© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000
November 16, 2000

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, November 16, 2000 (ENS) - As the world climate summit continues in The Hague, the United States has made an early concession over the management of forests as carbon sinks to be used as credits in meeting greenhouse gas targets.

Differences over the issue between the U.S. led Umbrella group and the European Union have been expected to dominate political discussions during later stages of the 6th Conference of Parties (COP6) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The talks opened November 13 and will continue through November 24.

During technical working group sessions now underway, the U.S. delegation yesterday proposed that credits for forestry management related sinks should be "phased-in" during the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which runs from 2008 to 2012.

Previously, the U.S. has opposed any restrictions on counting carbon absorption by sinks, while the European Union opposes their inclusion during the first commitment period altogether.

The Kyoto Protocol, an addition to the UN climate treaty, requires that 39 industrialized countries limit their emissions of six heat trapping greenhouse gases linked to global warming. By what means the target limits are to be accomplished is the subject of negotiations at The Hague.

"We would be prepared to accept a phase in that would limit the amount of credits that industrialized countries would receive for sink activities during the first budget period," U.S. delegation chief David Sandalow told journalists yesterday evening. Sandalow serves as assistant secretary of state for oceans, environment and science.

The initiative has been supported by fellow Umbrella group members Canada and Japan.

Carbon sink accounting is to be governed under articles 3.3 and 3.4 of the protocol, which environmentalists have called the "biggest loophole" in the text. If sinks can be counted, then industrialized countries should be able to meet their commitments while reducing emissions by less than would otherwise be required.

Though a number of sink activities are included under the articles, the U.S. plan relates only to management of existing forests, excluding afforestation, deforestation and reforestation.

Below a carbon absorption threshold that has yet to be defined, all absorption would be counted. Above it, only a percentage of calculated emission credits could be used to offset reduction targets.

If this general principle is accepted, then the threshold's level would be negotiated during the ministerial segment of the climate summit next week.

"It is very important to the United States to have a decision at this meeting that recognizes the important role of forests and farmlands in fighting climate change," Sandalow told reporters.

The EU's position is that the use of carbon sinks to soak up emissions should be deferred for at least a decade.

No European Union reactions to the U.S. plan have yet emerged, but Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström said last week that sinks is one issue that the EU was least likely to compromise on.

"The most sensitive issue is the credibility of protocol. We won't allow sinks [to be used] in such a way that they create a big loophole," Wallström said. A strong compliance system is another issue the European Union will be reluctant to compromise on. "It's an extremely sensitive issue and one of the bottom lines for us," Wallström said.

The White House has released scientific projections showing that continued growth in greenhouse gas emissions could raise temperatures across the United States by five to nine degrees over the next 100 years. The Earth has not seen a temperature change of that magnitude since the end of the last ice age, about 15,000 years ago.

Before leaving for his current trip to Asia, President Bill Clinton commented on the new global warming figures. "This new study makes clear that this projected warming threatens serious harm to our environment and to our economy. It could mean more flooding, more droughts, more extreme weather and a serious disruption of water supplies. It could mean rising sea levels, the loss of species and the destruction of entire ecosystems such as the alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains. What's more, the scientists warn, there may be many other impacts that we simply cannot predict," Clinton said.

The President called for "a dramatic new approach to reducing air pollution from America's power plants" by adopting one integrated strategy that addresses all the major pollutants including mercury and carbon dioxide, the largest contributor to global warming.

"A key part of this strategy is the use of emissions trading, which has proven so effective in curbing the pollution that causes acid rain. There is strong bipartisan support for this approach, and I urge the next Congress to take it up as soon as possible," Clinton said.

New scientific evidence compiled by the U.S. Department of State shows that global warming over the past 100 years is in fact real, that it is attributable to human activities. The oceans are warming, the polar ice masses are shrinking and sea levels are rising, new studies reveal.

A list of these and other new studies on global warming are available online at: http://usinfo.state.gov/climate/science.htm

{Published in cooperation with ENDS Environment Daily, Europe's choice for environmental news. Environmental Data Services Ltd, London. Email: envdaily@ends.co.uk} Error: Unable to read footer file.