Citola Blog
UN Climate Talks - A Holy Alliance?
There’s a popular saying in the Middle East: “My enemy’s enemy is my friend.” In politics, that sort of combination, where people and organisations gang up for a negative purpose, is popularly styled an “unholy alliance”.
We’re seeing the flip side of that coin now, with the ongoing United Nations climate change talks in Bonn (the pre-meeting for the Mexico COP 16 conference). Organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund have sent representatives to Bonn to lobby for the cause of preserving wildlife and its habitat – with particular attention to stopping deforestation.
Put that together with events in the world of reforestation and avoided deforestation (REDD) and carbon reduction and carbon trading outside the Bonn talks, and you have what can be thought of as a holy alliance.
Consider the New Zealanders’ determination to go ahead with their own carbon-credit scheme at the beginning of next month. The Kiwis have been super-hot on REDD-type schemes, with draconian penalties for anyone who cuts a tree down on a carbon-accredited site, and are pushing ahead with their own trading scheme – despite the fact that the Australian equivalent is on hold until at least 2013.
Meanwhile, we hear that the European Commission wants to slash a full 30 per cent (based on 1990 levels) from emissions by member countries by 2020. This won’t be cheap, if it’s achieved, with cost estimates of some $50 bullion per annum the price for achieveing this target.
While we don’t fully share the World Wildlife Fund’s excitement at what’s going on in Bonn (though we too hope the stage is set for a major breakthrough), and elsewhere, we do think that there are grounds for optimism.
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