"Take
nothing on its looks; take everything on
evidence. There's no better rule."
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.
As the festive season
draws to a close, there is evidence the
dawning New Year may carry "green"
expectations of environmental action, most
notably, on climate change. Old and new
environmental benefactors are making enthusiastic
pledges on the policy front. Voluntary action,
on the other hand, continues to be a major
driver on the ground.
In December 2009, all
eyes will be on Copenhagen in anticipation
of a possible substantial climate deal at
the UN climate conference. But as early
as January 2009, the same eyes, and thoughts,
will be on Washington.
On 20 January, the new
U.S. President and his new administration
take office - and centre-stage - including
a new widely hailed 'dream green team'.
The key positions of Energy
Secretary, Scientific Adviser, and Head
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration have been scooped by top
climate scientists, who are known for advocating
America's urgent move towards less carbon-intensive
energy production and more vigorous action
on climate change.
The appointments provide
significant evidence of how serious the
President-elect is about facing up to the
climate challenge. President-elect Obama
wants to spend $150 billion over the next
decade to promote alternative energy sources,
a proposal, he says, that would create millions
of "green collar" jobs. He has
also called for an 80 per cent reduction
in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through
a cap-and-trade programme.
Should Polluters Pay?
In Copenhagen, consensus
over a legally-binding agreement will signify
that the world is taking serious steps towards
saving the planet's environment. The rich
world will need to commit to legally-binding,
post-2012 carbon-emissions reduction schemes.
In 2008, several thousand
projects from around the world joined Kyoto's
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The Mechanism
allows a country with an emissionreduction
or emission-limitation commitment under
the Kyoto Protocol to implement an
emission-reduction project
in developing countries. Such projects can
earn saleable certified emission reduction
(CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne
of CO2, whichcan be counted towards meeting
Kyoto targets... It is estimated the number
of CDM
projects will rise to
8,000, generating financial flows from North
to South of well over $30 billion, by 2012
But the mechanism needs
to be made more robust in order for it to
perform on the scale needed.UNEP Executive
Director Achim Steiner said: "The CDM
and the carbon markets as a whole are one
of the great success stories of international
cooperative action on climate change. The
challenge now is to streamline it and overcome
some of the hurdles."
Strengthening the CDM
Voices out of the Poznan
climate meeting, which concluded earlier
this month, are calling on major polluters
to commit to carbon-intensity targets that
tackle carbon emissions per unit of GDP
Other suggestions include
a Carbon Superfund, to which polluters pay
for the cost of cleaning-up; a Carbon Tax,
whereby users of fossil fuels at the national
level pay and the revenue is divided equally
among citizens; and Carbon Tariffs on goods
and services from countries that do not
join up to the new global climate treaty
or those who do not meet their obligations.
Whether governments
will, indeed, reach a post-2012 ratifiable
climate agreement in Copenhagen by December
2009, is yet to be seen. But global opinion
polls show that the citizens of the world
are backing a conclusive climate deal.
Voice of the People
In a recent UNEP survey,
nearly 90 per cent of young people across
the globe said they urge world leaders to
do "whatever it takes" to tackle
climate change. Meanwhile, 40 per cent of
respondents to the 2008 Climate Confidence
Monitor survey - carried out in the lead
up to the Poznan climate meeting - said
they were more concerned about global warming
than the global economy.
According to the Office
for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA), nine out of every ten disasters
are now climate-related. Recorded disasters
have doubled in number from 200 a year to
more than 400 over the past two decades.
In 2007 alone, an
unprecedented 15 funding
appeals for sudden natural disasters were
issued. All, but one,resulted from climatic
events.
The consequences of
the current climate crisis are likely to
be more severe, in the long run, than any
financial crisis.
Green New Deal
To face up to the challenge
of economic meltdown and global warming,
the UN called in 2008 for a Global Green
New Deal: a UN-led initiative that seeks
to mobilize and refocus the global economy
towards investment in clean technologies
and natural infrastructure to combat climate
change and trigger a green employment boom,
which may provide sustainable solutions
to benefit both the economy and the environment
in 2009 andbeyond.
