G8 ‘re-energises’ post-2012 climate talks
19 June, 2007
The G8 has accepted US President George Bush’s offer to convene a series of meetings of the world’s major emitters to establish by the end of 2008 a new global framework to combat climate change.
However, at the annual G8 summit, in Germany on 6–8 June, the world’s leading economies failed to commit to any targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2012. The meeting’s host, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, had hoped to achieve a new commitment on global GHG emissions reductions at the summit.
“We welcome the offer of the United States to host a meeting later this year,” the G8 said in a declaration released on 7 June. “This major emitters’ process ... will support the UN climate process,” it said, with the aim of a global agreement under the UN by 2009.
Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change said the declaration had re-energised the UN climate process. “This is a breakthrough in terms of making progress towards an enhanced future climate change regime and will send important signals to developing countries on the readiness of industrialised nations and emerging economies to act,” he added.
The declaration was seen as good news for the carbon market.
“This agreement reduces the uncertainty about the future of the Kyoto Protocol and about the UN’s role in the reduction of global emissions,” said investment bank Citigroup. “In terms of the implication for the financial markets, the agreement provides visibility about a post-Kyoto regulation and targets to reduce emissions, which could provide additional momentum to the investments associated with climate change,” the bank said.
Greg Dunne, origination manager at Icecap, a UK-based carbon compliance vehicle, described the declaration as “progress of a kind”. He praised Merkel for persuading the US to tie the discussions to the UN climate negotiations. “It brings the US back to the table,” he said. “But it has to be tempered by the fact there was no hard language on caps.”
Katherine Sierra, vice president of sustainable Development at the World Bank, said: “If an ambitious post-2012 agreement for curbing greenhouse gas emissions is reached, carbon trading could deliver between $20 billion and $120 billion per year to developing countries within a few decades, facilitating the deployment of clean energy.”
NGO reaction was mixed.
Friends of the Earth said the deal was weak and lacking in substance. However, it also commended Merkel for making “some progress on climate” and for not allowing the US to block “world leaders from pledging that they will take multilateral action”.
On 31 May, Bush offered to convene meetings of the countries that produce most GHG emissions – including developing countries, such as China and India – with the aim of striking an agreement on future climate action before the end of his presidency in 2008.
“By the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term
global goal for reducing greenhouse gases,” said Bush. He gave no detail of the
possible size of that goal, but added that each country would be expected to set
mid-term national targets for next 10 to 20 years to help meet the overall
objective.
The G8 said that the meetings would “seriously consider” proposals
by the EU, Canada and Japan to halve global GHGs by 2050.
However, Jim
Connaughton, Bush’s top environmental adviser, would not be drawn on the size of
the targets or whether they would be mandatory or voluntary. “I don’t want to
pre-judge the outcome of the next 18 months,” he said.
Following the Bush announcement, Connaughton had said the process would put the emphasis on technology and would include international development banks giving “a greater priority to clean energy investments” and reducing barriers to the trade in clean technologies. He had added that there would be no room for emissions trading, alleging that, in the context of climate change, cap and trade is subject to manipulation, does not deliver technology advances and leads to increased GHG emissions.
However, the G8 declaration included references to develop “an improved and strengthened Clean Development Mechanism” and stressed the importance of market mechanisms, such as emissions trading, in providing a carbon price signal to the private sector. It added: “Fostering the use of clean technologies, setting up emissions trading systems and, as many of us are doing, linking them are complementary and mutually reinforcing approaches.”
There were also references to promoting and developing carbon capture and storage, providing developing countries with incentives to avoid deforestation and finding ways to address GHG emissions from transport
