Himalayan Times: The United Nations Climate Change Conference, Durban 2011, is now warming up, and preparations are taking place. It will bring together representatives of the world’s governments, international organizations and civil society. The discussions will seek to advance the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the Bali Action Plan, agreed at COP 13 in 2007, and the Cancun Agreements, reached at COP 16 last December.
The high-level segment, to be attended by ministers and other senior officials, will be inaugurated December 6. There are already skeptics over the fate of COP 17, and discussion centred on the future of Kyoto Protocol. The least developed countries and countries that are vulnerable to climate change are strongly urging for strong action to curb emissions, and bring an end to the negotiation deadlock around the extension of Kyoto and emissions reduction targets. Large sections of the civil society organization are pressuring developed and industrialized nations to forge early consensus, and commitment for deal on emission reduction targets. Recently, some of the world’s largest corporations, over 200 companies from the energy, finance, retail, and manufacturing sectors, issued an “urgent call to action” to governments to approve a “robust, equitable and effective agreement” on climate change at the annual UN climate summit.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and organizers are hopeful of some kind of miracle to happen to forge consensus among the parties. The UN climate negotiations in South Africa will be “tough”, with the big question focusing on the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the foreign minister of South Africa said recently after the preparatory talks. A legally-binding post-2012 climate agreement is achievable, said the UNFCCC executive secretary Christiana Figueres – but not this year.
There are disturbing signs and voices being heard this year about the fate of Kyoto. News was spreading around ‘EU setting conditions for signing up to Kyoto II’ and suggestion that Canada should walk away in 2012 from global warming treaty. Similarly, a group of influential industrialized countries, including Japan, Russia, Canada and the US, have said they will not sign up to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012, and are instead calling for a new international treaty to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
There are also worrying news on financial commitment. Plans to establish the US$100 billion Green Climate Fund to help developing countries deal with climate change has hit a big barrier this month following the failure of the US and Saudi Arabia to support it.
In this fuzzy and uncertain global negotiation situation, it will be interesting to hear what Ministry of Environment and the Government of Nepal is thinking in terms of its plan and agenda to discuss in Durban.
There might be the regular agenda to follow LDC and G77, and China position on climate negotiation text. Besides, it will be interesting to see how Nepalese delegation will further push the agenda of Mountain Alliance Initiative on Climate Change and other specific agenda based on our national interest. Till today, there has not been any meeting or workshop organized/announced by the government and civil society to discuss the negotiation agenda and the role of the Nepalese delegation. And not even a month remains for preparation and public consultation.
As usual, there will be a strong interest and eagerness among government officials and civil society organizations to participate in the climate change conference.
There is always a change in the negotiating team every year. Why can’t we have a core team of negotiators continued over few years in order to make our presence more effective? The government and civil society need to work together to form a task force which can have deeper understanding of the agenda items, outline Nepal’s position, and identify areas where we should lobby or put forward our issues to best represent our interest. Besides supporting common interest agenda, Nepal should also have its specific agenda in the interest of the country, and vulnerable population.
The meeting in Durban may not produce concrete outcomes, but it will be an opportunity to narrow the gaps between developed and developing nations on issues around the future of Kyoto protocol and streamlining climate funds. Nepal can play an active role in bringing the negotiation deadlock to an end by closely working with the interest groups like LDCs.
If Nepal can at least be vocal in the sessions, based on its strategic country interest, it will be more than enough. There are also good opportunities that Nepal can showcase and capitalize through informal meetings and bilateral discussions with countries and development agencies. All of this requires early preparation and collaboration among government and other interest groups.
By-Bimal Raj Regmi is a PhD scholar at Flinders University, South Australia regm0003@flinders.edu.au
‘Gore Effect’ hits 350.org Climate Meet: Global temperature entering free fall!
Last week a ‘freak’ snowstorm in NE of the US and dumped an all time record of 2 feet of snow. Termed a ‘freak’’ since snow is extremely rare during October in this region. At least 11 people were reported killed and the storm knocked out power to about 3 million homes and businesses across the US North-East. States of emergency were declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York
But amidst the feelings of despondency of watching a disaster of this scale, we sceptics could not help screwing up a wicked smile on a related news item of how snow disrupted 350.org’s Climate Meet. This incident is one of the innumerable examples of what it is now popularly called the ‘Gore Effect’. So what’s that you may ask? It is often defined as ‘Happens when global warming-related event or appearance by Gore is marked by exceedingly cold weather’.
During the 2009 Copenhagen Climate meet, world leaders who flew into Copenhagen to discuss a solution to global warming were greeted by freezing weather as a blizzard dumped 10 centimetres (4 inches) of snow on the Danish capital overnight. Denmark has a maritime climate and milder winters than its Scandinavian neighbours. It hasn’t had a white Christmas for 14 years, under the DMI’s definition, and only had seven last century. The enduring image was that of President Obama scampering past a horde of reporters giving the only explanation that he had a plane to catch and fast if had to beat the massive snow storm hitting the East Coast. When he landed at Andrews Air Force base in Maryland it was in the midst of a storm that dumped two feet snow. When he reached home, he told reporters cheekily that he knows now why the White House was so named. Washington DC was buried in record snow!
Read more: http://devconsultancygroup.blogspot.com/2011/11/gore-effect-hits-350org-climate-meet.html
Rajan confuses weather events with climate change.
He also assumes, probably wrongly, that climate change will always and everywhere bring warmer weather.
The opposite could well be the case if the melting of the Greenland ice cap disrupts the Gulf Stream.
The Gulf Stream has provided the British Isles with mild winters over a long period of time.
Were it to weaken, or change, Britain – which is on the same latitude as Moscow – will actually have much colder winters.
Given the dystopic nature of Britain’s energy, er, ‘market’ this could have a devastating effect on an over-populated island.