UN: US, Australia ready to negotiate new climate change treaty

The United States and Australia, the only industrialized countries to not sign onto the Kyoto climate change treaty, are willing to join negotiations for a successor agreement in coming years, a U.N. official said Thursday.

Yvo de Boer, a leading U.N. climate official, said participants at informal talks in Indonesia this week agreed that economically developed nations must take the lead in adopting measures to halt the earth's rising temperature.

"The United States came to this meeting with a very constructive position, saying they want to see a launch of negotiations" to be concluded by 2009, he said.

A major summit will be held in December on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, where environment ministers from 80 countries will discuss a replacement for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

"The United States and Australia indicated in this meeting they are willing to begin negotiations," de Boer told reporters Thursday. "They are willing take on commitment on the future climate change regime."

The Kyoto agreement requires 36 industrial nations to reduce the heat-trapping gases emitted by power plants and other industrial, agricultural and transportation sources, but critics say it did not go far enough and are pushing for a more stringent regime next time around.

The United States, Australia and some other Western nations do not want to sign onto a new treaty setting caps on emissions unless China and India — who argue that such a deal would impede their booming economies — agree. So far, that seems unlikely.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Paula J. Dobriansky said the Indonesian talks were the "kind of discussion that needs to take place to move us forward."

Dobriansky could not say if the United States would drop its long-standing opposition to forced emission reductions, but noted that a combination of mandatory measures and financial incentives was part of domestic environmental policy.

Greenpeace said the success of the informal meeting "sends a strong political message that governments are ready and willing to negotiate seriously in Bali."

But the Dec. 3-14 Bali summit must result "in deeper emissions cuts from developed countries, broader country participation, and a reduction in carbon emissions through the elimination of deforestation," it said in a statement.

Source: International Herald Tribune - AP

IPCC: New climate change agreement to be stricter than Kyoto

http://news.xinhuanet.com/
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The terms of the international agreement on greenhouse gas emissions that will follow the Kyoto Protocol will be even stricter, economist Mohan Munasinghe, vice president of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said here Friday.

According to Munasinghe, who was participating in a seminar here to discuss the application of the IPCC recommendations locally, stronger international consensus has now been reached on the need for stricter measures.

The new rules that countries all over the world will have to follow in order to avoid runaway global warming will start to be discussed in December in Bali, Indonesia, and will have to be defined by 2009.

The Kyoto Protocol, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expires in 2012, and much of what it established has not been followed by the most economically developed countries, especially the United States, which did not sign the document.

"Unfortunately, we know that some of the goals of the document signed in Kyoto will not be accomplished, but the new agreement must be stricter because the evidence of global warming is clearer and there is more pressure from society on politicians to act," said Munasinghe.

The economist pointed out that the U.S. government has been against the adoption of gas emission reduction goals, but "maybe there can be changes in the government."

The seminar, which was due to end Friday, was inaugurated by Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva Thursday with the participation of Rio State Governor Sergio Cabral.

Climate change committee for Bali in December

The National Climate Change Committee will be sending a preparatory committee to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) to present Guyana's concerns about the issue and to encourage stronger global action and support in addressing them.

The Committee, which was established under the auspices of the agriculture ministry and chaired by Minister Robert Persaud, will present its case at a series of high level sessions including the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties (CoP 13) to the UNFCCC and the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The conference will be held in Bali, Indonesia in December.

