ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE IS TOLD GOALS OF CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE SHOULD BE MORE FLEXIBLE

22 October 1996

Press Release
GA/EF/2729

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE IS TOLD GOALS OF CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE SHOULD BE MORE FLEXIBLE

19961022 Concern Expressed That Developed Countries With Highest Greenhouse Gas Emissions Fail to Meet Commitments

Declaring that there were intrinsic limitations to the current greenhouse gas-reduction regime, the representative of the Republic of Korea told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this morning that more flexible and accommodating targets were required in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Speaking as the Committee discussed environment and sustainable development issues, he said the current fixed quantitative target in the Convention should be complemented by flexible qualitative targets, such as those which aimed to increase percentage of energy efficiency over a certain period of time.

The representative of Iran said it was a matter of concern that the countries with the highest emissions of greenhouse gases had not fulfilled their commitments under the convention in terms of reducing those emissions within the agreed time-limit, to achieve their 1990 level by the year 2000.

The representative of China called for the formulation of legal instruments setting out developing countries' obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. During the implementation of those obligations, she said, the developed countries should not impose any new obligations on the developing countries. The representative of Brazil said the greenhouse gas emissions should be cut by 50 to 70 per cent, and not just to the level that had existed in 1990.

Expectations built around sustainable use and development of biological resources were becoming a mirage to developing countries, said the representative of Kenya, because of the rigid positions exhibited by developed countries on technology transfer, adequate and predictable funding and the development of biosafety protocol.

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Calling for a review of the role of the Trusteeship Council, the representative of Malta said the Council could be assigned the additional role of holding in trust and coordinating efforts in the distinct areas of the common heritage of human kind.

Also this morning, a representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told the Committee that a Global Plan of Action adopted at a conference in Leipzig, Germany, last June, sponsored by the FAO, had laid out an international programme for the conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

A report on the Convention on Biological Diversity was introduced by the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity, Calestous Juma. Mr. Juma, together with Kenneth G. Ruffing of the Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, and Tahak Hadj- Sadok of the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, responded to issues raised by the representatives of Member States.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Bolivia (on behalf of the Rio Group), Indonesia, Honduras (on behalf of the Central American States of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama), Australia, Jamaica, Yemen, Japan and Barbados.

The Committee meets again at 4 p.m. today to continue its deliberations.

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to continue its consideration of environment and sustainable development issues. (For background information, see Press Release GA/EF/2728 of 21 October.)

Statements

CALESTOUS JUMA, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity, introduced the report on the Convention. He noted that the Convention entered into force on 29 December 1993, and as of 1 October 1996, 167 countries and the European Union had ratified it, and a further six countries had signed it. Since then, significant progress had been made in achieving the Convention's objectives. The large number of ratifications demonstrated the importance which countries attached to it. The first meeting of the parties in the Bahamas had largely been devoted to organizational issues.

The second meeting of the parties in Indonesia last November had marked the beginning of implementation of the Convention's principles, and had also made significant contributions in advancing environmental law. It decided that the first national reports would be due at the fourth meeting of the parties in 1997. It also decided to review the effectiveness of the financial mechanism at its fourth meeting. He said the third meeting would be in Argentina early next month. The new headquarters of the Secretariat of the Convention was located in Montreal, Canada. It had been decided to strengthen relationships between the Convention and other relevant conventions and processes.

RENE GALVARRO (Bolivia), speaking on behalf of the Member States of the Rio Group (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela), said the reach of the Convention on Biological Diversity must be expanded. It had emerged at the end of lengthy negotiations and it sought to ensure access to genetic resources. The Convention envisaged that Governments would take economic measures which were socially rational. The Convention had been fully endorsed by the Rio Group. He stressed that international negotiations must be pursued to expand commitments made in the Convention, particularly by developed countries. That had been the message of the second Conference of Parties meeting held at Jakarta.

Access to genetic resources was crucial, he went on, and appropriate and realistic patterns for gaining such access had to be set. The genetic resources were the common patrimony of mankind, and it was essential to guarantee fair value to them. Any negotiations should be attuned to the principles enshrined in the Convention.

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He also stressed that adequate attention must be paid to the issue of transborder crossing of genetically-altered material. The preservation of traditional know-how was significant and to that end the role of intellectual property in using the knowledge of indigenous populations had to be dealt with. The third conference of parties would be held in Buenos Aires; hoped that that meeting would focus among other things on financial and technical cooperation. Moreover, the meeting should also examine its own functions.

LUIZ TUPY CALDAS DE MOURA (Brazil) said he supported the statement made by Costa Rica on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. The small island developing countries were most vulnerable to climate change and sealevel rise. Therefore, all initiatives to deal with climate change were welcome. The impact of climate change on coastal populations was important. It also had an impact in States where tourism was the main activity. The preparation of the vulnerability index was an outstanding initiative.

