G8 pledges climate action as Bonn talks stall
In a widely under-reported development, world leaders gathered at last weekend’s G8 Summit signed up to a major new commitment to tackle climate change through targeted action to reduce emissions of so-called “short-lived climate pollutants”.
However, any optimism that world leaders are forcing climate change back up the political agenda was quickly diluted by reports that UN climate change negotiations in Bonn have again stalled.
The final communiqué from the latest G8 summit at Camp David in the US represents a major boost to the US-led initiative to drive efforts to reduce pollutants such as methane, soot and HFCs, which was launched earlier this year by secretary of state Hilary Clinton.
“By developing strategies to reduce short-term pollutants – chiefly methane, black carbon, and HFCs – we can help reduce global warming, improve health, and increase agricultural productivity, as well as energy security,” the group said in the communiqué.
Six governments signed up to the initiative in February, including the US, Canada, and Mexico, but now the entire G8 has endorsed the plan and commissioned the World Bank to undertake a report into the most effective policies for curbing short-lived climate pollutants.
The move paves the way for tighter regulations governing emissions such as methane and HFCs, as well as increased investment in clean technologies such as landfill gas capture plants and clean cooking stoves.
The G8 also agreed to commission the International Energy Agency to assess the effectiveness of renewable energy policies and analyse the likely impact of oil and gas supply disruption.
However, while progress to tackle short-lived pollutants is likely to be welcomed by green groups, concerns are again mounting that the latest round of UN-backed climate change talks in Bonn are failing to make sufficient progress.
Diplomats at the two-week talks have been tasked with developing a timetable for future negotiations following the agreement last year of the Durban Platform and its commitment to finalise a new international treaty by 2015 and bring it into force by 2020.
However, with just two full days of talks left the EU has warned that progress made at last year’s Durban Summit is now under threat due to continued wrangling over this year’s timetable for negotiations.
“There is a risk of unraveling of what was agreed in the Durban package,” the EU’s Pete Betts told negotiators. “We need to stop fighting each other and start fighting climate change instead.”
According to reports, the latest stand-off centres on the agenda for this year, with the EU and others pushing for some discussion of actions countries can take prior to 2020 to cut emissions, while developing countries, including China, want to focus on how the Durban Platform will operate post-2020, while arguing that earlier action should be covered by existing agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol.
However, any optimism that world leaders are forcing climate change back up the political agenda was quickly diluted by reports that UN climate change negotiations in Bonn have again stalled.
The final communiqué from the latest G8 summit at Camp David in the US represents a major boost to the US-led initiative to drive efforts to reduce pollutants such as methane, soot and HFCs, which was launched earlier this year by secretary of state Hilary Clinton.
“By developing strategies to reduce short-term pollutants – chiefly methane, black carbon, and HFCs – we can help reduce global warming, improve health, and increase agricultural productivity, as well as energy security,” the group said in the communiqué.
Six governments signed up to the initiative in February, including the US, Canada, and Mexico, but now the entire G8 has endorsed the plan and commissioned the World Bank to undertake a report into the most effective policies for curbing short-lived climate pollutants.
The move paves the way for tighter regulations governing emissions such as methane and HFCs, as well as increased investment in clean technologies such as landfill gas capture plants and clean cooking stoves.
The G8 also agreed to commission the International Energy Agency to assess the effectiveness of renewable energy policies and analyse the likely impact of oil and gas supply disruption.
However, while progress to tackle short-lived pollutants is likely to be welcomed by green groups, concerns are again mounting that the latest round of UN-backed climate change talks in Bonn are failing to make sufficient progress.
Diplomats at the two-week talks have been tasked with developing a timetable for future negotiations following the agreement last year of the Durban Platform and its commitment to finalise a new international treaty by 2015 and bring it into force by 2020.
However, with just two full days of talks left the EU has warned that progress made at last year’s Durban Summit is now under threat due to continued wrangling over this year’s timetable for negotiations.
“There is a risk of unraveling of what was agreed in the Durban package,” the EU’s Pete Betts told negotiators. “We need to stop fighting each other and start fighting climate change instead.”
According to reports, the latest stand-off centres on the agenda for this year, with the EU and others pushing for some discussion of actions countries can take prior to 2020 to cut emissions, while developing countries, including China, want to focus on how the Durban Platform will operate post-2020, while arguing that earlier action should be covered by existing agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol.
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