| CURRENT ISSUES | climate | |
| Climate change negotiations remain controversial |
The Plan contains the Parties resolution to demonstrate substantial progress on a number of important issues namely:
The special needs and concerns of countries affected by climate change and by the economic implications of response measures. The Plan will accelerate work on the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and prepare the way for industrialized countries to take future action under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. On technology transfer, the Parties broke a four-year deadlock in the debate. The Conference decision outlines a process on how to overcome the barriers to the transfer of environmentally sound technology. SADC countries felt that the new technology should totally avoid emissions, a concept known as emission avoidance. The issue of voluntary commitments for developing countries was not on the agenda of COP-4. However, informal discussions on this matter facilitated by the COP President formed part of the meeting’s backdrop. President Menem of Argentina in his address to the conference participants expressed his country’s intention to voluntarily adopt emissions -- limitation target for the 2008 - 2012 period. Argentina’s position broke from the ranks of G-77 and China, which oppose voluntary commitments and continues to view the inadequacy of commitments in terms of the poor performance of Annex 1 Parties. Among the SADC countries no commitments were made. The next session of the Conference of the Parties five (COP-5) will be held in 1999 at a venue still to be decided.
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by Lovemore Sola
The international community is still seriously divided over implementation and compliance with instruments aimed at reducing gases believed to be responsible for the projected increase in global temperatures with disastrous impacts on people and the environment. |
According to Dr Todd Ngara of Zimbabwe’s Climate Change Office, the SADC countries also subscribe to the view that there will be a need to introduce quantifiable caps on the CDM and the other mechanisms, in order to ensure that action by Annex 1 countries constitute the principal avenue for meeting commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. | |
The destruction of forests for fuelwood reduces their capacity to curb global warming since forests act as sinks for the gas |
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This was evident during the fourth Conference of the Parties (COP-4) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which was held late last year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The issues that were discussed at the COP-4 concerned the ratification and implementation of the one-year old Kyoto Protocol, including emissions trading, the role of the South and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
There was a struggle among the world environment ministers to reach an agreement on a global schedule of action to curb the industrial world’s emission of heat-trapping gases. During the conference, attended by about 10,000 participants, including 70 ministers, India demanded technology transfer to help it develop cleaner energy technology. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil producer, wanted to fend off the plan because it would encourage industries to shift from polluting oil to other cleaner power sources. African countries, including SADC members, emphasized the transfer of technology to facilitate the CDM. The SADC region considers the issue of equitable distribution of CDM projects as of great importance. The issue of capacity building is of critical importance for African countries if they are to benefit from CDM. |
In his address to the COP-4, Zimbabwe Mines, Environment and Tourism Minister, Simon K. Moyo, stated that it was important to acknowledge the challenges that all the countries face in trying to achieve the stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions so as to avert climate change. All the countries have a responsibility and as a result they should take note of the fact that human beings are at the centre of all sustainable development efforts.
While looking at global emissions will help in determining stabilization levels for greenhouse gases, examination of per capita emissions will help determine contributions by individual country Parties towards achieving this goal. It is important to note that the overriding goal should be according to Moyo, “to improve the quality of life for all people both in developed and developing countries. Every country has a right to development and to live in a clean world.” Despite sharp differences in many areas, however, delegates adopted a two-year Buenos Aires Plan of Action which establishes deadlines for finalizing the outstanding details of the Kyoto Protocol so that the agreement could come into force after the year 2000. |
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