Climate Talks Inch Forward Obstructed by United States

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, December 20, 2004 (ENS) - The 10th anniversary UN Conference on Climate Change ended Saturday after adopting a package of measures aimed at helping countries to prepare for climate change. Calling it a conference of hope, Joke Waller Hunter, executive secretary of the convention, said, “The Buenos Aires conference marks 10 years of action under the Climate Change Convention to address a problem that will be with us for decades if not centuries to come."

The Buenos Aires conference was attended by some 6,200 government officials, United Nations and NGO observers and journalists.

Joke Waller Hunter serves as executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (Photo courtesy Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB))

Three new countries - Indonesia, Liechtenstein and Nigeria - joined the Kyoto Protocol during or just before the conference, bringing the total Kyoto membership up to 132 Parties. Several others announced that their ratification was underway.

Other highlights of the conference included the submissions by the large developing countries Brazil and China of their first national communications outlining their strategies for addressing climate change.

In the face of growing evidence that climate change impacts can already be detected, the conference adopted the Buenos Aires Programme of Work on Adaptation and Response Measures.

The Programme includes more scientific assessments of vulnerabilities and options for adaptation, support to the National Action Plans on Adaptation of least developed countries, new workshops and technical papers on various aspects of climate change risk and adaptation, and support for mainstreaming adaptation into sustainable development planning.

Adaptation to global warming that is increasingly viewed as inevitable, was a key theme of this meeting. But reaching agreement on an “adaptation package” was a struggle. Immediate help for the most vulnerable countries such as small islands and low lying least developed countries was not forthcoming.

Greenpeace expressed disappointment at the outcome and anger at the United States and Saudi Arabia for "their deliberate tactics of obstruction and delay."

"We hope that everyone has taken note of the bullying and blocking tactics of the USA at these negotiations. As a result we have a deal that is that barely keeps the process moving," said Greenpeace spokesperson, Steve Sawyer.

"This agreement ensures that there will not be the kind of progress we need on negotiations of future emissions cuts during the next 12 months, and the adaptation package is far from adequate."

The complex agreement originally contained plans for a series of informal meetings to discuss the future of the climate regime. At the insistence of the United States, this was reduced to one "seminar."

U.S. negotiator Trigg Talley, (left) Mohammed Al-Sabban, Saudi Arabia and Khalid Mohammed Abuleif, Saudi Arabia (Photo courtesy ENB)

The seminar will promote an informal exchange on actions relating to mitigation and adaptation to assist Parties to continue to develop effective and appropriate responses to climate change; and policies and measures adopted by governments that support implementation of their existing commitments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.

The seminar is to be conducted “without prejudices to any future negotiations, commitments, process, framework or mandate under the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.”

The United States is not a party to the Kyoto Protocol because its requirements for mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas emissions could threaten economic growth, according to the Bush administration's analysis. The United States is addressing climate change through development of a new generation of nuclear reactors, clean coal technology and methods to capture and sequester emissions of carbon dixoide, the primary greenhouse gas.

Violet Wolf Saena of Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said her ministry is responsible for developing Samoa's National Adaptation Program of Action, a time consuming and expensive process for a small island nation. (Photo courtesy ENB)

Saudi Arabia blocked progress by imposing conditions on making financial assistance available for adaptation in developing countries. Saudi egotiators demanded compensation for loss of oil revenues.

"For Saudi Arabia to hold out a begging bowl whilst the least and poorest developed countries in the world struggle to cope with floods, droughts and extreme events, is obscene," said Sawyer.

Debate continued through Friday night and into Saturday morning. In the end, without enthusiasm, exhausted delegates adopted an adaptation package that facilitates some measures for adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change and facilitates activities on modeling and economic diversification regarding the impacts of response measures.

Jafrul Islam Chowdhury, minister of environment and forests of Bangladesh must cope with rising sea levels that already inundate his low lying country. (Photo courtesy ENB)

Adaptation issues overlap with other development activities, and they are viewed as part and parcel of other over-arching development projects. The GEF could supply only partial funding, leaving the rest up to other donors, who sometimes fail to step up with their donations.

