Environment
International Initiatives
Courtesy: various websites
International Initiatives
ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATES(AOSIS)
ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATES(AOSIS) is anintergovernmental organizationoflow-lyingcoastaland smallIsland countries. Established in 1990, the main purpose of the alliance is to consolidate the voices ofSmall Island Developing States(SIDS) to addressglobal warming. AOSIS has been very active from its inception, putting forward the first draft text in theKyoto Protocolnegotiations as early as 1994. Many of the member states were present at the December2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference(COP15).Democracy Now!reported that members from theisland stateof Tuvalu interrupted a session on 10-December-2009 to demand that global temperature rise be limited to 1.5 degrees]instead of the proposed 2 degrees. AOSIS has 42 members andobserversfrom all around the world, of which 36 are members of theUnited Nations. The alliance represents 28% of thedeveloping countries, and 20% of theUN's total membership.
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate
TheAsia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, also known asAPP, was an international, voluntary, public-private partnership amongAustralia,Canada,India,Japan, thePeople's Republic of China,South Korea, and theUnited Statesannounced July 28, 2005 at anAssociation of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) Regional Forum meeting and launched on January 12, 2006 at the Partnership's inaugural Ministerial meeting inSydney. As of 5 April 2011, the Partnership formally concluded although a number of individual projects continue. The conclusion of the APP and cancellation of many of its projects attracted almost no media comment.Foreign, Environment and Energy Ministers from partner countries agreed to co-operate on the development and transfer of technology which enables reduction ofgreenhouse gasemissions that is consistent with and complementary to theUN Framework Convention on Climate Changeand other relevant international instruments, and is intended to complement but not replace the Kyoto Protocol.,Ministers agreed to aCharter, Communique and Work Plan that "outline a ground-breaking new model of private-public task forces to addressclimate change,energy securityandair pollution."
Member countries account for over 50% of the world'sgreenhouse gasemissions, energy consumption,GDPand population. Unlike theKyoto Protocol(currently unratified by the United States), which imposes mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, the Partnership engages member countries to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technologies, with no mandatory enforcement mechanism. This has led to criticism that the Partnership is worthless, by other governments, climate scientists and environmental groups. Proponents, on the other hand, argue that unrestricted economic growth and emission reductions can only be brought about through active engagement by all major polluters, which includesIndiaandChina, within theKyoto Protocolframework neitherIndianorChinaare yet required to reduce emissions.Canadabecame the 7th member of the APP at the Second Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi on October 15, 2007. Canada's Prime MinisterStephen Harperearlier expressed his intention to join the Partnership in August 2007, despite some domestic opposition.
Aims
U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bushcalled it a "new results-oriented partnership" that he said "will allow our nations to develop and accelerate deployment of cleaner, more efficient energy technologies to meet national pollution reduction, energy security and climate change concerns in ways that reduce poverty and promote economic development."John Howard, the formerAustralian Prime Minister, described the pact as "fair and effective"However, theWorldwide Fund for Naturestated that "a deal on climate change that doesn't limit pollution is the same as a peace plan that allows guns to be fired" whilst the British Governments' chief scientific adviser,Sir David King, in a BBC interview said he doubted the new deal could work without setting caps on emissions, but added it should be seen as a sign of progress on climate change.Compared to the Kyoto Protocol, which so far requires no emission reductions from India and China, the APP actively engages both countries through building market incentives to reduce greenhouse emissions along with building capacity and providing clean technology transfers. Proponents argue that this approach creates a greater likelihood that bothIndiaandChinawill, sooner rather than later, effectively cut their greenhouse emissions even though they are not required to do so under the Kyoto Protocol.
Areas for collaboration
The intent is to create a voluntary, non-legally binding framework for international cooperation to facilitate the development, diffusion, deployment, and transfer of existing, emerging and longer term cost- effective, cleaner, more efficient technologies and practices among the Partners through concrete and substantial cooperation so as to achieve practical results; promote and create enabling environments to assist in such efforts; facilitate attainment of the Partners' respective national pollution reduction, energy security and climate change objectives; and provide a forum for exploring the Partners' respective policy approaches relevant to addressing interlinked development, energy, environment, and climate change issues within the context of clean development goals, and for sharing experiences in developing and implementing respective national development and energy strategies. The Partnership's inaugural Ministerial meeting established eight government/business taskforces through its Work Plan,posted on the APP website.1. cleaner fossil energy2. renewable energyanddistributed generation3. power generation and transmission4. steel5. aluminum6. cement7. coal mining8. buildings and appliances
Ministerial Meetings
The inaugural ministerial meeting was held at the Four Seasons Hotel and Government House inSydney, Australia on January 11 and 12, 2006.
Asia-Pacific Partnership Ministers agreed and released a:
Get Study Notes for IAS Preparation 2012. Call: +91 9911626661
No comments:
Post a Comment