Day 7: Highlights from Poznan - Climate talks ‘heat up’ as Poznan enters week 2

Last week was about intense lobbying, positioning and meetings between government advisers, indigenous and environmental groups, bureaucrats as well as major media events. From today world leaders, as well as climate change and environment ministers from around the globe arrive in Poznan as the talks get serious.

In Poznan, The Wilderness Society delegation will be urging world leaders to take strong action to reduce logging and land clearing - as part of the global plan to tackle climate change.

Tough emissions targets need to be set for all countries by this time next year in Copenhagen – experts say at least 25% - 40% by 2020, and 80% - 95% by 2050. But right now it’s the short term target, the target current governments will have to work to achieve straight away, that really matters.

Most of these national emissions targets will have to be met by countries domestically, but cuts to emissions from international aviation and shipping will also be important.

These targets have to be measurable, reportable and verifiable.
- That means while Poznan is about tackling climate change, much of the conference is about the accounting methods countries will be required to use to measure their emissions, what activities are in and out of calculations and what reporting standards need to be applied.

Another major issue is how developed countries will assist developing countries in meeting their energy needs in a more sustainable way than developed countries have done in the past. So a big discussion is technology transfer – ie: how to get emissions reduction technologies into developing countries as much as possible, instead of them relying on fossil fuels like coal to meet their rapidly growing energy needs.

But while some developing countries have brought some useful proposals to the table, overall talks have been slow in the first week. Most countries are keeping their cards close to their chest. Rich countries, rattled by the economic crisis, are reluctant to commit to targets or other key aspects of a new Protocol, or offer assistance to developing countries to reduce emissions of adapt to climate change.

Japan has declared that it cannot be expected to be “the ATM for the world”, while Canada has suggested that these conventions should be about information sharing that than binding emissions reduction targets. Uh oh!

The European Union, usually relied upon to take a leadership role in climate negotiations has been missing in action so far. The EU appears to have come unprepared, and is not taking a strong consensus position to the talks.

Meanwhile the United States is in caretaker mode until Obama takes office in a little over a month's time. And while Obama is talking tough on the U.S taking a leadership role on climate, he has deliberately not committed to signing Kyoto so far.

At a domestic level, Australia's Climate Change Minister Penny Wong arrives in Poznan tomorrow.

 
Check out our regular 'Postcards from Poznan' for updates and progress on the climate change negotiations.

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