UNFCCC chief makes clarification on emission reduction targets

www.chinaview.cn 2007-12-11 23:41:34

BALI, Indonesia, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The chief of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Tuesday made a detailed clarification on greehouse gas emission reduction targets that have been standing as a major stumbling block in the ongoing negotiations for an international agreement on enhanced global action on climate change.

At his daily press briefing, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said, "25-40 percent by 2020 is an emission reduction range, it's not a target, and it's something that governments said earlier this year they should be guided by in the context of the negotiations. Contrary to some reports, these figures do not prejudge the outcome of the negotiations."

Mr. de Boer said, "this range does not represent concrete emission reduction targets for industrialized countries and this conference will not produce an agreement on specific targets per country," pointing out that this was not what it had set out to do. What it did aim to achieve, he explained, was to set the wheels in motion in terms of launching a process going into the future.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that a reduction in greenhouse gases in the range of 25-40 percent by 2020 is necessary in order to keep the earth's temperature from rising 2 degrees Celsius.

The European Union (EU) suggested that a roadmap would require a "long-term" vision and that includes setting such a target. The United States, however, maintained that the Bali document should not contain targets or any other goals that would "prejudge" the outcome of the negotiations.

With the start of the crucial High-Level segment of the Climate Change Conference in Bali only a day away, agreement has been reached on several important issues under discussion. Of special note was a decision which heralds the launch of the Kyoto Protocol's Adaptation Fund, set up to finance concrete adaptation projects in developing country parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Parties agreed Monday on the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as the secretariat and the World Bank as trustee of the Fund, which will become operational with the start of the Protocol's first commitment period in 2008.

In addition to the Adaptation Fund, measurable progress has also been made on the issue of carbon capture and storage (CCS), with parties considering for the first time the possible inclusion of CCS in geological formations as an activity under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This is particularly significant for countries expected to rely strongly on the use of coal in the future, since CCS is widely regarded as an important technology to enable continued use of fossil fuels in a clean way.

A third significant decision has been taken which involves doubling the size limit of small-scale afforestation and reforestation projects to 16 kilotons of CO2 per year. Mr. de Boer explained that in addition to expanding the geographical scope of the Clean Development Mechanism, this would also enable countries without a strong economic base and energy sector, such as many African countries and smaller developing states, to nonetheless profit from the CDM.

Mr. de Boer also expressed his congratulations to Al Gore and the IPCC on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo Monday. "It's great news for our process and will provide a huge momentum for action on climate change," he said, adding that the work of IPCC would continue to inform the process. This included scientifically sound emission reduction ranges in order to achieve stabilization of emissions in the atmosphere and thus limit the global average temperature increase.

The pace of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference quickened on Tuesday. Security is tighter, lines are long and the crowds are thicker as ministers and a handful of presidents are starting to arrive for Wednesday's "High Level Segment" of the conference. 

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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