He said Brazil had stressed that the issue of climate change had to be a priority. Climate change could have many negative consequences, including flooding due to sealevel rise, and storms and droughts. The greenhouse gas emissions should be cut by 50 to 70 per cent and not just to the level that had existed in 1990. He stressed the need to implement the commitments of the Convention and said the second Conference of Parties meeting had adopted the Geneva Declaration aimed at mitigating climate change. The emission of greenhouse gas and its concentration was a result of industrial activity in the last 150 years. The Convention had stressed the concept of common but differentiated responsibility.

NJUGUNA M. MAHUGU (Kenya) said expectations built around sustainable use and development of biological resources were becoming a mirage to developing countries because of the rigid positions exhibited by developed countries on technology transfer, adequate and predictable funding and the development of biosafety protocol. A fair and equitable sharing of benefits should be the rule rather than the exception, he said. The major bottlenecks that seemed to elude implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity remained lack of meaningful technology transfer from the developed to developing countries, and lack of adequate and predictable resources. Any meaningful implementation of the Convention by developing countries depended on how willing the industrialized countries were to fulfil their part of the obligations. Kenya hoped the bottlenecks would be expeditiously resolved. He said another impediment to the implementation of the convention was the slow pace of negotiations on the elaboration of a protocol on biosafety. The safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms was of critical importance to his country. That was why it strongly supported the activities of the open-ended ad hoc working group on the ongoing negotiations on the protocol.

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Kenya supported the candidature of Japan to host the third conference of the parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 1997. It also supported the Yokohama strategy and plan of action on natural disaster reduction, and called upon Member States and relevant intergovernmental bodies to participate actively in the financial and technical support needed to translate the strategy into concrete action.

YONGJIE BAI (China) said the principle of equity should guide Member States in the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. The developed nations had an obligation to provide developing countries with resources to enable them to implement the convention. She called for formulation of legal instruments setting forth developing countries' obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The developed countries should not during the implementation of those instruments impose any new obligations on the developing countries.

She said China's emission level of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide were very low. China had been among the first group of countries to ratify the Framework Convention on Climate Change. It had formulated its own agenda which included provisions on climate change. It had taken action to slow carbon dioxide increase and had taken measures such as those relating to renewable energy and population control in order to meet the provisions of the Convention.

She called for help to small island developing countries to help them overcome difficulties posed by climate change and sealevel rise.

DJISMUN KASRI (Indonesia) said there was critical need for the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to address the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biological diversity. He urged them to initiate immediate action to implement the decisions adopted on the issue. He said his country welcomed the numerous initiatives on natural disaster reduction. It also welcomed the initiatives of Canada on the international framework of action on the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, and for convening the Pan-Pacific Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction in Vancouver, Canada, this year.

Indonesia also welcomed the initiatives of Japan which, together with its partners in Asia, was striving to improve disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation, on the basis of the lessons learned from the Kobe earthquake tragedy. The international community's commitment to the international framework of action for the natural disaster reduction decade should be translated into concrete support.

MOHSEN ESPIRI (Iran) said that since unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, particularly in developed countries, constituted the main cause of environmental degradation, the developed countries needed to

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play an active part in combating such degradation. It was a matter of grave concern that the countries with the highest emissions of greenhouse gases were not able to fulfil their commitments made under the Convention in terms of reducing those emissions within the agreed time-limit, to achieve their 1990 level by the year 2000.

As for the commitments of developed countries to technology transfer and the provision of financial resources, the situation was even worse, he said. It would, therefore be unfair and inconsistent to ask developing countries to bear both the heavy economic losses resulting from the implementation of proposed responsive measures, as well as the degradation of the global environment caused, to a large extent, by others. He called for particular attention to capacity-building, development of infrastructure, financial resources, transfer of technologies and know-how.

JORGE FLORES (Honduras), speaking also for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama, said the region was committed to attaining the goals of Agenda 21. He acknowledged that there were differences among developing and developed countries on how the agenda should be implemented. However, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as its Conventions on Desertification and on Biological Diversity, demonstrated that there were large areas of agreement between the two groups. Those conventions had been ratified by many countries, developed and developing alike. He expressed faith that resources for the implementation of those documents would be available.

He said sustainable development was a process marked by change, it would require new commitments in the implementation of conventions already in place. He stressed the importance of an integrated strategy in Central America, and said a regional strategy of coordination and shared responsibility had been worked out to look after the natural resource of the area. Environment was a forefront issue, and to that end the Central American Environment and Development Commission had been set up. In addition, reforms of public policy had been carried out and in Honduras, programmes of water protection, soil conservation and reforestation had been undertaken. He thanked all the countries which had helped the countries in the region in implementing their goals on environment.

