Developed Countries Should Commit to Deep GHG Cuts: EU, UN
2007-12-6
With the Bali UNFCCC conference under way, the EU and the UN are pushing developed countries to commit to 25 to 40 percent greenhouse gas emission cuts (on 1990 levels) by 2020, in order to keep the average global temperature from rising 2 to 2.4 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures.
Despite this, developed countries like Canada and Japan are signalling that they may not agree to binding targets on reducing emissions.
Tony Mohr, Australian Conservation Foundation:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in their final report, recommended that [developed countries reduce their emissions 25 to 40 percent by 2020] to keep temperatures between two and 2.4 degrees. This range of targets has been supported by the European Union and New Zealand has quite an interesting change of policy and came out in support of that same range, on the first day of the conference.
Australia hasn't made its position clear on the 2020 target, and that's not to say that it couldn't do so over the coming days, and certainly we'd be hoping that the incoming Government, recently sworn in, would be briefing their delegation to simply recognise the science and so come on board with New Zealand and the European Union. That would be a good indication that there is genuine leadership coming out of the new Government in Australia.
An ideal outcome from [the Bali UNFCCC] conference would be agreement that two degrees warming is the absolute maximum that as a world we're going to aim for. We still haven't got that across the board, and we need to just draw a line in the sand.
Need for Technology Transfer
[Developing countries like China and India are seeking technology transfer from developed countries.] Decisions [made now] about how to provide electricity to their population [will] have a long-term effect, up to 30 or 40 years.
Links
Source: Climate Specialist Discusses Govt's Role at Bali Conference. Eleanor Hall. World Today. ABC. 2007.12.5