Business and governments meet on climate change in run-up to Buenos Aires negotiations
Paris, 21 October 1998 - African energy and environment ministers joined with international business leaders in Senegal last week to prepare for the intergovernmental climate change negotiations starting in Buenos Aires on November 2.
The African politicians, drawn from more than 20 countries, met October 15-16 with business representatives from around the world representing oil, electricity and building materials sectors. Senior executives from several of the world's largest companies, including Shell, LaFarge, Texaco, Mobil, and Chevron, participated as part of a 30-strong delegation of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). ICC is the Paris based world business organization, which represents over 7000 member companies in more than 130 countries in promoting an open international trade and investment system and the market economy worldwide.
The Dakar meeting, attended by several environmental groups as observers, was called by Ambassador Bakary Kante, Director of Environment, Senegal, to discuss the potential for "government-business" partnership to tackle the continent's twin challenges of sustainable economic development and climate change mitigation.
The two day conference, involving more than 100 key players in the international climate change negotiations, took place two weeks before governments meet in Buenos Aires for the latest United Nations climate change meeting. The meeting organizers hope it will feed "fresh and innovative" ideas into the Buenos Aires conference to catalyze the politically contentious climate change discussions now set to enter a sensitive phase.
The focus of the Dakar meeting was the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The CDM is one of a basket of tools, known as "Flexibility Mechanisms" which were developed by governments in late 1997 as part of the Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted by governments as a part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Clement B. Malin, Vice President, International Relations, Texaco, who leads the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) delegation in the climate change negotiations, said: "We believe the CDM can encourage projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote technology co-operation and enhance capacity building and sustainable development in developing countries."
The thrust of the CDM, which faces many political, institutional and te
chnical hurdles, is to create a mechanism allowing developed countries to claim "greenhouse gas emission reduction credits" resulting from environmentally sound investment projects in developing countries. For developed countries the CDM "carrot" exists because emission reduction credits can be built up at "reduced cost" while for the developing countries the incentive is the flow of investment, technology, know how and institutional capacity building which contribute to both economic development and environmental protection.
The Kyoto Protocol sets legally binding limits on Greenhouse Gas emissions by industrialized countries and economies in transition. The UNFCCC has been ratified by 175 countries. The Kyoto Protocol will come into force between 2008 and 2012 if 55 signatories from industrialized countries, accounting for no less than 55% of GHG emissions emitted by industrialized countries, ratify the agreement.
Commission on Environment