MARK GRAY (Australia) said that as a biologically mega-diverse country, Australia had a strong interest in international activities concerning conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Australia looked to some positive initiatives emerging from the third meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. He cited measures to facilitate monitoring, identification and assessment of biodiversity, such as addressing the global shortage of taxonomists (practitioners of the science of classifying living and extinct organisms). The Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Panel on Forests, established at the third session of the Commission on Sustainable

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Development, represented an important step in the development of consensus for action for the proper management, conservation and sustainable use of the world's forests. Australia was pleased to have contributed to the panel's work by hosting an international conference on certification and labelling in Brisbane earlier in the year.

He said Australia remained fully committed to fulfilling its commitments under the Framework Convention on Climate Change and had instituted a wide range of domestic measures to effectively and significantly reduce emissions growth. The primary focus for that had been the development of a national greenhouse response strategy which took a comprehensive approach to greenhouse gas abatement. Australia, as an island nation, was keenly aware of the importance of sustainable management of coastal and marine resources and supported the important work of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the implementation of the global plan of action on land- based sources of marine pollution and its regional seas programme, particularly in the Asia-Pacific.

DAVID PRENDERGAST (Jamaica) speaking for the 13-Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said those nations recognized their primary responsibility to implement the Barbados Programme of Action of the Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. The critical areas addressed in the programme required international support to adequately deal with such potentially harmful factors as climate change and sealevel rise and the management of waste. Those critical problems needed not only national and regional, but also international efforts to ensure that the action plan was implemented in the spirit of partnership. The Caribbean region had taken the opportunity to promote acceptance of the Barbados Declaration and Programme of Action in several forums and would continue that process.

He said CARICOM had made efforts to improve public awareness, education and understanding of sustainable development to overcome the slow pace of implementation of the action programme. Its Member States had sought to identify some priority areas and had been carrying out several projects which had been identified under the programme. Efforts were also being made to establish a data base of ongoing and proposed projects and programmes in the region. A regional project implementation unit would be established at the Centre for Environment and Development of the University of the West Indies, to coordinate implementation of a project on climate change financed with $6.5 million from the Global Environment Facility.

RAE KWON CHUNG (Republic of Korea) said there was a discernible impact of human beings on climate. A concerted strategy could lead to a decline in levels of greenhouse gas emission. Increasing energy efficiency -- one of the major components of climate change strategy -- would not only contribute to reduction of carbon dioxide emission, but would improve the productivity of

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industry by reducing cost of energy consumption. The Republic of Korea had adopted a wide spectrum of structural adjustment policies to that end.

There were intrinsic limitations of the current greenhouse gas reduction regime, he said. Selecting a particular base year invariably raised questions about equity and limited allowance for economic growth. For the Framework Convention on Climate Change to be more acceptable, it needed to provide more flexible and accommodating targets. The current fixed quantitative target should be complemented with flexible qualitative targets, such as those which aimed to increase the percentage of energy efficiency over a certain period of time.

ELAINE MILLER (Malta) said her Government aimed to ensure that the socio-economic well-being of present and future generations was not compromised by depletion of finite resources. Sound management of coastal and marine areas was of paramount importance given Malta's dependency on its marine environment for tourism, shipping, fishing, water supply and recreational purposes. Extensive improvements had been registered in the areas of waste management, sewage treatment and recycling. Legislation had also been updated to increase protection of the island's biodiversity, to control hunting and bird trapping and to increase rural and marine conservation.

Transboundary pollution was a matter of concern, she said. The strengthening of information management capabilities was important as was the development of a vulnerability index for small island States. Malta had called for a review of the role of the Trusteeship Council. Consistent with the basic philosophy of trust which underpinned its original setting up, the Council might be assigned the additional role of holding in trust and coordinating efforts in the distinct areas of the common heritage of human kind.

ABDULAZIZ AHMED KAID (Yemen) called for concrete results in the implementation of action programmes on natural disaster reduction. He said international cooperation was needed to supplement efforts of Governments. Donor countries should meet their obligations. His country had started economic reforms in cooperation with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It had established a department on forests which was occupied with the protection of forests and the environment. It needed international support to carry out its projects.

He said the outcomes of the various international conferences should be translated into tangible results. His delegation had great hopes for the 1997 special session of the General Assembly to review Agenda 21 adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

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FREDERICK H. WEIBGEN of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that progress should be made on several fronts if the Convention on Biological Diversity were to succeed. They included systematic identification and monitoring of genetic resources, species and ecosystems; promotion of sound technologies, and international exchange of scientific and technical information. Progress should also be made in the full reflection of the value of natural and agro-biodiversity in development plans and priorities. Financial resources would be required to meet those challenges and the forthcoming third conference of the parties to the Convention early next month in Buenos Aires would be important for progress on all of them. He said the FAO would make a number of important inputs to the conference.

