One of the most contentious issues in the debate over global climate change is the perceived divide between the interests and obligations of developed and developing countries. Equity demands that developed countries—the source of most past and current emissions of greenhouse gases—act first to reduce emissions. That principle is embedded in the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which sets binding emission targets for developed countries only. With the Protocol now likely into force, the focus will turn increasingly to the question of developing country emissions.
Addressing climate change in developing countries poses a fundamentally different challenge. For most, emission reduction is not a viable option in the near term. With income levels far below those of developed countries—and per capita emissions on average just one-sixth those of the industrialized world developing countries will continue to increase their emissions as they strive for economic growth and a better quality of life. But their steadfast resistance to the idea of limiting their emissions has led to claims in some quarters that developing countries are not doing their fair share.
Accepting emission limits, however, is not the only measure of whether a country is contributing to climate change mitigation. Efforts that serve to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions, whether or not undertaken in the name of climate protection, nonetheless contribute to climate mitigation. These efforts can occur across virtually every sector of an economy. Many of them are motivated by common drivers: economic development and poverty alleviation, energy security, and local environmental protection.
Put another way, there are multiple drivers for actions that reduce emissions, and they produce multiple benefits. The most promising policy approaches, then, will be those that capitalize on natural synergies between climate protection and development priorities to simultaneously advance both.
Just as equity demands that developed countries act first, the physical workings of our planet demand that in time developing countries limit and, ultimately, reduce their emissions as well. The search for consensus on an equitable sharing of responsibility must begin with a fair accounting of how nations already are contributing to this common effort.
One of the examples I have on this issue of equity is the mobilization of investment. Both the need for international technology transfer and investment, and the need for reforms to facilitate investment. Some reforms such as increased transparency and stronger rule of law are needed to improve the investment environment broadly. Other efforts should be directed specifically at promoting climate-friendly investment.
Investment opportunities often are obscured by lack of funds to identify good projects for mitigating measures; an important role for international assistance would be to demonstrate how any investment will be repaid. Market-based approaches such as the Clean Development Mechanism could help generate investment in cleaner energy. Additional resources could be brought to bear through multilateral banks and bilateral mechanisms that traditionally have supported trade and development, but now are in need of an updated mission.
Bilateral and multilateral programs can mobilize private- and public-sector experts to provide technical and policy advice, particularly for price reform and imposition of hard budget constraints. Sometimes human capacity exists but is underutilized due to insufficient funding for relevant efforts such as project identification and preparation.
Efforts should be made wherever possible to realize synergies between climate mitigation and local environmental objectives, such as improving air quality and encouraging forest and land conservation. Priorities include removing subsidies and incentives that accelerate deforestation—policies, for example, that develop unefficient and large touristic projects leading to land speculation. Another priority is funding for forestry intended to protect water supplies and reduce erosion and dust.
One of the big issues for Morocco is its dependance on foreign oil for energy. Moroccan government should address this issue with great ambition in order to reduce our dependance on foreign oil and take all advantage from our sunny lands and windy coasts. In 2008 renewable energy met 24% of Spain’s electricity demand. In April this year renewable power met 30% of the demand, and installed capacity is continuing to grow. Why not develop clean energy policy in Morocco at a very large scale in cooperation with this european country. The advanced status that Morocco got with the European Union sould not be just a question of trade, immigration and fishing, it should also be a question of technology transfer and multilateral cooperation.
This post is a contribution to Blog Action Day.
