Carbon cap poses difficulties
2009-04-06 22:39
Bonn - It will be hard work
getting rich nations to agree to cuts in greenhouse gases that are
deep enough to satisfy the demands of developing countries at
climate talks, UN's climate chief told Reuters on Monday.
Some 175 nations are meeting this week in Bonn in one of a
series of UN-led meetings meant to forge a deal in Copenhagen
in December to replace or extend the Kyoto Protocol.
The talks are split on the level of action which
industrialised countries take to curb their greenhouse gas
emissions by 2020. More ambitious goals would unlock action from
developing nations.
Asked whether he ruled out agreement on the most commonly
referenced range of emissions cuts, Yvo de Boer said:
"I'm not ruling it out but I'm saying it would be very
difficult. If you look at the offers that are on the table at
the moment they're a long way from that range."
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007
matched global temperature increases with different cuts in
greenhouse gas emissions.
They said that a cut by rich countries of 25%-40%
below 1990 levels by 2020, and substantial action by developing
nations, could limit temperature rises to about 2ºC, viewed by some governments as a
threshold for dangerous change.
Only European Union proposals have come close to that, to
cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in the event of tough
action by others. US President Barack Obama pledged in his
election campaign to return US emissions to 1990 levels.
"That's quite a long way from -25 let alone -40,"
de Boer said of the Obama target.
Gap growing
The gap has even grown in Bonn, after some developing
nations last week urged cuts at the top end of the range.
China and India said rich countries should cut greenhouse
gases by at least 40% by 2020. An alliance of 43 island
states, backed by more than a dozen nations in Africa and Latin
America, urged developed countries to cut by at least 45%.
That is far deeper than proposals averaged across the group
of developed countries of 4%-14 percent% below 1990 levels,
according to calculations by Greenpeace published on Monday.
Environment and development groups are urging the Bonn talks
to swifter action, saying unabated climate change will cause
human suffering far worse than the present financial crisis.
One way to bridge the gap between proposed and recommended
action may be for rich countries to pay for emissions cuts in
developing countries - a cheaper option than cuts at home.
Democrats last week proposed a US climate bill with a
stiffer carbon cut than Obama's campaign pledge.
The bill would also raise money to curb tropical
deforestation and so make additional cuts equal to one tenth of
US greenhouse gases, according to a spokesman for the Union of
Concerned Scientists.
"It's a work in progress, the Obama campaign pledge is not
necessarily the final answer," said Alden Meyer.