Small Islands speak out at Bonn

On Tuesday, at the UN climate talks in Bonn, a group of 43 small islands voiced their concerns regarding the projections for action against climate change. They are worried that the pledges rich nations have made regarding their emissions reductions do not extend far enough.

The Bonn talks are the last step before the Conference of Parties (COP16) in Cancun this November. At this meeting it is imperative some progress is made towards deciding on a replacement treaty for the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012 so that there is no gap in which there is no climate regulation. The Small Island States want a 45 per cent reduction in emissions by rich nations by 2020 in order to help prevent rising sea levels from threatening their shores.

Delegates are striving to reach a treaty but rifts between developed and developing countries are proving problematic. The debate over who should be contributing what to cutting emissions is preventing talks from moving forward. One issue Al Binger, who is representing the Alliance of Small Island Nations, wanted to discuss was surplus emissions allowances.

Binger describes the Protocol as having "imperfections" as there are clauses in the treaty that give nations flexibility on how they account for emissions related to forestry and land use. Another issue is the ability of countries to roll unused allowances over into the next year. Binger describes this loophole as "running on a treadmill" and believes that for Small Island States this means, "We gain nothing, and our extinction will be virtually assured."

Binger realises the importance of coming to an agreement over a treaty that puts in place a set of rules for countries to follow concerning action against climate change. The fragile status of the Small Island States means that the sooner an agreement is reached the sooner emissions targets will be reached:

"If we don't find consensus on the set of rules we could end up doing creative accounting and emissions will continue to increase."

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres also voiced her opinion on the progress being made to come to a uniform agreement over the various issues being discussed at Bonn:

"This needs to be captured in internationally agreed form . . . More stringent actions to reduce emissions cannot be much longer postponed and industrial nations must lead."

Avoiding the effects of climate change is high on the Small Islands agenda and Bonn is their last chance before COP16 to make their point heard. If no treaty is met at Cancun the threat of the expiration of the Kyoto Agreement and a gap in regulation of greenhouse gases looms heavily over the Small Island States.

Author: Rachael Bristow | Climate Action

Image: Ed Yourdon | Flickr