Voluntary Action
In the fight to curb
global warming, voluntary action remains
a major driver. Considering that the loss
of natural forests around the world contributes
more to global emissions each year than
the transport sector, curbing deforestation
is a highly costeffective way to reduce
emissions. Seven Billion trees - to be planted
by the end of 2009 -are the target of UNEP's
Billion Tree Campaign. More than 4,319,593,340
trees havealready been pledged and 2,599,045,202
planted. The worldwide campaign encourages
people, communities,
business and industry, civil society organizations
and governments to enter tree planting pledges
online in a call to further individual and
collective action.The campaign strongly
encourages the planting of indigenous trees
and trees that are appropriate to the local
environment.
Towards Climate Neutrality
Climate neutrality is
catching on around the world.Basically,
climate neutrality means living in a way
which produces no net greenhouse gas(GHG)
emissions, achievable by reducing GHG emissions,
and using carbon offsets to neutralize the
remaining emissions.
UNEP's Climate Neutral
Network (CN Net), is a consortium of entities
committed to this concept. Through the implementation
of innovative projects, groundbreaking initiatives
and strong strategies to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, countries, cities, businesses
and organizations, around the world, are
pledging to become climate neutral by joining
CN
Net. Policies and measures
adopted include carbon offsetting, green
living, clean manufacturing and emissions
reduction. With more partners joining in,
CN Net is growing into a platform for networking
and the sharing of best practice, catalyzing
progress towards a low carbon society.
CN Net participants
have set the most ambitious greenhouse gas
reduction targets in the world. For example,
Costa Rica aims to be climate neutral by
2021 when it celebrates 200 years of independence,
and Iceland has the world's highest rate
of renewable energy
use. CN Net cities include
Växjö, Sweden, which has decided
to become a "Fossil Fuel Free"
City, while in Rizhao, China, close to 100
per cent of urban housing has solar heaters.
CN Net corporate participants are the largest
category, including Toyota Motors
Europe, Skanska Norway,
Tesco Lotus, Thailand's largest supermarket
chain which aims to at least halve its carbon
emissions by 2020, and NatureAir - based
in Costa Rica - is the world's first carbon
neutral airline.
Other examples include
the futuristic project of Masdar. Planned
to accommodate a population of 50,000, Masdar
City will offer its inhabitants a true taste
of green living.Most of the city's electricity
will be generated through solar power. Given
that Masdar
(which means "the
source" in Arabic) will be situated
in the heart of the Arabian desert inAbu
Dhabi, there should be no shortage of that.
Sea water will be the drink of choice. The
city's desalination plant - the main source
of fresh water - will be powered through
renewable sources of energy.
Built on 1,500 acres,
the city will boast a 10 megawatt (MW) photo-volatic
farm, clean housing, a university, a Science
and Technology Institute dedicated to renewable
energy,and commercial and manufacturing
zone for eco-friendly products. Masdar will
produce zero carbon and zero waste. The
first phase of planning will be completed
in 2009 and by
2010; the city will
be able to accommodate its first 2000 inhabitants.China
is also planning a number of eco-cities.
Dongtan is being developed by the Shanghai
Industrial Investment Corporation, and will
accommodate 10,000 people by
2010.
While Masdar and Dongtan
stand out as models of Ecotopia, cities
from Europe to Asia,North America and the
Middle East are coming on board with carbon-neutral
strategies including clean transport, carbon
neutral buildings and awareness raising
campaigns.
It is such innovation and commitment that
will help move us towards a greener world
and away from climate disaster. For 2009,
humankind will have to continue on the path
being forged by these pioneers. Together
we must pledge to:
Mobilize political will
Make polluters pay
Adopt green economy
mechanisms
Support alternative
energy technologies
Be carbon neutral
UNite to Combat Climate
Change
