U.S. miss the point on climate change
27 July 2005
The Green Party has today condemned US attempts to divert attention from its Kyoto and G8 failures with the new 'Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate', a five country agreement based around technological quick-fixes, rather than target-based reductions.
The new US deal with Australia, China, India and South Korea views solutions to climate change as a matter of researching and developing technology - but its strategies are motivated by corporate investment rather than recommendations of scientists.
'For years now scientists have told us that the only way to tackle climate change is to reduce CO2 emissions', says Penny Kemp, Green Party Spokesperson on environment, food & rural affairs. 'We need to dramatically change our behaviour and commit to larger targets - the 3% per annum reduction suggested by Michael Meacher MP in EDM 178 is still not enough but is much better than any US or UK targets.'
'The US are pretending to pull their heads out the sand with this new deal; in fact they are wilfully ignoring the extent of the climate change problem by suggesting that they can solve it without any changes to their own behaviour. Once again the US is purporting to solve problems in its own heavy-handed way. This agreement undermines the UN and the attempts of the 140 Kyoto-ratified countries, and sets voluntary guidelines rather than internationally agreed targets enforceable by the WTO.'
The US objected to the Kyoto Treaty as developing countries such as China and India would be excluded, which explains their motivation for this 'Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate' deal. 'The objections of the US should be listened to in order to develop sustainable global treaties,' continues Penny Kemp, 'We need agreements that arestructured on the basis of contraction and convergence and can be supported by both developing and developed countries.'
'We should be careful not to alienate the US and must continue working towards global compromise - splitting into Kyoto and non-Kyoto countries with their own informal agreements will not help tackle climate change.'
ENDS
From Green Party press office, 020 7561 0282.Published and promoted by Matt Wootton for the Green Party, both at 1a Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ.
