'No battle between North and South over climate change'

Times of India , Friday, June 12, 2009
Correspondent : Narayani Ganesh, TNN
ROME: "The idea of same higher targets throughout the world to reduce polluting emissions is not possible," said Italy's environment minister Stefania Prestigiacomo. "However," she added," there is no battle between the North and South but only opportunity to cooperate and develop a new global development plan that includes players of tomorrow, the Plus Five - India, China, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa -- in a multi-polar world to marry environment and development."

The Italian minister was addressing a gathering of nearly 100 legislators from the G8+5 countries meeting here on June 12-13 -- ahead of the G8 summit to be held in L'Aquila, Italy, later this month -- at the Italian Chamber of Deputies, at the Palazzo Montecitorio, Rome, organized by Globe International and Complus Alliance. Climate scientists and leaders of industry from all over are holding discussions with the legislators on how to reach a successful global climate deal that can pass through their domestic legislatures' parliaments. These meetings are preparatory to the December Copenhagen summit of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that will propose, in consultation with member-countries, an alternative to the Kyoto Protocol - on emissions reductions - that will expire in 2012.

At a recent meeting in Bonn -- despite the Obama administration being more open about emissions reductions than the previous US government - the US has made no firm commitment yet in this regard. The US per capita emissions of greenhouse gases is highest in the world.

The Italian minister encapsulated the five crucial areas the world needs to focus on in order to meet the challenges of climate change: carbon capture and storage, renewable energy, energy efficiency, bio-fuels and smart grids. "We need to move from a state of continuous alarm on climate emergencies to conjugating environment and development."

Oceanographer Katherine Richardson - key member of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientific team - said that climate change is not an add-on to development; it is integral to all future development. Pricing carbon and going in for low carbon technology are urgent steps that might somewhat reduce risks of climate change, she said, while making it clear that the oceans will soon reach a tipping point when, overheated, they would no longer be able to support life. The process has begun already, with coral reefs and other species becoming increasingly vulnerable. She drew a dramatic parallel: "Would you take a flight that has only a ten per cent chance of reaching its destination? Probably not. Yet you remain inactive even when the IPCC report tells you that there is only a ten per cent chance that climate change was not due to human activity. Conversely, what the report said was that it is 90 per cent likely that the climate change we're experiencing today is due to human activity."

Members of the Indian delegation, two MPs from the Lok Sabha and two from the Rajya Sabha - Prakash Javadekar, L Rajagopal, Sanjay Nirupam and Bhubaneshwar Kalita - and Globe India's President, Raju Parmar made the usual "per capita emissions" argument -- that India emits far less per person than most countries -- also reminded participants that there is need for more funding for new technology solutions and adaptation and creation of public awareness.

Stephen Byers, president of Globe International and former UK energy minister in Tony Blair's cabinet, clarified that since positions taken by governments tend to be cautionary, this forum lets member legislators freely express their views so that there is greater advocacy and public awareness on all the important issues related to climate change.

The forum was organized by Globe International, a Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment founded in 1989 and the COM+ Alliance, a partnership of international organizations and communications professionals from diverse sectors committed to using communications to advance a vision of sustainable development that integrates its three pillars: economic, social and environment.

The G8 countries are the most developed countries -- the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Russia. The Plus Five are developing countries with the largest volume of greenhouse gas emissions.

 
SOURCE : Friday, 12 June 2009
 


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