Global climate change and the road ahead after Paris
Surya B. Prasai
April 20, 2008
The Third Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change (MEM) which concluded on April 18 in Paris ended with no substantive agreement on how to reduce greenhouse gases. Like in the earlier two meetings, representatives from the 16 major industrial economies, UN and other international organizations agreed to lay out mid to long-term goals for global greenhouse gas reductions, but the past differences overshadowed the concrete steps to be taken.
According to the French State Secretary for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the representatives have decided on convening two more rounds of meetings in May and June this year, and the major achievement only appeared to be an exchange of views on how to reduce long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals, enhance technological cooperation and finance clean and alternate technology to combat climate change. The meeting came about at a time when the world´s developing countries led by China and the G-77 lobby which includes India and Brazil have been calling for stronger action among the industrial countries led by the US to come up with specific goals to reduce global greenhouse emission abiding by the Kyoto Protocol.
While President Bush has shown enthusiasm to promote clean energy use by investing in universally replicable alternate technology and recyclable bio-fuels, he has shown reservations however on the Kyoto Protocol. In the US President´s views, America needs to work on a rational path to address global climate change. President Bush mentioned recently in a speech before the Paris meeting, that the US had already pondered the flawed approach of the Kyoto Protocol which was opposed 95 to nothing by the US Senate in 1997. In support of the clean energy alternative based on technology advances and strong new policy, however, the Bush administration is looking beyond 2012 to take the next step. This innovative American approach emphasizes slowing emissions growth and to work on a national goal to stop the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. This is also part of a broader US launched initiative which the G8 had also embraced calling for a new process that brings together the countries responsible for most of the world's emissions.
As President Bush stated from the White House in his April 17 speech, "I have put our nation on a path to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of our greenhouse gas emissions. In 2002, I announced our first step: to reduce America's greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent through 2012. I'm pleased to say that we remain on track to meet this goal even as our economy has grown 17 percent.´ The US, in short, is working toward a climate agreement that includes the meaningful participation of every major economy without giving anyone a free ride.
During the meeting, French President Nicolas Sarkozy pleaded for stronger global focus and dialogue on climate change to accommodate different countries positions and to look into the urgency of the issues. The major differences between the European Union (EU) and the United States as well as between the developing countries and the developed world were evident though. The G-8 lobbied for stringent time frames without sacrificing climate change goals to safe global economic sustenance, while the smaller countries called for reductions in industrial production from the group of 16 industrial countries. Despite some European led pressure from France and Germany, the US is expected to continue resisting environmental pressures that might likely offset US economic growth, which already includes devising specific reduction targets to curb the carbon-dioxide emissions that scientists have linked to global warming. President Bush has stated that he wants U.S. emissions to peak by 2025, with zero growth rate. This can be achieved by propelling greater incentives for energy efficiency and a switch to low-carbon technology, although the developing countries seemed to have reservation on any US proposal, expressing their disappointment and criticism of what they call ´disproportionate´ dialogue and transfer of appropriate technology.
China which is dubbed the new global polluter, given its rapid industrial rise, was represented by Xie Zhenhua, deputy chief of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, who stated that drawing up international conventions within the frameworks of the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Roadmap would still be the safest way to achieve genuine consensus on the global warming issue and guarantee sustainable progress.
On the other hand, Japan and other leading industrial countries collaborating with the US on clean and alternate energy technology felt that the two day Paris meeting on climate change did vindicate the overall strength of the US leadership position, that the US seeks to prove through action, not rhetoric, in addressing global climate issues concretely, fostering positive dialogue with the developing countries and assisting them in developing consensual programs and policies. However this progress will also depend on how quickly the developing countries work toward the creation of an international clean technology fund that will help finance low-emissions energy projects. As President Bush clearly stated in his global climate change speech in Washington, "We'll call on all nations to help spark a global clean energy revolution by agreeing immediately to eliminate trade barriers on clean energy goods and services."
Since President Bush took office, the US Federal Government has spent more than $12 billion to research, develop, and promote alternative energy sources which will benefit the entire world. In December, President Bush signed into law new loan guarantee authorities to support alternative energy sources. The new authority would allow additional loan guarantees of up to $38.5 billion, of which $18.5 billion in loan guarantees will support construction of new plants and enable nuclear plant owners to reduce their interest costs; $10 billion of loan guarantees will go towards renewable and/or energy efficient systems and manufacturing, and distributed energy generation, transmission, and distribution. This loan guarantee authority also includes $6 billion for coal-based power generation and industrial gasification activities at retrofitted and new facilities that incorporate carbon capture and sequestration or other beneficial uses of carbon; $2 billion for advanced coal gasification; and $2 billion for advanced nuclear facilities for the "front-end" of the nuclear fuel cycle. There are many other innovative research projects underway in the US which includes close G-8 collaboration.
The Paris Meeting of the Major Economies on Energy and Climate was organized at the initiative of the United States, which saw active participation by Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Britain, Russia and South Africa, as well as the UN, the European Union (EU) and the IEA. These series of meetings, held periodically, aim to catalyze new actions for climate change. The 16 industrial countries are also considered the world's top greenhouse gas emitters. Industrial countries, including the US, did express the view that the two day Paris meeting at least helped broach the issue of sectoral industrial greenhouse targets and therefore is a step towards agreement by the end of 2008 on curbs by countries that emit 80 percent of the world's greenhouse gases.
