The Daily Tck

Race to the Future: www.tcktcktck.org

Summary of the Current status/situation

2 October 2011

Well the legal regime or international law for the climate is proving a big discussion. The only law we currently have is the Kyoto Protocol the first commitment period ends in 2012. Fortunately it is a flexible document and it can be extended to a second commitment period when the first period expires. It is the only legally binding deal on offer and so it makes eminent sense to extend it. South Africa appears to agree and in their statement yesterday called for a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol but went on to link it to the legal status and form of the future climate change regime. It may be the first time that the link between the two legal tracks has been made outside of corridor conversation at the UNFCCC. Of course the EU very publicly made the link when it released its draft conditions to accept a 2nd commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol that they will discuss formally in their Council meeting on October 10th. One element of the Kyoto Protocol is that it has some market mechanisms such as the socalled clean development mechanism or CDM. You will remember that Japan shamefully rejected a commitment to the 2nd period at the start of the climate conference in Cancun (COP16) last year. But, they seem to want to have their cake and eat It too, as they want to continue making use of the CDM even while they reject the Kyoto Protocol. Developing countries have made it clear that continuation of CDM will need a Kyoto 2nd commitment period and Brazil and Venezuela have made it clear that if you dont support Kyoto then they will not allow CDM projects. There is also some evidence Japan is pursuing bilateral deals that would not necessarily ascribe to the environmental integrity the planet requires and would be submitted to scrutiny.

What is happening?
Three cheers for New Zealand for stating that they too are willing to support a 2nd commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol the conditions under which they accept an extension are, of course, to be worked out, however their neighbours the Australians could take some lessons form NZ and come clean on their position on the Kyoto Protocol. Australia continues to resist such calls while acknowledging that their proposed domestic legislation will help them move to the higher end of their current modest emissions reduction targets (currently between 5% and 25% from 1990 levels). It remains a mystery what could possibly be holding Australia back from a 2nd commitment period of the KP. The same goes for Norway who joined Australia in making a submission on a new deal at some point in the future while remaining fairly silent on the future of the Kyoto Protocol.

Message for the day

We need a legally binding international law to protect the climate, not vague promises.

What you can do today?

The opposition parties, sections of big business and the Murdoch media are doing their best to see the legislation voted down in Parliament later this month. So show your support for Australia putting a price on carbon emissions by signing this global petition http://www.avaaz.org/en/australian_carbon_price/ Fill the Fund; support innovative sources of finance in particular a levy on Bunkers. Check out http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bn-out-of-the-bunker-050911en.pdf and support the campaign to fill the fund. If you want to update your supporters on whats going on in Panama, check out the latest blogs and videos the Adopt-A-Negotiator team has posted on their website (www.adoptanegotiator.org)

Other materials:
Watch this space for more action materials as the negotiations continue. We are watching the EU very carefully as, if they do the right thing, could significantly change the dynamic.