could be placed at risk from flooding and storm surges. Bangladesh, for example, could lose nearly 20 percent of its land. Island nations such as the Maldives could be divested.

In India, areas prone to flooding could increase by 300 percent. Malaria, dengue and other water-related diseases could become more common. Crops could suffer from droughts in some areas and flooding elsewhere. Rice yields, forest productivity and forest cover are all projected to decline or be seriously impacted.

Clearly, the industrialized countries have in large part created the climate change problem and we must lead the way in addressing it. The United States is committed to taking responsible action to confront this threat. We will support international agreements that establish realistic commitments and that require participation by all countries.

President Clinton, recognizing the importance of global cooperation, has announced that the U.S. will provide at least $1 billion in assistance, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), over the next five years to help developing nations combat the threat of climate change.

More than money, the president's initiative renews the U.S. commitment to the transfer of environmentally sound technologies that will help emerging markets grow.

The initiative fosters technology transfer by attracting the resources of multilateral and bilateral lenders, promoting U.S. and local private sector trade and investments, and helping implement proposed Articles of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) such as joint implementation.

Programs targeted at the energy and industrial sectors will help remove barriers and create incentives to investment while leveraging and channeling financial sector resources.

President Clinton's initiative will:

* Decrease the rate of growth in net greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing greenhouse gas sources and maintaining or increasing natural resources (e.g. forests) that absorb greenhouse gases;

* Increase developing and transition country participation in the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change; and

* Decrease developing and transitional country vulnerability to the threats posed by climate change.

The underlying principle of the U.S. initiative is that efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vulnerability to climate change are critical to sustainable development, and that sustainable development on a global basis is essential to well- being here and in the U.S.

In the long-term, economic development will be enhanced, not compromised, by efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the short term, a vast array of activities can promote economic development, reduce the rate of growth in greenhouse gas emissions and decrease vulnerability to climate change.

The president's initiative will focus on activities that are "win-win" -- simultaneously promoting sustainable development and combating climate change.

One important vehicle for enhancing technology cooperation to combat climate change is joint implementation, a proposed provision in the FCCC that would permit countries to offset domestic greenhouse gas emissions through investments abroad. Joint implementation would promote private sector participation and investment in developing nations while decreasing global greenhouse gases emissions.

The U.S. is actively working to ensure that joint implementation will promote sustainable development. In partnership with countries throughout Latin America, USAID is helping developing nations establish national joint implementation programs to stimulate projects that serve national priorities.

The U.S. government hopes to ensure that the FCCC creates new opportunities for economic growth while securing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Complementing work to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, will be efforts to help nations adapt to and cope with the predicted impacts of climate change by improving preparedness for natural disasters, and increasing the adaptability and efficiency of agricultural systems, municipal management, water resources management and public health systems.

The U.S. is committed to a comprehensive partnership with developing nations to address climate change-both the risks and the opportunities.

There is the potential for myriad benefits if we use a long- term perspective, and institute the reforms necessary to attract private capital and introduce market forces.

Our partnership on climate change can help make the world a better and more prosperous place for generations to come.

The writer is director of the United States Agency for International Development.