Press Release
DIKE NOW SYMBOL OF HOPE AT CLIMATE TALKS BUT
US WRECKING TALKS WITH $1 A TONNE CARBON PLAN!
The Chair of the Hague climate summit, Dutch environment minister
Jan Pronk, Jaques Chirac, and John Prescott are among delegates
that have referred in speeches to the massive dike built around
the conference centre by Friends of the Earth International Saturday
Nov.18th as a symbol of hope for the success of the talks. But inside,
discussions are not going well.
On Saturday, 6000 people from 40 countries came to The Hague to
demand real action against the threats of climate change. Meanwhile,
the United States and its supporters (Canada, Japan, Australia)
are still trying to water down the Kyoto agreement. These countries
want to avoid as far as possible having to take domestic action
to cut emissions from fossil fuels. They are arguing for all kinds
of loopholes, such as 'sinks' forest plantation projects (scientifically
dubious and ecologically bad), which would count towards their Kyoto
targets.
The European Union argues in public for binding commitments to domestic
action, but may agree a deal, such a "50/50" domestic/loophole split.
Under pressure and in private, they may even accept forest projects
and other sinks as counting towards an agreed 50% domestic contribution.
If all sinks are included without limits of any kind, the US could
achieve its Kyoto targets at a cost of less than $1 a tonne of carbon.
The mid-range estimate is about $6 a tonne of carbon (full details
available on request). These dodgy deals would mean that the U.S
and others could reach Kyoto targets with barely any real action
to cut fossil fuel emissions at all!
The US proposals at the Hague that are undermining environmental
integrity of the Kyoto Protocol include:
- Exploiting loopholes to avoid real changes in domestic energy
and transport policy. For example the U.S. wants to count land
use and forestry policy in ways that will permit increases in
dirty fossil fuel emissions.
- Insisting on no limit in the use of the flexibility mechanisms.
The U.S. wants no limit on the amount of carbon credits that it
may buy, instead of cutting emissions at the source of the problem
in the USA.
- Favouring fossil fuel technologies in the flexibility mechanisms
over renewable and energy efficiency technologies. The U.S. has
failed to champion fast track policies to support clean, environmentally
sustainable technologies like solar and wind.
Commenting, FOE US campaigner Jon Sohn said: "While the US has
championed the cause of free markets, free trade rules and rampant
globalization, it is failing to match growth in the economy with
sufficient safeguards to protect the world environment. The effect
of this policy is the creation of damaging but powerful institutions
like the World Trade Organization and weak and ineffective international
agreements to protect the environment. The Clinton Administration
needs to turn this ship around and save the Kyoto Protocol in the
next three days."
Friends of the Earth contacts:
Now in The Hague at the COP6 Conference:
Ian Willmore - 0044 7887 641344 (press)
Roda Verheyen - 0044 7712 843216 (climate expert)
"Dike is Done" pictures are available
here
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