According to the French State Secretary for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the representatives have decided on convening two more rounds of meetings in May and June this year, and the major achievement only appeared to be an exchange of views on how to reduce long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals, enhance technological cooperation and finance clean and alternate technology to combat climate change. The meeting came about at a time when the world´s developing countries led by China and the G-77 lobby which includes India and Brazil have been calling for stronger action among the industrial countries led by the US to come up with specific goals to reduce global greenhouse emission abiding by the Kyoto Protocol.
While President Bush has shown enthusiasm to promote clean energy use by investing in universally replicable alternate technology and recyclable bio-fuels, he has shown reservations however on the Kyoto Protocol. In the US President´s views, America needs to work on a rational path to address global climate change. President Bush mentioned recently in a speech before the Paris meeting, that the US had already pondered the flawed approach of the Kyoto Protocol which was opposed 95 to nothing by the US Senate in 1997. In support of the clean energy alternative based on technology advances and strong new policy, however, the Bush administration is looking beyond 2012 to take the next step. This innovative American approach emphasizes slowing emissions growth and to work on a national goal to stop the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. This is also part of a broader US launched initiative which the G8 had also embraced calling for a new process that brings together the countries responsible for most of the world's emissions.
As President Bush stated from the White House in his April 17 speech, "I have put our nation on a path to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of our greenhouse gas emissions. In 2002, I announced our first step: to reduce America's greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent through 2012. I'm pleased to say that we remain on track to meet this goal even as our economy has grown 17 percent.´ The US, in short, is working toward a climate agreement that includes the meaningful participation of every major economy without giving anyone a free ride.
During the meeting, French President Nicolas Sarkozy pleaded for stronger global focus and dialogue on climate change to accommodate different countries positions and to look into the urgency of the issues. The major differences between the European Union (EU) and the United States as well as between the developing countries and the developed world were evident though. The G-8 lobbied for stringent time frames without sacrificing climate change goals to safe global economic sustenance, while the smaller countries called for reductions in industrial production from the group of 16 industrial countries. Despite some European led pressure from France and Germany, the US is expected to continue resisting environmental pressures that might likely offset US economic growth, which already includes devising specific reduction targets to curb the carbon-dioxide emissions that scientists have linked to global warming. President Bush has stated that he wants U.S. emissions to peak by 2025, with zero growth rate. This can be achieved by propelling greater incentives for energy efficiency and a switch to low-carbon technology, although the developing countries seemed to have reservation on any US proposal, expressing their disappointment and criticism of what they call ´disproportionate´ dialogue and transfer of appropriate technology.
China which is dubbed the new global polluter, given its rapid industrial rise, was represented by Xie Zhenhua, deputy chief of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, who stated that drawing up international conventions within the frameworks of the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Roadmap would still be the safest way to achieve genuine consensus on the global warming issue and guarantee sustainable progress.
On the other hand, Japan and other leading industrial countries collaborating with the US on clean and alternate energy technology felt that the two day Paris meeting on climate change did vindicate the overall strength of the US leadership position, that the US seeks to prove through action, not rhetoric, in addressing global climate issues concretely, fostering positive dialogue with the developing countries and assisting them in developing consensual programs and policies. However this progress will also depend on how quickly the developing countries work toward the creation of an international clean technology fund that will help finance low-emissions energy projects. As President Bush clearly stated in his global climate change speech in Washington, "We'll call on all nations to help spark a global clean energy revolution by agreeing immediately to eliminate trade barriers on clean energy goods and services."
Since President Bush took office, the US Federal Government has spent more than $12 billion to research, develop, and promote alternative energy sources which will benefit the entire world. In December, President Bush signed into law new loan guarantee authorities to support alternative energy sources. The new authority would allow additional loan guarantees of up to $38.5 billion, of which $18.5 billion in loan guarantees will support construction of new plants and enable nuclear plant owners to reduce their interest costs; $10 billion of loan guarantees will go towards renewable and/or energy efficient systems and manufacturing, and distributed energy generation, transmission, and distribution. This loan guarantee authority also includes $6 billion for coal-based power generation and industrial gasification activities at retrofitted and new facilities that incorporate carbon capture and sequestration or other beneficial uses of carbon; $2 billion for advanced coal gasification; and $2 billion for advanced nuclear facilities for the "front-end" of the nuclear fuel cycle. There are many other innovative research projects underway in the US which includes close G-8 collaboration.
The Paris Meeting of the Major Economies on Energy and Climate was organized at the initiative of the United States, which saw active participation by Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Britain, Russia and South Africa, as well as the UN, the European Union (EU) and the IEA. These series of meetings, held periodically, aim to catalyze new actions for climate change. The 16 industrial countries are also considered the world's top greenhouse gas emitters. Industrial countries, including the US, did express the view that the two day Paris meeting at least helped broach the issue of sectoral industrial greenhouse targets and therefore is a step towards agreement by the end of 2008 on curbs by countries that emit 80 percent of the world's greenhouse gases.
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