Towards equitable sharing of atmospheric space
|
COMMENTS 
1.21 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide have been emitted since the beginning of the industrial revolution, according to one report released at the climate summit in Cancun. Developing countries have emitted only 28% of that
Also read:
REDD+ is bad for climate: Indigenous groups
Japan is a top runner in the emissions reductions race
Cancun summit paves the way for global green fund
Climate summit debates transparency of climate mitigation and adaptation funds
Climate talks seek equal commitment from developed and developing nations
Despatches from Cancun, December 8, 2010: “Just six words – ‘We agree to establish a fund’ – will spell the success of the Cancun summit,” Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre in Geneva told journalists. He was referring to an Adaptation or Green Fund for developing countries which are bearing the impact of climate change.
“Cancun must at least state that the fund will be set up; the details can be worked out later,” he said. He referred to the plight of Pakistan, where floods have been caused by climate change. A fifth of its land surface had been affected and financial losses have been put at between $10 and $30 billion. He advocated the setting up of an Adaptation Committee to assess damage and compensate countries for financial losses due to climate change.
“We came with high expectations to Cancun,” Khor said, “we expected that industrial countries would commit to deep cuts in emissions, which should be of the order of 40-50% by 2020, on 1990 levels.”
He believed that there ought to be a clear statement by developed countries that they will continue with a second phase of the Kyoto Protocol, which will be marked by emission cuts. He also suggested that a mechanism be established for technology transfer, and to assess what was preventing technologies from being transferred.
In response to questions regarding the rumour that certain developing countries like Kenya were agreeing to back out of an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, he criticised the "green room-type discussions” and asserted that developing countries were unanimous on the extension of the protocol.
There had to be full transparency regarding funding of adaptation actions by developing countries. “Money has not arrived, and there is no clarity as to how much has been disbursed, to which country,” Khor said. It was also not clear whether these were new and additional sources of funding or a manipulation of earlier aid commitments. “They are not even agreed as to the definition of new and additional sources of funding,” he stated.
The South Centre released a paper by Khor on ‘The equitable sharing of atmospheric and development space’ which showed how between 1850 and 2008, 1.21 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide were emitted since the beginning of the industrial revolution. To achieve a 67% probability of limiting temperature rise to within 2 degrees, emissions from 2010 to 2050 had to be kept below 750 Gt.
Industrial countries accounted for 878 Gt or 72% of the total. Their share of the population was 25%, so their fair share of atmospheric space was actually 310 Gt, which meant they exceeded it by 568 Gt.
Developing countries only emitted 28% of the total, and their under-use was 568 Gt. According to Khor, this was the carbon debt of industrial countries. “They are still accumulating debt because their actual emissions as a group in 2009 exceed their fair share,” he stated.
Infochange News & Features, December 2010