Growing support for "renewables2004" conference
At the conclusion of the 9th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 9) in Milan, Federal Minister Juergen Trittin stated the following:
It was the primary aim of COP 9 to take stock of achievements so far since the adoption of the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In Milan, it became apparent that the international climate change policy is at a crossroads: On the one hand, there is the Kyoto Protocol which stands for a multilateral approach embedded in the UN context and provides for binding emissions reductions in industrialized nations under international law. In the meantime, the Kyoto Protocol has been supported by the 120 states that have ratified it - headed by the EU, Japan, Canada, and all major developing countries (such as Brazil, South Africa, India, China). And on the other hand, there is the approach of non-binding arrangements which amounts to mere cooperation in the future research of new technologies. The latter is the approach the United States have chosen, joined by Australia.
We cannot, however, afford to wait idly any longer as the impacts of climate change are recognizable already now. This is the more true when we look at the scenarios science sketches, which show that a global temperature increase by up to 5.8°C can be expected by 2100. Our objective should be to limit the temperature increase to 2°C at the maximum by the end of the century. The EU Member States have therefore confirmed their preparedness to implement the Kyoto Protocol. They want to do everything that is necessary for the implementation of the Protocol already now, despite the missing ratification by Russia. At the beginning of 2005, the Member States will introduce emissions trading and do exactly what the Kyoto Protocol requires: Absolute reduction goals will be set with a great flexibility for countries and the private sector of how to reach them. This shows that the Kyoto Protocol is by no means a "straightjacket" as it was called by the US delegation again in Milan.
At the Milan conference, the Federal government won further support for the global conference on renewable energy sources (renewables2004) it will host. The fact that several Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Syria and Yemen) have committed themselves to extending renewable energy sources is a particular success. Yemen pledged its willingness to hold a regional preparation meeting for renewables2004 next year.
The Climate Conference in Milan has closed residual gaps in the regulations for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, e.g. by adopting the provisions for the credits for afforestation projects in developing countries. Such projects must be assessed in view of ecologic and socio-economic criteria. In addition, losses in forests, independent of whether by clearing or fires, will lead to losses in emission credits previously allocated. The next Conference of the Parties (COP 10) will take place in Buenos Aires in early December 2004.