from Climate Alert Volume 8, No. 1 January-February
1995
Leaders of Asia and the Pacific Call for Public-Private Partnership
to Develop Benign Energy Technologies
Representatives of 33 nations drafted and signed a Manila Declaration
expressing concern over the vulnerabilities of the Asia Pacific
Region "to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on
agricultural, biological diversity, peoples and cultures," at
an Asian Leaders' conference in the Philippines, February 17 -
20.
The declaration will be submitted to the First Conference of the
Parties (COP1) of the Framework Convention on Climate Change in
Berlin starting March 28. It calls for:
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The development of an international partnership utilizing
both private and public sources of capital to increase the
use of greenhouse gas benign energy technologies.
-
Implementation of new and innovative funding mechanisms to
provide small amounts of credit on a massive scale for renewable
energy and energy efficiency.
-
An enhanced commitment by developed countries of energy research
spending for renewable energy technology, demand side management
and energy efficiency.
-
Rapid removal of domestic agricultural subsidies by industrial
countries because of their harmful impacts on developing economies,
driving the migration of people to fragile land, forest clearing
for grazing or planting, growing of inappropriate crops. Some
of the freed funds in industrial countries could be plowed
back into investment in energy efficiency and renewables in
developing countries.
-
Encouragement by national governments of local government
participation in the formulation of National Climate Action
Plans.
-
Adoption by the Conference of the Parties of the Draft protocol
of the Alliance of Small Island States for developed countries
to reduce carbon dioxide by 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2000
and to adopt specific targets to limit other greenhouse gases.
Three heads of state addressed sessions of the four-day conference:
Philippine President Fidel Ramos, who gave the keynote speech,
Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Vanuatu Prime Minister
Maxime Carlot Korman.
Prime Minister Bhutto
Citing findings of a recent regional study of climate change
implications for Southeast and South Asia, conducted by the Climate
Institute under the auspices of the Asian Development Bank, Bhutto
urged the developed countries to take a major responsibility to
clean up the environment, not only within their own borders but
worldwide. (The text of her speech starts on page one of this
issue.)
"Clearly the developed world has made the 20th century 100 years
of rampage of exploitation, abuse and violation of this planet,"
she said. Although the poor make up more than half the world's
population, she continued, they produce less than a quarter of
the Earth's global greenhouse emissions and thus pay a disproportionate
price for the excesses of other regions, particularly Europe and
the Americas.
She stressed that while the world community is looking for ways
to mitigate the effects of global climate change, the strategies
should not deter the development of poor countries. She urged
developing countries to make their own action plans according
to their environmental problems but coordinate with the developed
world to succeed. "That is why this Manila conference is so vital,"
she added.
President Ramos
President Ramos called on the leaders of the Asia Pacific Region
and the world to pool their resources in meeting the challenge
of climate change because no country is immune to its disastrous
effects. (The text of his speech starts on page one of this issue.)
"Over the past decade or so, we have discovered how increased
human activities are rapidly changing the earth's climate beyond
our capacity to adapt to the disastrous effects," he warned.
He proposed four specific actions to mitigate the effects of
global change:.
1) The reduction of fossil fuel combustion, the major source
of carbon dioxide build-up. "We must work together to protect
and allocate what scientists have called our global common resource,
atmospheric carrying capacity," he declared.
2) Disconnect economic growth from growth in carbon dioxide
emissions through more efficient ways of harnessing power.
3) Preserve and rehabilitate the forests and ecosystems in
our regions.
4) Press for actions to mitigate the effects of rising sea
level. "Vulnerable areas and population should be identified
and protected so that plans and resources for relocation, infrastructure
and other contingencies will be in place."
He added that research on the other possible impacts of global
warming should also be accelerated so that vulnerable countries
can be better prepared for them.
He described the work of his administration in setting up an International
Committee on Climate Change which will formulate policies and
response strategies to climate change and establish working groups
to monitor and assess local climate change and its impact. The
Philippines is also participating with other countries in the
Asian Least-Cost Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy Project which
is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Asian Region.
Ramos expressed confidence that with these efforts the Philippine
nation will "contribute significantly to regional and global plans
of action."
Prime Minister Korman
Prime Minister Korman of Vanuatu, an archipelago of 80 islands
in the South Pacific, expressed alarm over rising sea levels.
Speaking for the 44-member Alliance of the Small Island States
(AOSIS), formed because of their vulnerability to changes in the
environment, he said, "Even small rises in sea levels threaten
the existence of some small countries. " Suggesting that industrialized
countries should be lobbied to meet the global problem, he proposed
cooperating to draft a code of conduct to stop logging and the
depletion of the earth's forests, which are a sink for greenhouse
gases.
He urged the Manila Conference to press for adoption of the AOSIS
protocol by COP1. (To date, no industrialized nation has agreed
to the proposal.)
Technology Paper
A concept paper, presented by John Topping and Dr. Ata Qureshi
of the Climate Institute, recommended the fostering of an international
public private partnership to accelerate applications of renewable
and energy efficiency technologies. The paper was prepared at
the request of Senator Heherson Alvarez, chairman of the Philippine
Senate Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources and
convening chairman of the conference. (He is also a member of
the Climate Institute's Board of Advisors.) The paper had input
from a number of experts, Dhira Phantumvanit (Thailand Environment
Institute), R.K. Pachauri (TERI), Saifur Rahman (VPI), Chris Flavin
and Nick Lenssen (Worldwatch), Bob Williams (Princeton), Dan Esty
(Yale) and Dan Rosen (Institute for International Economics).
Peter Riggs of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund presented a paper
discussing ways in which small-scale delivery systems might be
developed in the solar photovoltaic area, tapping into marketing
networks of consumer product groups and local NGOs such as has
been done, for example by Bangladesh's Grameen Bank.
Institute Board member Claudine Schneider drew on her background
as a former member of the U.S. Congress to illustrate ways to
generate the political will to stimulate change. As chief Congressional
sponsor of the Global Warming Prevention Act, she described how
six of the twelve provisions, largely related to energy efficiency,
were ultimately written into U.S. law.
Convened by the Philippine Senate with support from the Climate
Institute and others, besides the three heads of state the conference
drew participation of the speakers of the parliaments of Pakistan
and Bangladesh and chairs of environment committees of the parliaments
of China, India, Russia, South Korea and the Philippines, plus
other senior officials including Secretary General of the World
Meteorological Organization, Dr. G.O.P. Obasi.
Senator Alvarez's wife, Cecile, an active member of the environmental
group, Earth Savers, introduced ten youthful artists, ranging
in age from about 5 to 18. The troupe, with three deaf dancers
and two blind singers, performed songs and dances on subjects
ranging from climate change to passive smoking to removing lead
from gasoline, at the Sunday dinner for delegates when the Manila
Declaration was signed.
Because of the importance of the Manila Conference addresses
of Premier Bhutto and President Ramos, we are making available
the full texts.
