Leo Brincat One has to distinguish between the EU Brussels Summit which featured climate on its agenda and the ongoing Copenhagen climate summit that got underway last December 7.
While the latter remains very much touch and go, the former was intended to make sure that the leaders from all the 27 EU member states will head for Copenhagen later this week, determined to speak with one voice and to ensure that there will be no foot dragging from the United States and China’s part. But at the end of the day no matter how much Europe might try to turn up the heat on the US, the success or failure of the climate change summit in Copenhagen will ultimately remain the responsibility of the world’s largest emitters to broker.
While the EU has pledged to lower its emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 come what may, while offering to even reduce them by 30 per cent should other countries join them, we cannot ignore the fact that in offering to lower its emissions by 17 per cent by 2020 the US said that it will do so relative to 2005, and not 1990 as in the EU’s case. That according to experts works out to just a 4 per cent reduction relative to the baseline of 1990 used by the EU.
Although Europe has prided itself on doing its part in setting the stage for an agreement by providing fast-track funds for poor countries in the next three years, given our limitations of size, population and GDP, our own contribution will remain merely symbolical, just a mere notch beyond tokenism. While certain local media conveniently played down the fact that the E800k contribution is spread over a three year period by implying that it was a one off payment offer, the blame should also fall on the shoulders of government friendly spinners who raised expectations unduly by claiming that Prime Minister Gonzi was enmeshed in a tough negotiating mode while others even tried to create a climactic situation by hinting that we could have been in for a big deal; with all the talk that the government continued to keep its options open without giving any details, in spite of having already agreed in principle to fork out its share in October. Our contribution begins to look like a pittance when compared to our total spend on the St George’s Square renovation. And even more so when the PM boasts triumphantly as he did that we wanted to show that for us climate change is not simply empty words and that we gave proof that we were ready to play our part in concrete terms!
In my opinion as had happened in the case of the appointments of the new EU President and Foreign Minister, Germany, France and Britain took the lead, with the latter chipping in arguably more forcefully, due to their Commonwealth background and historical commitment to help poor nations particularly Africa.
The real litmus test will take place this weekend when the Copenhagen summit draws to an end. As a prospective Annex 1 applicant we will be pitting ourselves amongst the developed and industrialized countries to ensure that we will not only contribute our share up to 2020 as part of a post Kyoto climate change protocol, but we will have to push for our part of a worldwide cut in emissions on the basis of CO2 levels of 20 years ago.
As for the final communiqué that emanated from the Brussels Summit the Climate chapter merely took up two pages out of 22, with more space being dedicated to Afghanistan and Iran than to the Copenhagen Summit itself!
At the end of the day one will have to see whether the final agreement will curb hot (political) air, eliminate chances of double counting and not take on board what are called fake forests. I know critics and skeptics have not been missing but I could not help noticing that Copenhagen was branded by some as Cokenhagen – a sugary feelgood hit filled with sickly additives and no nutrion! I would love to be proved wrong….
Leo Brincat is the Main Opposition spokesman for the environment, sustainable development & climate change
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