The Committee's principal tasks will involve examining the programme of events and activities for the UNFCCC CoP 13; identifying and discussing key issues and areas of relevance to Guyana and preparing briefing documents for Guyana's representatives to CoP 13. The ministry said the conference will be the culmination of twelve months in climate change debate and it is expected to encourage a breakthrough in the form of a roadmap for future changes. The "Bali Roadmap" is expected to establish the process to address the key building blocks of a future climate change regime including adaptation, mitigation and technology cooperation and financing the response to climate change. The first preparatory meeting was held at the ministry on Wednesday.

source by: http://www.stabroeknews.com/

Climate Change Effect and The Green House Effect

UN Climate Change Conference in Bali

Blog about UN Climate Change Conference in Bali 3-14 December 2007 and other related issues

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Asian Young Leader Climate Forum

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
British Council and WWF-Indonesia invites Asian Young Leaders’ to join Asian Young Leaders’ Climate Forum British Council and WWF-Indonesia invites Asian young leaders’ aged 18 – 30 yrs, committed to aspects of the climate change debate (ie. Mitigation, adaptation and communicating behaviour change) and able to communicate effectively and convincingly in English to join Asian Young Leaders’ Climate forum (AYLCF), at 4 – 7 December 2007 in Bogor, West Java.
AYLCF will involve countries in Asia Pacific e.g. Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Burma, China, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, and also UK.
Each country will send 2 young leaders to join in this 4 day program with presentation, workshop and cultural activities culminating in production of an action plan which will be taken to Bali COP for dissemination to a wider audience.
The young leaders would come from young politicians, influential regional scientist, social scientist, young leaders in NGO groups, interested journalist, young business leaders, young lawyers, and other professional and student leaders. All would have a bit of a track record in the field.
13th COP will take place in Bali in December 2007. The fact that climate change is a long-term phenomenon, early awareness amongst tomorrow leaders and their commitment to action will mean the world will be in a better position to meet the challenges being faces.
Through AYLCF, young leaders could demonstrate to the world that the young leaders of Asia are playing their part in tackling this global problem.

More information on Asian Young Leaders Climate Forum, please contact:
gusni.puspitasari@britishcouncil.or.id

sources: www.wwf.or.id

Effects of Climate Change

About 100 years ago, people worldwide began burning more coal and oil for homes, factories, and transportation. Burning these fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These added greenhouses gasses have caused eartah to warm more quickly than it has in the past.
How much warming has happened? Scientists from around the world tell us that during the past 100 years, the average global air temperature has risen more than 0.6°C (1.0 °F). This may not sound like very much change, but even one degree can affect the Earth. Below are some effects of climate change that we see happening now.
Sea level is rising. During the 20th century, sea level rose 10-20 cm (4-8 inches) due to melting glacier ice and expansion of warmer seawater. In the next 100 years, sea level may rise as much as 85 cm (33 inches). This is a threat to people living near the coast, wetlands, and coral reefs.
Arctic sea ice is melting. The summer thickness of Arctic icebergs is about half of what it was 50 years ago. This melting ice may someday cause changes in the world’s ocean currents.
Sea-surface temperatures are warming. Some animals, such as corals, cannot live in warmer seas. Over the past few decades, about a quarter of the world’s coral reefs have died.
Heavier rainfall causes flooding in many regions as warmer temperatures speed up the water cycle. In the last ten years, floods have caused more damage than in the previous 30 years.
There have been changes in where we can farm: As climates warm, some mid-latitude places, like Europe, are getting a longer growing season, while some tropical places are becoming too hot and dry to grow crops.
The amount of drought may be increasing. Higher temperatures lead to a high rate of evaporation and very dry conditions in some areas of the world. Researchers are not sure if drought has increased as a result of current warming.
Ecosystems are changing. As temperatures warm, species may migrate to cooler places or die. Species that are in particularly danger include endangered species, coral reefs, and polar animals such as penguins, polar bears and seals.
Severe weather events may be more common and stronger. Some researchers say that the number and strength of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other events has increased over the last 15–20 years. However, scientists are still looking into this.

United Nations Climate Change Conference, 3-14 December, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia

The UN Climate Change Conference, hosted by the Government of Indonesia, brings together representatives of over 180 countries together with observers from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, and the media.
The two week period includes the sessions of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), its subsidiary bodies as well as the Meeting of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol. A ministerial segment in the second week will conclude the Conference