Fellows Bylines: 2 December 2007

Global fight against gas emissions



By ALUMECI NAKEKE


02 December 2007




When there is a cyclone, flooding or drought most people in Fiji call it a natural disaster but most are not because they are human induced, which results in climate change.
The unpredictable weather nowadays may make some people think that the gods are unhappy
But now people in the Pacific are starting to wake up as they realise that it is the effect of greenhouse gas emissions and now it is about time they make more noises as the United Nations Climate Change Conference begins today in Bali.



While bigger countries are continuing with their harmful emissions, smaller islands like Fiji are suffering.
Samoa's first environment non-governmental organisation, Ole Siosiomaga Society Inc executive director Fiu Mata'ese Elisara-Laulu who was in Fiji recently and will also be in Bali said countries in the Pacific were making the right noises about the issue on greenhouse gas emissions.



"The International Panel on Climate Change comprising more than 1000 renowned scientists have proven that global warming was human induced and it was affecting the whole issue of climate change," he said.
"And therefore because global warming was not only causing cyclones and sea level rise, it was also about health issues as well. When you start to have floods it impacts our water that our people depend on and also affects sanitation and even droughts."



He said oil producing countries were also doing their homework by paying other scientists to disprove the findings by the IPCC scientists and negate it.
"What we are worried about is that climate change in itself is becoming a business," said Mr Elisara-Laulu.



At the Kyoto Protocol, industrialised countries had been given a quota on the amount of greenhouse gas they could emit but another concept emanating from the Kyoto Protocol was the Clean Development Mechanism and this was where carbon trading came in.



"It is basically saying, if I am an industrialised country and given a quota of greenhouse gases that I could emit every year, once my quota is over, that means I cannot continue to produce industrialised goods. So, what I do is negotiate with other small islands in the Pacific like Samoa or Fiji and say, 'Can I please give you small Clean Development Mechanism projects by sending you some money and buying your quota so that I can continue'," explained Mr Elisara-Laulu.
Fiji is one those countries, which has received such "guilt money" and this was confirmed by Director of Environment Epeli Nasome. The assistance was used to fund two hydro projects for the Fiji Electricity Authority, which are Vaturu and Wainikasou.



However, Mr Elisare-Laulau said even the Kyoto Protocol was inadequate because IPCC worked out that we needed more than close to 70 per cent cut to the greenhouse gas emissions.
"Our problem is that it is coined under CDM and our governments see that as development revenue resources. Our accepting that is a means of getting resources for our development but at the end of the day the philosophical we have been saying all along is cutting greenhouse gasses is causing all our problems and we are enabling them to continue."



But he said the charter of the United Nations basically gave all countries equal rights and all Pacific countries had the same rights to exist as a nation, as a people and as cultures like any other country in the world.



Our two neighbours Australia and New Zealand had not signed the Kyoto Protocol but newly elected Australian Prime Minister according to The Australian had told world leaders that Australia woul0d ratify the Kyoto Protocol and had ordered senior bureaucrats to move quickly to draft new industrial relations. He had also accepted Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's invitation to attend the climate change summit in Bali.
He said it was an issue for those in the Pacific because Australia was their neighbor and also providing leadership but was aligning itself to other industrialised countries because of economic interests.
"It thereby tries to avoid its responsibilities on climate change and therefore becomes a big issue for us. And for us accepting clean development mechanism resources to adapt to climate change is another big issue – that is giving us the responsibility as if we were part of the causes," he said.



"We have been fighting for long-term responsibilities by the industrialised countries and it should have been accepted by them but unfortunately they are asking us to adapt. We contribute very little to climate change and yet we are still accepting those resources for adaptation projects.



However, some of the countries like United States and Australia and other industrialised have still not signed the Kyoto Protocol but it is amazing that climate change has now come right to their doorsteps.



"This is evident in the happenings of cyclone Katrina in the US, the droughts in Europe and also in Australia and it is only recently that these countries are now starting to address climate change seriously as it is a very global priority now."



Last month 150 countries met in New York and more than 80 heads of government attended and the large turnout was because they had seen the effects of climate change and has forced them and forces them to act.
"After that meeting President Bush called a meeting in Washington DC for 16 of the most industrialised countries of the world but unfortunately, instead of aligning themselves to targets that was set up by UN conventions they started looking at voluntary commitments.



"And it is up to them to voluntarily to meet the targets on the Kyoto Protocol and also on the United Nations Framework on Convention on Climate Change. And we view this with concern and skepticism because it undermines the UN negotiation process for international binding treaty for very hard commitments and timeframe as the Kyoto protocol will end in 2012," he added.