The Least Developed Countries have little bargaining power compared to oil producing countries and the emitters of large amounts of greenhouse gases, sso again this year, they went home unsatisfied.

Still, the GEF highlighted the programs it is funding such as renewable energy installations on four of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, and a wind farm in Tunisia that is expected to produce 100 megawatts of power.

The Fuel Cells Financing Initiative, a global GEF program, is using structured learning and technology transfer to introduce stationary fuel cells. Fuel cells can produce electricity at higher conversion efficiencies than most other currently tested technologies. The initiative, through its structured capacity building and technology transfer approach, is a unique attempt to bridge technological gaps between developed and developing countries.

Working with 130 countries, the GEF's National Communications Program for Climate Change will contribute directly to education, public awareness, and a policy enabling environment in the area of climate change.

National projects include stakeholder consultations to formulate the national work plans, technical assessments, workshops, and monitoring and evaluation using capacity indicators and benchmarks.

Global activities include providing technical backstopping to national teams, creating training workshops, establishing knowledge networks, and disseminating information and lessons learned.

Other decisions in Buenos Aires welcomed the concrete progress made by the Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism (CDM). The conference opened the way for new types of CDM projects related to small-scale forestry, adding to existing possibilities such as projects that reduce methane from landfills or that promote renewable energy. In a move strongly supported by business observers, it also gave strong backing to a strengthening of the CDM’s Executive Board.

Joaquín Nieto Sáinz, representing global unions that cover 200 million unionized workers, supported more ambitious greenhouse gas emission reductions as long as civil society representatives are involved in the decision making process.

Union leader Joaquín Nieto Sáinz said his members are in favor of steeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo courtesy ENB)

James Wolf, speaking on behalf of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, stressed the importance of market based approaches to limiting emissions. He emphasized the need to create opportunities for companies from nonsignatory countries to participate in the global response to climate change.

In addition to adopting formal decisions, the conference has evolved into a global forum for businesses, environmental groups and others to exchange ideas, make contacts and present new reports and findings. Some 60 exhibits and over 150 seminars and events were held on the sidelines of the intergovernmental talks.

One new report offered in Buenos Aires by the global conservation organization WWF presented evidence that the impacts of climate change on wildlife and nature are worse than scientists had previously feared.

Commissioned by the WWF, the report "Extreme Weather, does nature keep up?" reveals that nature is struggling against the impacts of extreme weather and that many species and ecosystems will die out, as their natural responses to global warming will be inadequate.

The report goes one step further than previous studies by analyzing the impact of increased extreme weather events on nature. The combination of an increase in temperature and increased variability of severe weather events place species and ecosystems at an even greater risk than feared.

"Our report shows for the first time that it is the weather extremes that determine how nature experiences climate change and not just the average temperature increases," said Arnold Van Vliet, the author of the report.

Leaders of South Pacific Island nations who may lose their homelands as sea levels rise. From right: Masao Nakayama, Micronesia; Enele Sopoaga, Tuvalu; Martin Puta Tofinga, Kiribati; and Redley Killion, Micronesia (Photo courtesy ENB)

"Worrying signals continue to reach us about the impacts and risks of climate change," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the meeting in a message delivered by UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Klaus Toepfer. "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has already showed us that the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events may increase," he said.

"As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Convention's entry into force, we can say with a sense of achievement that our 'child,' so to speak, is growing up," Annan said in his message. "But much more needs to be done as it comes of age, so that we can feel confident that the problem is being adequately addressed."

Waller-Hunter noted that the past 10 years had seen a strengthening of the science on climate change not least through the IPCC efforts. "We increasingly witness the possible impacts of climate change identified by the IPCC: droughts, floods, hurricanes and the melting of icecaps and glaciers in various regions of the globe."

Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell. Australia stands with the United Statesin declining to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, but is still attempting to keep pace with the Kyoto target it would have had if it had ratified. (Photo courtesy ENB)

The next annual conference next Novemberwill see the Kyoto Protocol countries meeting as a group for the first time. The United States will have observer status only at this and future Kyoto Protocol meetings until it ratifies the protocol.

The United States will participate fully in all meetings on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to which the Kyoto Protocol is an amendment.