Economic Crisis A Hurdle In Climate Change Treaty Negotiations

Lack of credit supply in world markets, high unemployment rates and plummeting economic growth rates are keeping nations from taking bold measures to protect the environment, noted the Swedish environment minister Andreas Carlgren.

Countries around the world are worried that financially intensive schemes to protect environment could take away the much needed financial resources from the core and growth driving sectors of their economies. Putting restrictions on manufacturing and public utilities could not only slow down any economic recovery but also put extra burden on the common people who are already facing problems of reduced incomes and lost jobs. 

European Union has been the most aggressive in setting ambitious renewable energy and emission reduction goals but some of its own members are in poor economic state to commit to any kind of emission targets. Poland has made it clear that it will not give up its right to use indigenous coal reserves in order to power its economic growth.

India: US Should Aim At Reducing Carbon Emissions By 40%

India’s climate change envoy Shyam Saran has said that his country would like the United States to set ‘high-end’ emission reduction goals. Leading the Indian delegation into a gathering of largest polluting nations in Washington, Saran said that United States should aim to emissions targets between 25 to 40 percent.

In comparison, President Obama has called for a 14 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 while the European Union has set a 20 percent reduction target. China and India, world’s largest and third largest polluters respectively, have set no reduction targets and are not expected to agree to even lower targets at the Copenhagen meeting to discuss the next climate treaty.

Calls for the United States to recognize its historical responsibility and take bold actions to reduce its carbon emissions have risen significantly in recent times. Countries around the world have realized that President Obama intends to go the extra mile as far as environmental and climate change reforms are concerned and they various governments are pressing the Obama administration to transform his promises into real actions.

Secondly, there have been calls, especially by the EU, that India and China agree to some kind of emission reduction. It has proposed that advanced developing countries should agree to implement less stricter targets than the developed countries but they must exhibit the intent to act on the issue of rising carbon emissions from their industries.

Al Gore Hopes Obama’s Radical Measures Would Bring the World Closer to Climate Deal

Al Gore in a scene from his documentary An Inconvenient Truth

Speaking at the International Climate Change Congress, the former US Vice President and imminent environmental activist Al Gore expressed hope that a broad consensus on a new and ground-breaking climate deal would be reached soon. Al Gore pointed out the new steps initiated by the current US President Barack Obama, to promote renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions, as one of the main reasons for an emerging possibility of successful negotiations for a new climate deal. 

President Obama has been quite aggressive in breaking away from the policies of his predecessor, President George W. Bush. His administration has answered to the critics of United States’ climate policy (or the lack of it!). No doubt the confidence among the environmental activists, like Gore, is high given the revolutionary measures announced by President Obama. 

The European Union has been eagerly waiting for some kind of cap and trade scheme from the United States so that the much needed credit to finance the technology transfer from developed nations to poor nations could obtained. 

The European Union is also looking at the United States to pass a carbon tax bill which eventually could form the foundations of a global carbon tax effective enough to replace the current Clean Development Mechanism of offsetting carbon emissions. A national carbon tax in the United States would put pressure on rest of the world and especially the advanced developing countries like India and China to agree to a global carbon tax, and possibly mandatory emission reduction targets. 

The Obama administration has also pledged billions of dollars of investments in renewable energy in the form of direct infrastructure spending in building wind farms and solar power plants, tax rebates to families who wish to install solar panels and in research & development of new and affordable forms of renewable energy. 

The steps taken by the United States may very trigger steps from the European Union to adopt stricter carbon emission reduction targets potentially laying foundations of long-term targets. 

For the first time in almost a decade the United States has acknowledged its responsibility as being the one of the largest polluters in the world. India and China have long accused United States of being negligent towards its duty to act decisively on critical environmental issues. Now that the times have changed the pressure to act is now on the developing nations.

Image: Juampe López (Creative Commons)

EU Wants US to Take Bold Actions on Climate Policy to Put Pressure on India, China

President Obama during his inagural address to the Congress

The European Union wants President Obama to act on his promise of introducing a new climate change policy and work out the modalities of a cap-and-trade policy before the Copenhagen Talks in December. Doing so, EU ministers say, would send a clear signal to the world and especially the developing countries about the change in America’s environment policy.

The European Union already has clear renewable energy and carbon emissions reduction policy in place but that has yet to make any difference in the stance of the developing countries like India and China. The Asian neighbors continue to resist any demands to reduce their carbon emissions claiming that their contribution to the overall global carbon emissions is very less as compared to that of the developed nations especially the United States which has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

In these circumstances, the EU fears that, the Copenhagen talks aimed at reaching a broad consensus regarding the next set of targets and participants to those emission reduction goals is could see a fate similar to the WTO talks held at Doha, Qatar.

Europe Argues Over Funding Emission Reduction Projects in Poor Countries

The European Union is in a tussle over how the emission reduction goals be set under the next climate treaty, discussions for which are scheduled to talk place at Copenhagen in December this year.

Two ways put forward are

money raised through the auction of pollution permits in carbon markets around the world, or a mechanism whereby funds are levied according to a country’s economic strength, population growth and emissions.

Many EU nations like Poland are opposed to any strict emission reduction goals. Poland which has vast reserves of coal has made it clear that it would oppose decision which could hamper its efforts to tap its coal reserves.

“We’re against the subsidy plan, we’re open to talks, but the proposal will have to be changed if it’s to win our agreement”, said Polish Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki. Poland also has protested a separate EU plan to tighten emissions-trading rules that would boost costs for coal-burning power generators.

Poland is unwilling to either buy emission rights or pay taxes for carbon emissions generated by its coal-powered energy plants.

EU has also put forward a plan wherein the Clean Development Mechanism is to be replaced by carbon tax which would be levied on the developed (and possibly ‘advanced’ developing nations) for exceeding emission limits set under the new climate treaty.

Developing countries like India and China are opposed to any mandatory emission cuts and want developed countries to adopt stricter emission reduction goals as they have a ‘historical responsibilty‘ to the state of the current state of the environment. 

The European Union is also eyeing the cap-and -trade scheme announced by President Obama. 

It would be interesting to see how the European Union assembles the financial resources to make the emission reductions globally effective.

Czech President Questions Global Warming, Attacks Al Gore’s Climate Campaign

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who is also the current President of the European Union, has once again voiced his skepticism about global warming.

At an event at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, the Czech President said he doubts that global warming is actually occurring and that many scientists fail to consider alternative theories regarding the issue. He also attacked former US Vice President and environmental activist, Al Gore, of failing to look at the complete picture in regard to the global phenomenon.

The Czech President didn’t mince his words in questioning the legitimacy of the scientific community’s concerns regarding global warning.

I don’t think that there is any global warming, I don’t see the statistical data for that. I’m very sorry that some people like Al Gore are not ready to listen to the competing theories. I do listen to them.