He said a Global Plan of Action adopted at an FAO-sponsored conference in Leipzig, Germany, last June had laid out an international programme for the conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Governments represented at the conference had agreed to assert and renew their commitment to the conservation, sustainable utilization and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of those plant genetic resources, and affirmed their need for increased food supplies and sustainable agricultural production.

He said FAO's global information and early warning system on food and agriculture continued to monitor food supply and demand conditions in all countries, with special in-depth reports on countries facing food emergencies. A full-scale donor-assisted emergency prevention programme formulated for the Eritrea/Sudan area had received initial support from donor countries and agencies. A corresponding component for West Africa was being formulated. The FAO was continuing its efforts to introduce the concept of drought management as a development strategy.

TAKAO SHIBATA (Japan) said no single issue was as truly global in its scope and impact as that of global warming. For that reason, no country had the right to pursue its own goals if doing so would damage the planet and its climate. Japan was scheduled to hold the third conference of Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto in December this year. It would spare no efforts towards the adoption of an effective and practical protocol or other legal instrument to arrest global warming.

To contribute to the diversification of the economic base of the small island developing states of the Pacific, he went on, Japan had been assisting the efforts of the South Pacific Forum to develop small-scale industry and energy systems. Two weeks ago, the South Pacific Island Center had commenced operations in Tokyo. It had been established to enhance trade, investment and tourism between Japan and the island States of the Pacific. In addition, Japan also attached importance to strengthening its relations with the Caribbean nations.

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CARLSTON BOUCHER (Barbados) said he was pleased that one of the most critical problems facing the small island developing States, that of climate change and sealevel rise, was being addressed within the context of a project funded by the Global Environment Facility entitled: "Caribbean: Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change". He said the project would support CARICOM countries which were parties of the Framework Convention on Climate Change. It was designed to increase national and regional planning resources for adapting to the effects of global climate change on coastal and marine resources.

The Barbados Programme of Action was a critical link towards the collective goal of sustainable development for small island developing States, he added. Pressure of reform, both budgetary and administrative, had posed a real risk of marginalization. He stressed that the partners of the small island developing States must identify and address the constraints that had so far hampered implementation of the action programme.

Exchange of Views

CALESTOUS JUMA, the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity, said comments made by the representative of Bolivia confirmed the comprehensive nature of the Convention on Biological Diversity and made it an ideal instrument for sustainable development. The Convention would continue to evolve in that direction. Its success would depend very largely on the ability of countries to implement technical cooperation and financial security. Regional cooperation in financial resources would be important and would be of key interest at the next meeting of the Conference of Parties. The Convention provided a dynamic basis on which countries could experiment working together.

KENNETH G. RUFFING, Chief of the Finance and Economics Branch, Division of Sustainable Development in the Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, said it had been recognized that small island developing States would be most affected by the rise in sealevel. The Convention had issued a call to help those States with the problem of sealevel rise. Speaking on the vulnerability index, he said the Secretariat wished it had made more progress on that subject. However, it had been unable to do so due to resource constraints. A process to bring that to the attention of Governments had been begun.

To a question on whether the Secretariat had identified positive increases in resources received by small island developing States as a result of the Barbados Conference, he said no data on qualitative flow of resources to the small island developing States was available after 1994. So far as the effectiveness of programmes to put in place the Barbados Programme of Action

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was concerned, since the conference had taken place only two years back, it had been impossible to have any "handle" on the actual effectiveness of the programmes.

The representative of Trinidad and Tobago said Mr. Ruffing's response highlighted the principal weakness of the Division. There was a lack of analysis and evaluation of what was being done. The small island developing States attached the greatest importance to analytical reports in relation to the Barbados Programme of Action.

TAHAK HADJ-SADOK, Coordinator, Financial and Technical Cooperation, Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said the points of view expressed by delegations were of great value to the Secretariat.

He expressed regret about the delay in the release of the Secretary-General's report. It was planned to include an account of the conference of the parties to the Convention. The secretariat was aware that the major conclusions adopted at the meeting would require additional funds at a time of scarce resources. He welcomed efforts of Governments to reduce emissions announced by some delegations and technology transfers undertaken by some. He hoped rapid and tangible progress would be achieved in implementing the Convention by the third conference of the parties in Japan.

Mr. RUFFING welcomed the emphasis placed on regional initiatives in the implementation of the Barbados Declaration, and the Programme of Action, from the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. He stressed the importance attached to activities of those States themselves in implementing the programme of action. Coherent national initiatives could help put problems of the various regions into proper context.

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