The Future in our Hands: Addressing the Leadership Challenge of Climate Change

• Background
• About the High-Level Event
• Chair's Summary
• Coverage
• Programme
• Newsroom
• Special Envoys on Climate Change
• Media Accreditation
• Civil Society and Business
• FAQ

 

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What impact will this High-level Event have on the Conference in Bali?
2. Why the sudden rush to push the climate change negotiations?
3. What impact will the outcome of the recent G-8 meeting have on global climate change talks?
4. What impact does the recent initiative by President Bush have on the prospects for agreement in Bali?
5. What about the other recent initiatives announced by other countries, such as Japan’s Cool 50 or the initiative by China and Canada?
6. What role with the Special Envoys have at this point?
7. Do developed countries have to reduce their emissions before developing countries act?

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1. What impact will this High-level Event have on the Conference in Bali?

• The Event will seek to facilitate an exchange of views between governments on this global challenge and to galvanize political will for the upcoming United Nations climate change conference in Bali in December.
• The world urgently needs a new international agreement and the Secretary-General has called on governments to provide the necessary leadership and to move forward the negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations.
• Global action on climate change is being discussed at the highest-levels this year and the Secretary-General seeks to add to the growing momentum for action.

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2. Why the sudden rush to push the climate change negotiations?

• Time is of the essence. The present commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012 and unless there is a new agreement ratified by then there will be a gap, with serious implications for climate protection and for the carbon market.
• It is expected that a new agreement would take about two years to negotiate and two more years for countries to ratify, which would take us to 2012.

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3. What impact will the outcome of the recent G-8 meeting have on global climate change talks?

• The G-8 plus 5 Summit, which the Secretary-General attended, brought together major greenhouse gas emitters from both the developed and the developing world. It provided a valuable opportunity to discuss and hopefully agree on necessary action.
• But the central forum for negotiating a comprehensive response to climate change is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, with its next meeting due to take place in Bali in early December.

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4. What impact does the recent initiative by President Bush have on the prospects for agreement in Bali?

• It is good that the United States is showing leadership in organising a debate on post 2012 climate change policy under the UNFCCC. The proposal respects the broader objectives of the Convention, for example in its reference to adaptation, technology and forestry).
• The initiative is intended to take the climate change debate to a higher level and accelerate the conversation. The initiative is intended to feed into the formal negotiations under the Convention and support the initiative of the Secretary-General, which will bring together world leaders on this topic. It is imperative that, building on this U.S. initiative, negotiations are launched in Bali in December.

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5. What about the other recent initiatives announced by other countries, such as Japan’s Cool 50 or the initiative by China and Canada?

• The Secretary-General finds these recent initiatives to be a highly encouraging sign.
• These national actions demonstrate clearly the new sense of urgency that countries have on the subject of climate change, as well as their willingness to take serious action.

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6. What role with the Special Envoys have at this point?

• To assist in further defining and planning the Event, the Secretary-General intends to invite his Special Envoys to engage in another series of consultations with governments.
• The Secretary-General looks forward to continuing to work with these three highly respected international figures.

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7. Do developed countries have to reduce their emissions before developing countries act?

• All countries must play a role. Industrialized countries must demonstrate leadership, as they have been the largest emitters and have the resources and the technologies that can be used to reduce emissions.
• Developing countries, with fewer resources, must not be forced to choose between cutting emissions and the need to address poverty. As these countries develop, however, and their emissions increase, they will have to increasingly participate in emission limitation and reduction efforts, and be supported in this regard.

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