7 December 2005David Adam
The environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, arrived at climate talks in Montreal yesterday insisting that compulsory binding targets were the only meaningful way to tackle climate change. Mrs Beckett criticised the US administration's reliance on voluntary action and technology to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and said a worldwide agreement for when the first phase of the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012 was urgently needed.
She said: "Without mechanisms in the form of compulsory action, such as targets to cut emissions, existing and new technologies will never be rolled out on the scale we need. Voluntary measures can be helpful, but compulsory action is a surer way of delivering results."
Mrs Beckett arrived as high-level discussions on the future of the Kyoto agreement began at the two-week United Nations meeting. By Friday, delegates aim to hammer out the final details of the first Kyoto phase, including penalties for countries that fail to meet their emission targets, as well as agreeing a way to take the process beyond 2012. Under Kyoto, the UK must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 12.5% below 1990 levels by 2012. The US has refused to implement Kyoto, saying it would damage its economy.
Negotiators are also seeking a broader consensus on the need for all countries, including the US, to take action. The Canadian hosts yesterday issued a draft joint statement that calls on nations "to engage in discussions to explore and analyse approaches for long-term cooperative action to address climate change."
British officials warned that it was unlikely to be accepted by the US, which has signalled its reluctance to be drawn into discussions of future action. Environmental campaigners said the statement went no further than a similar pledge agreed - and signed by the US - at the Gleneagles G8 summit in the summer.
They warned that European attempts to keep the US involved in wider discussions risked derailing efforts to take the Kyoto process forward beyond 2012. Tony Juniper, head of Friends of the Earth, said: "The European Union seems to have completely misread the situation here in Montreal. There is no question of the United States administration coming on board at these talks and the EU and the UK presidency are wasting their time trying to convince them. We need clear leadership from the EU to show that action can be taken with or without the US."
The Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, Norman Baker, also criticised the approach and said the UK and Europe should tap into a growing groundswell within the US of the need for action.
Greg Nickels, mayor of Seattle, said: "The issue of climate disruption has become very clear to Americans. The damage done to New Orleans has affected people very deeply and they want action."
Mr Nickels said Seattle would meet or beat the 7% cut in greenhouse gas emissions the US would have to make if it signed up to Kyoto. Other mayors have embraced the idea and 192 have signed up, representing 40 million people. "If we can start it at a local level and show it's safe politically then we think it will spread to regional and state level," he said.
Nine north-eastern US states have also started to work on a regional greenhouse gas initiative to curb power plant emissions of carbon dioxide by 10% by 2020. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has also pledged Kyoto-style greenhouse gas reductions for the state.
A poll by the National Wildlife Federation has found that 75% of people involved in hunting and fishing wanted action against greenhouse gas emissions, even though the vast majority had voted for Mr Bush.
Sticking points
Future action The US chief negotiator, Harlan Watson, has signalled his country is unwilling to be drawn into discussions about future action.
Kyoto II The Kyoto protocol obliges members to start talking about what to do when the first phase expires in 2012. Some nations want a 2008 deadline to end talks, others do not.
Developing countries China, India and Brazil are exempt from Kyoto's emission cuts. Negotiators must keep them involved in talks on stricter targets without frightening them away.
Conference format Confusing union of the UN framework on climate, which includes the US, and first meeting of Kyoto members, which does not. A bureaucratic minefield.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5349912-110970,00.html
