Why is everybody talking about the December United Nations climate change conference? Why is that so important? What is in the Kyoto protocol? Who will attend Copenhagen and what are their aims?

By: Sandra De Andrade, Activist

World leaders are meeting in Copenhagen to formulate a post-Kyoto worldwide agreement aimed at “stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.”

Why is that so important?

Our life style in the West, based on heavy use of oil, is releasing, per person, an average of 10 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) into the atmosphere per year (more than twice that of the average Chinese person), resulting in a rise in global temperatures.

For years, the link between human activities and global warming has been denied and fought fiercely against.

Today this relationship is the subject of a very broad consensus. This is the result of extensive work carried out since 1988 by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC brings together 2500 scientists of all disciplines from 194 countries, publishing only statements that receive consensus agreement.

They recommend keeping the rise in temperature below 2C to avoid reaching a tipping point that will cause an irremediable climate runaway. Higher temperatures will cause sea levels to rise, engulfing islands and coastal areas of countries, forests will burn more easily releasing more CO2, desertification will spread threatening the livelihoods and lives of billions of human beings, and putting millions of species at risk of extinction.

What is in the Kyoto protocol?

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement on climate change , ratified by 184 countries in 1997 (and which United States refused to sign). The agreement is scheduled to terminate in 2012. The major Kyoto achievement is that it set binding targets for 37 industrialized countries responsible for 80% of GHG to date. These nations committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5% against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.

Under the treaty, countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures. However, the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional means by way of three market-based mechanisms:

• Emissions trading – known as “the carbon market”:

  “Countries can buy in the international carbon credit market to cover their shortfall in allowances. Countries with surplus credits can sell them to countries with capped emission commitments.” Source: Wikipedia

• Countries/Corporations can invest in offsetting projects and get credits for meeting their emissions targets.

  • Joint implementation (JI).

    “a developed country would set up a project in another developed country.” Source: Wikipedia

  • Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

    “a developed country can ”sponsor’ a greenhouse gas reduction project in a developing country.” Source: Wikipedia

This framework also includes the financing of a fund to assist countries in adapting to the adverse effects of climate change.

Conflict of interests: Who wants what?

Word leaders represent their countries’ interests.

• USA – Wants a deal that’s neither too expensive nor puts any curbs on economic growth.

• Europe – Is looking for a substantial deal that sees major developing countries taking on some of the pain and recognise the European Trading System as the main carbon market.

• G77 lead by China – Aim for a deal that entails big financial support from developed nations to fund clean technologies and adaptation to climate change and give them the right to grow.

• Brazil – “Cash for those trees to be left standing.”

• The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) & Africa – Aims for large cuts by all the developed nations and adaptation funding.

• Business as usual, not bothered – Russia, Australia, Canada & Saudi Arabia

Corporate lobbies – Deniers of climate change.

They see climate change only as threatening their growth and profit making which is based on depletion of natural resources. These organizations also have been found to fund selected scientific bodies and the media outlets in order to get their denial message out and misinform public opinion.

Environmental activists:

Activists believe that climate change is the biggest threat that humanity has ever faced and, therefore, are urging leaders to take immediate action. Campaigns, lobbying actions to rally citizens to their cause are their means of choice to ultimately impact on governments’ policies. Some organisation are more “radical” than others in their demands, but they all serve the same purpose: have goverments commit to measures to avert global warming.

Climate Justice Action is the biggest umbrella group among them. It is a coalition of organisations such as Climate Camp, Friends of the Earth, Rising Tide and other international activist groups.

Activists & NGOs are critical of the Kyoto protocol due to the following reasons:

• The creation of carbon markets allows the sky to be traded for the benefits of corporations. How? Governments allocate free carbon credit allowance to major polluters that can then be traded in a Cap & Trade market. The sky is treated as a commodity with property rights!

• Problem of pricing of carbon units: If priced too low, this will not encourage corporations to actually and factually reduce their emissions.

• The offsetting project investments, specifically those taking place in developing countries, risk to promote cheap “carbon” investment as opposed to GHG reduction at the source (which generally requires expensive investments into renewable energies). In addition, such projects pose a risk of threat to the livelihood of indigenous populations as their land will be used for “carbon offsetting” projects causing food prices to rise, and encouraging expropriations. Another form of colonization!

Activists demand that:

• Mid-term target: Cut carbon emission by between 25% to 40% by 2020

• Long-term target: Carbon emissions to be cut by 80% by 2050

• Include transport of import goods in the calculation of a country’s carbon footprint, and demand emission targets for each country in accordance with these adjusted numbers

• Introduce a carbon tax to create incentives to first move towards low-carbon economy, and then towards a zero oil use. The raised funds are to be invested in scientifically proven renewal energies, infrastructure and alternative measures.

• Finance a “carbon rent” scheme to pay tropical countries to conserve their forests. E.g. see the Yasuni campaign.

• Request that the West’s ecological debt toward the people of the South is to be recognised

• Fund adaptation measures to help the growing number of climate refugees.

• Free funds in order to transition to a low carbon economy. Such a transition requires an estimated $1,100 million and 1,5% of GDP by 2030 according to International Energy Agency.

Conclusion:

The huge sums invested in rescuing the banking system have shown that funding for “emergency causes” is available if the economy and the welfare of a nation requires it. Yet – the world’s developed nations are trying hard not to commit to more stringent controls of economic growth, consumption and their own profits, despite that current research suggest that this may be the only drastic quick-fix counter-measure to Climate Change. Copenhagen will be a sobering wake-up call for all of us.

Individually we can act now to reduce our carbon footprint by stopping creating unnecessary waste, and by changing our indiviual consumption pattern by becoming more self-aware and self-responsible, and exercise our power as citizens.

Sources:

• The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/30/countries-to-watch

• Kyoto Protocol: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

• Copenhagen Climate Conference: http://en.cop15.dk/

• Definition of Carbon Credits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_credit

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: http://www.ipcc.ch/

• ASPO – Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas: http://www.peakoil.net/

• Environments for Europeans – Magazine of the Directorate-General for the Environment: http://ec.europa.eu

• Climate Justice Action: http://www.climate-justice-action.org/

• Attac – Association pour la taxation des transactions financières et pour l’action citoyenne [French]: http://www.france.attac.orgspip.php?article10456