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Saving the climate at Bali
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| The Hindu , Tuesday, December 18, 2007 |
| Correspondent
: Staff Reporter |
| The conference of the UN Framework Convention on climate change held in Bali overcame considerable wrangling and produced the Bali Action Plan, a basic but promising road map to 2009, when major economies must decide on new actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All countries will need bold initiatives on emission cuts beyond 2012 when existing Kyoto Protocol commitments expire. It may disappoint many that the UNFCCC dropped from its conference resolution the quantifi ed emission reduction targets sought by the European Union due to opposition, chiefly, from the United States. But the Bali resolution accepts the scientific evidence and emphasises the “urgency” for combating climate change. It is now incumbent on the big emitters to deliver on cuts and technology assistance, and for other countries to plan mitigation efforts. Developed countries must, as per the Bali plan, adopt “measurable, reportable and verifiable emission limits and reductions,” while developing countries can emphasise mitigation rather than emission reduction. The U.S., which emits the most GHGs and is a Kyoto sceptic, obviously felt compelled to endorse the Bali plan under global moral pressure. The climate change campaign now looks to a future beyond the Bush White House and its obstructionist stance. The ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the Kevin Rudd government has put Australia, which also has high per capita emissions, on a strong and reasonable course.
The Bali Action Plan provides opportunities for China and India to reduce their carbon footprint and to strive for mitigation without compromising on economic growth. The UNFCCC has agreed, as part of the road map, to help protect and expand forests through special funding. Rainforests in equatorial countries and some parts of India are seen as low-cost carbon sinks; they need only a small investment per tonne of avoided carbon dioxide (released by deforestation). This provision can fund forestry schemes and generate income for rural and tribal communities. India, which contributed to key Bali amendments on access to clean technologies, can also tap the Adaptation Fund under the Kyoto Protocol, the governance mechanism of which has been agreed upon, to cope with climate change. While pursing these options, India should not wait for obligatory requirements to launch far-sighted actions. It can easily leapfrog old technologies in high emission sectors — power, transport, lighting, and building. This it can do by calibrating policy and seeking out advanced technologies. The most promising of these appears to be carbon capture and storage at coal-fired power plants, the dominant national power source. Such national actions are within close reach, although a grand climate framework may still be two years away.
-Staff Reporter.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/17/stories/2007121754731000.htm
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The Hindu, Monday, 17 December 2007 |
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