| New Momentum for the Kyoto Protocol | Climate Change: New Momentum for the Kyoto Protocol
Renewables
Energy was a major theme of the Summit, with a fierce battle over the role of renewable energy in sustainable development. The Implementation Plan includes the aim of diversifying energy supplies by developing advanced, cleaner, and more efficient technologies, and by phasing out subsidies that inhibit sustainable development.
Throughout the Summit, many representatives lobbied for an ambitious global or national target on renewable energy. However, despite strong pressure from the EU and the UK, the Summit did not adopt a specific target for renewables' share in power generation. The final outcome was merely a decision to "urgently" and "substantially" increase the global share of renewable energy sources.
Kyoto
During negotiations, reference to the UN Climate Change Convention framework of "common but differentiated responsibilities" survived US attempts to delete them. Fierce arguments raged over how to refer to the Kyoto Protocol. The final Plan of Implementation text, described by senior EU negotiators as sending a strong political signal, states:
"The UN Climate Change Convention is the key instrument for addressing climate change and we reaffirm our commitment to the Convention's objective of stablising greenhouse gas concentrations. States that have ratified the Kyoto protocol strongly urge other states to ratify it."
The most immediate outcome of the Summit on the climate change front was the announcement by leaders from China and Estonia that they were ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. The Prime Ministers of Russia and Canada also promised to ratify the Protocol soon. That will achieve the critical mass to bring the Protocol into legal force, despite US refusal to participate. (The Johanessburg Action Plan Text, 04/09/02)
Partnerships
- The energy field was well represented in the partnership initiatives between governments, citizen groups and businesses, which were such a feature of the Summit
- The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Greenpeace joined together to call for global action building on the Kyoto Protocol. Overcoming their traditional antipathy they agreed that "mixed, often contradictory signals sent by governments on the environment, especially on greenhouse gas emission reductions, is creating a political environment which is not good for business nor, indeed, for thefuture of humanity"
- A new Community Carbon Fund to help poor countries was launched by the World Bank Prototype Carbon Fund and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)
- An initiative led by Japan will promote Clean Development Mechanism projects (under the Kyoto Protocol) in Asia, supported by Japanese policy and industrial knowledge.
- An energy and environment partnership with Central America led by the Finnish government aims to increase the mix of renewable energy and realise greater CDM potential in that region.
The ultimate success of all these developments will depend on the sincerity of governments in addressing the various targets, as well as the concrete follow through on the new partnership initiatives.
Business should consider Johannesburg to have lent additional momentum to the Kyoto Protocol and to the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions. Countries that have ratified Kyoto will be looking for business to achieve meaningful emissions reductions and invest in emission reduction projects, while countries outside Kyoto will probably aim to achieve reductions under some domestic framework.
Lee Solsbery, ERM, Perspectives Volume 6
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