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PRESS RELEASE

Ministers to review global action on climate change

Geneva, 8 July 1996 - A two-week series of meetings on the Climate Change Convention starts here today at the United Nations.

The main event, known officially as the second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-2), will review how much progress the global community is making in controlling greenhouse gas emissions and meeting other treaty obligations. It will also take stock of talks - now at a critical half-way mark - that should lead to stronger commitments for developed countries.

Hundreds of senior officials from 150 countries are expected to attend. Ministers will join for two days on 17-18 July to help finalize the decisions.

"Our broader goal will be to pave the way for a new era of trust where all countries do their best at the national level to work for the common good of the global community," says Mr. Chen Chimutengwende, the COP's President-designate and Minister of Environment and Tourism for Zimbabwe. "Unless we cooperate to minimize our impact on the climate system, we risk undermining the ability of future generations to pursue sustainable development."

The Geneva COP will hear opening statements and deal with organizational matters before suspending its work at the end of the first day. The COP's four subsidiary bodies will then meet from 9 - 16 July. Based on their work, the COP will resume with a ministerial segment on 17 - 18 July. The ministers will attempt to resolve the major outstanding issues so that the COP can conclude on Friday, 19 July, by adopting its decisions.

Last year in Berlin the first COP concluded that the present commitment of developed countries to take measures aimed at returning their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 is not adequate. On the final day ministers adopted the Berlin Mandate launching new talks on a "protocol or another legal instrument" containing stronger commitments for developed countries after the year 2000. The new commitments will be adopted at COP-3 in late 1997.

The negotiations on future commitments are taking place within the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate. The AGBM is debating the specific policies and measures that could be included in the new commitments. Among the many possibilities being considered are energy-efficiency standards for traded products, the removal of electricity and transport subsidies, financial support to promote energy efficiency, full-cost pricing of energy, carbon and energy taxes, voluntary agreements with industry to promote demand-side efficiency, and reductions in agricultural and forestry emissions.

The agreed policies and measures will be used to achieve specific emissions reductions in all greenhouse gases by specific dates. The range of options has started to narrow and includes a) a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2005 with reference to 1990 levels; b) a 10 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2005 and a 15-20 per cent reduction by 2010, both against the base year of 1990; and c) a 5 to 10 per cent reduction in all gases by 2010 compared to 1990.

Another issue to be taken up by the COP and its subsidiary bodies is a report that evaluates the trends and projections for emissions of the so-called Annex I countries. The report reveals that the carbon dioxide emissions of most developed countries are likely to exceed 1990 levels in the year 2000, unless additional measures are taken. In countries with economies in transition, CO2 emissions declined sharply in the first half of this decade but may start growing again in the second half (although without exceeding earlier levels).

"Any new agreement on how much and how fast to reduce emissions must be credible", says Michael Zammit Cutajar, Executive Secretary of the Convention, "particularly since many developed countries are likely to miss the current aim of returning to 1990 levels by the year 2000 without a change in course."

A problem that continues to plague the Convention process is a lack of agreement on rules of procedure. Unless this issue is resolved, there will be no mechanism for voting on a protocol next year. If the protocol cannot be adopted by consensus, Parties might consider amending the Convention (with a three-fourths majority vote) or trying another approach.

Other important issues include the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and activities implemented jointly (AIJ). The GEF is currently the interim financial mechanism for the Convention, and a debate may take place on whether or not to give it permanent status. The pilot phase for activities implemented jointly by developed country and developing (or transition) country partners is now one year old and will be reviewed.

In addition to the official activities, the meeting will also showcase a number of vital initiatives and reports. Of particular significance is the growing support of key business sectors for action under the Convention. Insurance companies, 60 of which recently signed a statement of environmental commitment, will inform delegates about the dramatic risk climate change poses to their industry. International firms active in new energy technologies will also be present.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will present its Second Assessment Report, which was officially released on 5 June. It includes a detailed and wide-ranging assessment of the climate system, environmental and socio-economic impacts, and policy options for controlling emissions and adapting to a climate-change world. The World Health Organization will release a report on the health implications of climate change.

The Convention was drafted in time to be signed by 154 governments plus the EC (now the EU) at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It entered into force on 21 March 1994 and has been ratified by almost 160 countries.

The Convention secretariat will relocate from Geneva to Bonn following the meeting. While the next series of meetings will be held in Geneva in December, starting in 1997 most meetings will be held in Bonn.

Note to journalists: President Chen Chimutengwende and Executive Secretary Michael Zammit Cutajar will brief the press on Monday, 8 July, at 2:30 in Room 3. For more information, please contact Michael Williams at (41-22) 979 9242/44, fax (41-22) 797 3464, e-mail mwilliams@unep.ch.