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World's
Collide, Environment Crushed But the Protocol will not take effect until it is ratified by 55 percent of the nations emitting at least 55 percent of the greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride. That has yet to happen because countries disagree on how they should be allowed to meet their targets, which while modest, are deemed an important first step toward reversing global warming and climate change. Under the Protocol, the U.S. is supposed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by seven percent. With four percent of the world's population, the country accounts for about 25 percent of the Earth's greenhouse gas emissions. Bush, a former oilman, has questioned the science behind climate change forecasts and hinted recently that the U.S. no longer supports the Kyoto Protocol or intends living up to the targets the country agreed upon four years ago. On March 13, Bush reversed a pledge to legislate limits on C02 emissions from U.S. power plants, saying such a rule would be too costly, in light of rising energy prices. In a speech last September, Bush vowed to require limits on C02 emissions, along with other power plant pollutants including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury. Whitman's statement today is the clearest indication yet that U.S. involvement in United Nations organized climate change talks is all but over. President Bush has already reversed a campaign pledge to legislate limits on C02 emissions from U.S. power plants. Officials from more than 160 governments will meet in Bonn, Germany, from July 16 to 27, to reconvene COP 6. European Commission President Romano Prodi and Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson wrote to Bush this week, seeking talks with the U.S. prior to the resumption of COP 6 to narrow differences between the European Union and the U.S. on how targets should be met. "To the European Union, an agreement at the resumed session on the basis of the Kyoto Protocol and leading to real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions is of the utmost importance," said the letter. Scientists warn that the Earth's average surface temperature could increase by five degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next century. (Photos courtesy David Suzuki Foundation) "By simply opposing the Kyoto Protocol rather than seeking to improve it, the administration would have effectively blocked the only binding international agreement for fighting global warming, while offering no alternative path to protect the planet," said Krupp. "This move would have the potential to slow international action on climate change for many years. As the world's last remaining superpower, and the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, the U.S. has a special obligation to lead on this issue. "The international community and forward thinking elements of the business community are already taking this problem on; it's time for the new administration to face its responsibilities on global warming as well." The Washington, DC based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said Bush had capitulated to the oil and coal industries. "This is the most anti-environmental act by an American president in modern history," said Alden Meyer, UCS director of government relations. "In one fell swoop, the President has embraced the do nothing mantra of polluters and elevated their short term self interests above public health and the environment. With this action, President Bush is declaring that on the environment, the U.S. is a rogue nation. "It is a grave error in judgment, one that will tarnish his credibility around the globe and be judged harshly by historians and future generations. "World leaders must condemn this brazen act and forge ahead on ratification and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol - with or without the U.S." Not everyone was so disappointed though. Glenn Kelly, executive director of the Washington, DC based Global Climate Coalition, welcomed Bush's and Whitman's opposition to what he called the "irreparably flawed Kyoto Protocol." "It is common knowledge that the Kyoto Protocol will only continue leading us down a dead end street," said Kelly. Can Corporations Represent Public? The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that recent extreme weather is a foretaste of what global warming has in store for the Earth's climate. "Devoting additional efforts to 'fixing' the fundamentally flawed treaty would simply be a waste of valuable resources that are critically needed in other areas to develop far more promising approaches to effectively address the important climate issue." The Global Climate Coalition represents more than six million businesses, companies and corporations in the international policy debate on global climate change. The group favors a technology based approach to climate policy, rather than emissions cuts. "The Administration appears to have signaled an intent to pursue technology based solutions that will meet America's energy needs while at the same time addressing important climate concerns that will be far more effective than any thing that has been proposed to date, including the Protocol," Kelly said. "This is a prudent step, and clearly the right thing to do." In the US, House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, Representative from Missouri, weighed in to Bush with more examples of what he called environmental flip flops. These included the roll back of arsenic rules, the about turn on CO2 emissions and Bush's wish to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. "There's a mentality that says you can't explore and protect land," Bush said at a media roundtable last week. "We're going to change that attitude." Gephardt said Bush's roll backs are just the beginning. "In just two short months, the President has launched a blistering attack on environmental regulations that affect the lives of millions of people in our country," said Gephardt. "Unfortunately, we have good reason to believe that the actions of this administration are just the beginning. We think the Administration is teeing up more rules to role back. "They are reviewing environmental standards, looking for ways to undo progress, putting together a budget that cuts $2.3 billion from programs to protect natural resources." Can UN Represent Public? The billions of dollars of crops lost in floods and storms over the last decade could have been minimized if countries had developed disaster management strategies that included early warning storm forecasting systems, says a United Nations agency. The comments marked the opening of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Committee on Agriculture in Rome this week. The committee is expected to recommend action on key development issues, including biosecurity, sustainable agriculture and climate change. The effects of climate change - namely flooding, desertification and drought - are increasingly being felt by the agricultural sector. In a report to the committee, the FAO says agriculture has an important role to play is lessening those effects. Agriculture's potential for sequestering carbon, the foremost greenhouse gas, and for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by substituting fossil fuels with biofuels, are explored in the report, titled, "Climate Variability and Change: A Challenge for Sustainable Agricultural Production." Biomass is the energy contained in plants and organic matter and is one of humanity's earliest sources of energy. It is the main source of energy in many developing countries and provides about 15 percent of the world's energy. The chemical composition of biomass varies among species, but biomass consists of about 25 percent lignin and 75 percent carbohydrates or sugars. (Diagram and photo below, courtesy U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Biomass can be used to generate electricity, heat homes, fuel vehicles and provide process heat for industrial facilities. The FAO says its energy contribution could be increased significantly through modern conversion technology. This increase could have a significant impact for mitigating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, sequestering carbon and increasing employment for farmers in remote rural areas. The report stresses the importance of countries developing strategies to cope with climate related disasters, and incorporating those strategies into long term development programs. "The most immediate and visible impact of storms on agriculture is the damage to standing crops, livestocks, household property, production assets and physical infrastructure," says the report. "This may result in food supply shortages at household, community, and sometimes national levels," it continues. Biomass is the energy contained in plants and organic matter. The report cites figures from the most recent World Disaster Report of the International Federation of the Red Cross. The agency said wind storms and flood related disasters between 1990 and 1999 together accounted for 60 per cent of the total economic loss caused by natural disasters. "Apart from the immediate devastation - death, injury, hunger and starvation - disasters disproportionately affect the poor, making them even poorer by destroying the few assets that they possess," the report says. The report recommends developing long term programs to reduce storm related agricultural losses. It suggests doing this by evaluating land use, conducting vulnerability and risk assessments, and taking inventory of traditional community land management practices. It adds that crop, livestock, fisheries and forestry practices and farming systems suitable for vulnerable areas should be identified. These programs should include a preparedness plan for relief and rehabilitation, says the report. .
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