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Townhall Finance
U.N. climate
change talks: it’s really all about the money
by Marita Noon
Dec 01, 2013
“Rich countries are still not pledging enough money to begin financing
a shift to a cleaner global economy,” reports the Financial Times (FT)
in its coverage of the United Nations climate talks in Warsaw that
ended with little more than a “vague road map on how to prepare for a
global climate pact they’re supposed to adopt in two years.”
Leading into what has now been called an “unsatisfactory summit,”
predictions suggested the “talks could collapse because of a lack of
financial support from rich nations.” Delegates from developing
countries, such as Ecuador’s lead negotiator Daniel Ortega, believe “an
effective 2015 emissions reduction agreement has to be based on a clear
financial package.”
Ortega stated: “I’m not personally expecting any commitment by Warsaw.
What we need to have is a clear roadmap of how the discussions of
financing will allow us to have a clear idea of commitments by 2015.”
Even low expectations like Ortega’s were dashed when, on the opening
day of the climate talks, November 11, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony
Abbott’s government produced a document, outlining its position at the
Warsaw conference, which boldly stated: “Federal cabinet has ruled that
Australia will not sign up to any new contributions, taxes or charges
at this week’s global summit on climate change.” The Australian points
out: “This rules out Australia playing any role in a wealth transfer
from rich countries to developing nations to pay them to decrease their
carbon emissions.” But, perhaps, the most dramatic line in the
government document is: Australia “will not support any measures which
are socialism masquerading as environmentalism.”
A few days later, November 15, Japan announced that “its emissions
would increase slightly rather than fall 25 per cent as promised in
2009.” Japan was struggling to meet its previous emissions
promises—which were the most aggressive of any big developed
country—even before the Fukushima accident prompted the shutdown of its
50 still-operable nuclear reactors and its corresponding rise in the
supplemental use of fossil fuels.
Then on November 20, news came out of England stating that Prime
Minister Cameron is telling everyone: “We’ve got to get rid of all this
green crap.”
All of this is on the foundation of Todd Stern, the Obama
Administration’s chief climate diplomat, dialing back expectations
when, during an October 22 speech in London, he addressed U.S.
involvement: “an international agreement is by no means the whole
answer.” He pointed out “the need to be creative and flexible” and
acknowledged the “hard reality” that “no step change in overall levels
of public funding from developed countries is likely to come anytime
soon.” Stern added: “The fiscal reality of the United States and other
developed countries is not going to allow it.”
Toward the end of the conference, “six environment and development
groups walked out, saying the annual round of talks had delivered
little more than hot air.” A statement from Greenpeace, World Wildlife
Fund (WWF), Oxfam, ActionAid, the International Trade Union
Confederation and Friends of the Earth said: “The Warsaw climate
conference, which should have been an important step in the just
transition to a sustainable future, is on track to deliver virtually
nothing.” Samantha Smith, leader of the WWF’s climate and energy
initiative called the meeting a “farce.” She told the FT: “Finance is
one of the big reasons we walked out. Expectations were that developed
countries were going to put money on the table, but what happened when
we got here was exactly the opposite.”
In a statement, Smith blamed: “Japan's announcement that it would not
reduce emissions as promised, Australia’s decision to end its carbon
tax and Canada’s congratulating the latter on its new climate policy.”
Just as it looked like predictions of collapse would come true, a
last-minute compromise came through in overtime: the Warsaw
international mechanism for loss and damage (IMLD). Stern led the 36
straight hours of “bad-tempered negotiations”—including a standoff
between the US and developing nations...
Read the rest of the article at Townhall Finance
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