opinion

Climate change and
the Greater Caribbean
by Watson Denis

The end of the year 2007 has been marked by two important events relating to Climate Change. First, the High Level Meeting called by the Secretary General of the UN, on the occasion of the 62nd General Assembly of the organization in September 2007, and the UN Conference on Climate Change, held in Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 14 December 2007. Both events are very important, given that the manifestations of Climate Change are so alarming.

During the Meeting of September 2007, which was structured into four discussion panels (Adaptation, Mitigation, Technology, Deforestation and Mobilization of resources), representatives of the countries of the Greater Caribbean, Members of the Association of Caribbean States, made their voices heard. For example, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Commerce of Belize, Mrs. Lisa M. Shoman, who was representing her country and CARICOM, spoke in the panel on Adaptation, and detailed a number of dramatic events caused in the region by Climate Change. Also, she mentioned the interdependence that exists between the environment and the economy, and highlighted that many people living near the coasts depend directly on maritime resources for their survival. Overall, her speech was centred on human, economic, and social vulnerability, which increase with Climate Change.

Other political figures of the region, some of them Members of the Alliance of the Small Insular states (OASIS), intervened as well as in the Meeting, in some cases to support the theme of vulnerability, in other cases to argue in favor of the mobilization of resources for adaptation to the Climate Change, or to again remind that this phenomenon, which causes many problems to the environment and human being, renders the already poor countries even poorer.

For the Central American region, we refer to the intervention of the government of Costa Rica, which set out a list of sustainable development measures taken by Costa Rica to protect the environment, such as the preservation of 27 percent of the land area of the country, the large scale use of renewable energy, and the firm commitment to attain by 2021 an economy free from greenhouse gases. Already Costa Rica has reflected on post-Kyoto, that is why it has begun to combat deforestation. Consequently, it called for all countries to take effective measures so that the efforts of some are not lost in the inaction of others.

In this dialogue, Mexico adopted a position of principle. Mexico declared that it will participate in and support all the initiatives on Climate Change once they complement and can advance the negotiations on the post-Kyoto 2012. It also indicated that every country must act nationally and in cooperation to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, according to its capacities, and its level of and need for development.

One can consider that the Meeting in New York prepared for the Conference in Bali, which brought together more than 11,000 persons, including 144 Ministers and officials of Governments, about ten Heads of State and government, and representatives of international organizations. Thus, the Conference was one of the major events called by the UN to discuss an ambitious project. Its fundamental objectives were the establishment of norms, modalities, methods and commitment for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. But all along, there was a fear of not reaching a satisfactory outcome.

The sticking point was (and still is) the level of reduction of greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol demands that 37 industrialized countries reduce by 5 percent the emission of these gases, from 2008 to 2012, in relation to 1990 levels. However this agreement is not signed by a number of leading countries. And in 2012 it will expire. So, it needs to be replaced by another agreement, even more ambitious than the first one.

The Indonesia document proposed objectives for 2020; that is a reduction of 25 percent to 40 percent from 1990 levels. If European countries agreed in principle to this proposal, other countries, among them USA, did not, arguing that this drastic reduction would reduce the development of its economy. At the last moment, the 25-40 percent stipulation was eliminated from the final text, in the hope that over the next two years the talks would lead to a definitive consensus on the question.

Moreover, if the Bali Conference had something clearly positive it was the adoption of the Fund of Adaptation for the most vulnerable countries of the world --- including those of the OASIS group --- to help them finance their adjustment to climate change. This fund falls under the direct control of the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Framework Agreement on Climate Change. These countries hope to have access to the funds without constraining codes.

Dr. Watson Denis is the Political Advisor of the Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Comments and reactions can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org