Little progress on climate change

One of the most dramatic results of the Conference of the parties (COP17) which took place in Durban, South Africa, under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention for climate change (UNFCCC) - who saved precariously the validity of the Kyoto Protocol agreed at the last minute an extension thereof from 1 January 2013 - is the recognition, new time, that the efforts made to date have been insufficient to achieve the reduction targets in the temperature of the planet.

The theme has been Center of 17 climate summits held so far and has been discussed at the three conferences of the United Nations on the environment and the development sustainable.

To weigh, 12,489 official representatives of the 192 countries present in Durban warned that "the current amount of commitments to reduce emissions, both developed and developing countries is not what" u000a"high enough to keep the increase in global average temperatures below two degrees Celsius", reported Omar Ramírez, Vice President of the National Council on climate change and the mechanism for clean development (CNCCMDL) and who led the delegation that was in that conclave.

The only legal instrument which obliges countries to cut their emissions of GHG (greenhouse) is the Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997 and which entered into force in 2005, without United States ratified it. This agreement commits 37 industrialized nations to reduce by 5.2 per cent its carbon emissions in the period between 2008 and 2012, taking as reference the values of 1990.

For the Consortium Climaccion, where it joins a set of local institutions working for the protection of the environment, the COP17 "prevented from establishing liability and provide real expectations of progress in the" u000a"countries and commitments in the negotiations and fair to help combat climate change".

Attributed to China and United States (two of the most polluting countries), have hampered the fight against the elevations of the temperatures of the planet, despite the fact that "the urgency of finding solutions to global emissions of carbon dioxide, coming primarily from the burning of fossil fuels for energy, industry and transport" was evident in this conclave.

Late
in the COP17 was agreed to work on the design of a new global agreement to reduce the greenhouse gas, which would replace the Kyoto Protocol and that would take effect by 2020.

Regard the year set for more ambitious targets of reducing emissions, Alejo Etchart, the international entity Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future, believes that it is too late, and warns that while u000athen comes "most polluting countries in the world (China, United States, India, which stands at 47.5 per cent of global emissions) will continue to increase their emissions". He explained that none of them is bound by Kyoto, because that United States failed to ratify the Protocol, while China and India took part in the category of developing countries. "In addition, bound by the Protocol which expires, Canada, Japan and Russia, have not accepted an extension of its commitment, will therefore not be subject to emission limits from 2013", continued arguing. Considers that the parties engaged by the extension account for only about 15 percent of emissions world.

Remember that scientists have warned that "emissions of greenhouse gases must reach its peak by 2015 and begin to descend to avoid the amount accumulated in the atmosphere make inevitable a rise in higher temperature to" u000a2oC above pre-industrial levels. "The consequences of not doing so can be devastating," warns.

Argues that to supplement the inadequate agreement of Durban, the same settlers should assume responsibility on his future "without waiting for global political agreements". And proposed as an ideal setting to empower mainstreaming the 2012 Earth Summit to be held in Rio of Janeiro, Brazil, from 4 to 6 June.

Other conclusions of Durban
Vice-Chairperson of the CNCCMDL highlights other agreements of the COP17, as the full implementation, in 2012, of the package of support to developing nations for adaptation to climate change, consisting of Green climate fund, a mechanism for technology and a Committee of adjustment designed to improve the coordination of actions of adaptation on a global scale.

With regard to the Green Fund, sets out that you can help countries in development to increase their u000aefforts to establish its future of clean energy and adaptation to climate change; on the mechanism of technology, advises that it was already agreed to its operative part, consisting of the network and the Centre of technology of the climate.

And in relation to the adjustment Committee, said to be under its responsibility to improve the coordination of the actions of adaptation to a global scale, in order to strengthen the capacities of adaptation, especially the poorest and most vulnerable countries, and that they receive better protection against loss and damage caused by extreme weather events related to change climate.

Another development of the POPs listed by Ramirez is that under the Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism, Governments adopted new procedures allowing to effectively quantify carbon capture and storage projects, guidelines which will be reviewed every five u000ayears to ensure the environmental integrity and implementation of 7,347 projects that are in the portfolio overall.

Bet Dominican
the Climaccion Consortium has taken advantage of the situation of the COP17 to urge politicians and Dominican businessmen to take steps to improve the efficiency of production processes and enhance sustainable development, thus betting on a green economy. Accordingly propose: • the creation of a regulatory and institutional framework solid that managed funding for adaptation, technology transfer and the promotion of education, formal and informal.

The preparation of a national strategy for adaptation to climate change, which must be one of the pillars of capacity building and transfer of knowledge.

• On the basis of the lines contained in the Plan of development economically Compatible with climate change, with the u000aintermediation of the National Council on climate change and the mechanism of clean development (CNCCMDL), official organizations, private companies and civil society entities working together in programmes and projects that facilitate initiatives for sustainable development in the country.

• To privilege actions aimed at making more efficient production processes and to ensure the sustainability of the main sectors of the Dominican economy, such as energy, solid waste, tourism, construction, transport, fuel, education, agriculture and reforestation.

• That privilege the actions of prevention and reduction of vulnerability in the poorest areas of the country.

• Which together with the ministries of education and environment and natural resources, are work programmes for the development, education and capacity-building for adaptation in vulnerable areas of the country, involving to the u000aschools and young people of different social levels

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