| December 12, 2008 |  |
Little Progress At Poland Climate Summit, But Change is Coming
Debates over deforestation, Bali agreement, lead to little progress at Poland climate summit, though positive change is coming.
POZNAN, Poland (December 12, 2008) — With only 12 months left to work out a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, international climate negotiators ended their United Nations summit today in Poland with no agreement on key issues.
"Very little progress was made in Poznan, but we didn't lose ground either," said Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "The European Union was preoccupied with its internal dispute over implementation of its unilateral 20 percent emissions reduction commitment, and didn't provide much-needed leadership at these talks. Meanwhile, Japan, Australia, Russia and Canada tried to wriggle out of the agreement made in Bali last year, setting a goal of reducing aggregate industrialized countries' emissions to 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. But in the end, the agreement held.
"The good news," Meyer continued, "is that the chairs of the two ad hoc working groups were given the clear mandate to move into full negotiating mode in 2009. Now what's needed is political will from the major players to actually start negotiating."
One of the biggest disappointments in Poznan was how the delegates addressed deforestation, according to UCS. At issue is a proposal, called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), which would provide funding for developing countries to preserve their tropical forests. Delegates provided guidance on how REDD should be addressed in the next international agreement. According to Doug Boucher, director of the Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative at UCS, the guidance will slow the pace of negotiations significantly.
"The guidance drops provisions that would have protected biodiversity and indigenous rights in the implementation of REDD," said Boucher, "The guidance also includes loopholes in the treaty in how developing countries are rewarded for preserving forests."
When the countries receive funding for cutting their emissions triggered by deforestation, some of those emissions could be exempted. Emissions that might not be "counted" are those that come from logged forest land that is replanted with saplings or allowed to regenerate naturally.
Negotiators must work to resolve these issues in the next few months, Boucher said.
The next U.N. climate meeting will take place in Bonn this spring, after President-elect Barack Obama has taken office. A new treaty is set to be finalized at a meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009.
"I am optimistic that President-elect Obama and his climate team will breathe new life into the negotiations in the new year," said Kevin Knobloch, president of UCS. "In terms of presidential leadership, we're going from an obstinate obstacle to a creative catalyst.
"We also have a new Congress and congressional leadership that is poised to act on the issue the moment the 102nd Congress is called to order," he added. "We have an historic window of opportunity that we cannot squander. We can—and we must—win agreements in the coming year on both a national climate policy with declining carbon caps and an international climate treaty that is sufficient to prevent the worst consequences of climate change."
Next year U.S. environmental and science organizations are planning to devote the time and resources to ensure a new treaty is finalized next December.
"UCS and our allies will be working closely in 2009 with the Obama administration and Congress to ensure we get sound policies domestically and internationally," said Lance Pierce, director of the Climate Program at UCS. "And we will hold them to the high standard they have set because there is no 'Plan B' if we do not get an agreement in Copenhagen."
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
