Climate convention ends without firm undertakings
BERLIN, Fri. — The 127 countries which ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change failed yesterday to obtain a mandate for commitments by the developed nations to reduce greenhouse gases but agreed to set up a special working group for future consultations.
The Conference of the Parties agreed that future consultations would not introduce any new commitments for developing countries.
The consultations will also consider as first priority, the process of strengthening the commitments of the developed countries to adopt national policies and take corresponding measures to reduce climate change by limiting their greenhouse gas emissions.
The parties also agreed that developed countries should set their specific progressive limitation and reduction targets for their greenhouse gases which should be implemented individually or jointly among themselves by 2005 or 2010.
The special working group is expected to meet later this year to hold further negotiations.
The text was endorsed last night by the main committee, comprising ministers responsible for environmental affairs after taking into account the "green paper" agreed upon and submitted by 72 developing countries.
The green paper which provided basis for salvaging the climate conference which would have otherwise suffered a premature death, was spearheaded by Malaysia, India and China.
It called for a protocol for the reduction of carbon dioxide by the developed nations to the 1990 level in year 2000 and a further 20 per cent in year 2005.
The paper, produced by the developing countries, minus oil-exporting countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Venezuela, affirmed that current commitments by the developed nations were not adequate to meet the Convention objectives.
The US, Canada and Australia, driven by strong petroleum lobbies, have refused targets and timetables for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Certain oil-producing states like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Venezuela had also rejected to further commitments, fearing that if carbon dioxide emissions were reduced, the developed countries would be compelled to use other resources as alternatives to petroleum.
Both the green paper and the protocol proposed by the Alliance of Small Island States — which also specified the same target as the green paper — were rejected by the United States, Australia, several Latin American and oil-producing countries as well as a few other developed nations.
Head of the Malaysian delegation Datuk Renji Sathiah criticised the developing countries aligned to the OECD countries for trying to push for further obligations by developing countries.
Sathiah, who is also head of the Malaysian mission to the European Union and Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, such an action by the OECD had created a strong impression of an effort to shift the fundamental balance of the Convention.
He said Malaysia was disappointed with the outcome of the conference, saying that the culprits who were destroying the environment got away scot free.
"We had to compromise with the developed nations for a weaker text. At least from this point onwards we can start fresh negotiations. Otherwise, we will have nothing," he said, adding that Malaysia was concerned about countries like the small island states which were most vulnerable to effects of climate change.
Source : The New Straits Times 08 April 1995
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