Russia, Ukraine and Belarus Derail 2013 UN Climate Talks in Bonn

The United Nation's (UN) climate talks in Bonn, Germany have collapsed despite the fact that we have marched past the symbolic milestone of 400 ppm of atmospheric CO2. Russia, Ukraine and Belarus have rejected a compromise and effectively stalled discussions on climate compensation, adaptation and finance until the main summit in Warsaw in November.

The problems originated last year in Doha when Russia, Ukraine and Belarus expressed concern over the extension of the Kytoto Protoco, which is currently the world's only obligatory climate agreement. (Although the US and Canada are not signed on).

“We’re getting the impression these three countries are not interested in climate change,” said the Tuvalu delegate whose nation is one of those most vulnerable to sea level rise. The deep concern of delegates from Tuvalu and other vulnerable islands is justified. We have not seen these levels of atmospheric CO2 in more than 3 million years when sea levels were 80 feet higher than they are today.

Even though Island nations are most vulnerable, climate change will adversely impact every nation on earth. History will record the wreckless shortsightedness.

While Russia is questioning the process the reality is that they are using the process as leverage to politicize their point.

"Governments need to look up from their legal and procedural tricks and focus on the planetary emergency that is hitting Africa first and hardest," declared Mithika Mwenda, coordinator of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance. "Russia's shenanigans have set back critical work on loss and damage mechanisms and so now Poland, as host of the next summit, must find a way to ensure this issue is dealt with fully."

Some fatalistically believe the UN climate negotiations are doomed to fail. Many detractors of the UN process favor of action at local or regional level. However, they are fooling themselves if they think we can significantly impact emissions in the absence of an overarching global treaty.

While it is easy to point to yet another failure at UN climate talks it is important to understand that despite the position of the three holdouts, progress has been made. The highly destructive stance of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus have overshadowed progress on other aspects of the ongoing negotiations Negotiations of the UN climate process, including the new 2015 treaty.

Despite very serious obstacles we cannot give way to fatalism and despair. The UN process is the only shot we have and we need to stay at it until the job gets done.

As Tomasz Chruszczow, chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)said, "it is up to the Parties to save the world.”

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Merkel and Harper: Two Opposing Visions of the Future

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's official state visit with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper highlights the stark contrast between the two heads of state. The have vastly different views on the environment and are leading their respective countries in diametrically opposed energy directions. Germany is a country that has invested heavily in renewable sources of energy while the Canadian government under Conservative leader Stephen Harper, has gutted environmental funding and invested in the tar sands, arguably the world's dirtiest oil project.

Merkel has been a champion of GHG reduction since the mid-1990s, when she was Germany's environment minister. At that time she brought together world leaders to try to limit GHGs. She was instrumental in getting everyone on board the Berlin Mandate of 1995, an agreement that eventually lead to the signing of the Kyoto Protocol two years later.

The Kyoto protocol is but one illustration of the Harper government's contempt for the environment. They have also worked to undermine global COP negotiations in Durban in 2011, they passed Bill C-38 which essentially emasculated the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and deprived scientists of funding.

Merkel plans to attend a meeting on climate science in Halifax, while Harper will be predictably absent.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Video: Move to Green Economy a Global Competition

Bruce J. Katz is a vice president at the Brookings Institution and founding Director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program which aims to provide decision makers in the public, corporate and civic sectors with policy ideas for improving the health and prosperity of cities and metropolitans areas. Katz regularly advises federal, state, regional and municipal leaders on policy reforms that advance the competitiveness of metropolitan areas.

Katz says the move to a greener economy is a global competition. The US must wisely and expeditiously develop both policies and practices that encourage more innovation and growth in this critical area. Growth through Innovation.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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G20 Disagreements and Global Economic Reforms

There are a number of disagreements between G20 member nations. Although the passage of a US financial reform bill was an important step for the recovering world economy, diverging national assessments threaten a coordinated global strategy.

The UN would like to see the developed world assume a greater share of its responsibilities for the green economy. Americans and Europeans disagree on whether to maintain or withdraw stimulus. The US warns against choking off nascent growth, while European countries are imposing austerity measures to manage rising levels of debt.

Canada disagrees with key European nations on taxing banks. Canada has argued against taxing banks to guard against future financial crises, while Britain, France and Germany want to see a tax on the banking sector.

China's recent announcement of renewed flexibility in its currency, the yuan, will probably succeed in deflecting attention away from new protectionist measures.

There appears to be agreement that the global system is under-capitalized and a there is a broad consensus on the need to invest more capital. Although there is agreement on the broader issue, there is disagreement on implementation time frames. Europe wants to move slowly to give its banks time to adjust, while the U.S. would prefer to see a faster pace.

The G20 has a pivotal role to play, decisions made by economic leaders in Toronto will not only determine the future of the economy, they will decide the future of our environment. While there seems to be agreement on the need for sustainable growth, charting a strategy to get there is proving difficult.

We need international economic reforms that will help maintain stability. We also need a strategy that positions green as the engine that will drive the global economy.
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Curbing Banker's Bonuses and Climate Change

Heads of state are responding to the widespread public outcry over the perception of excessive compensation in the banking industry. The French president Nicolas Sarkozy is leading the way with strict new bonus rules.

In Australia bank executives stand to lose more than $50 million in annual bonuses if the current government bans short-term incentive payments in the financial services sector. This is a reiteration of the G20 meeting in April, where leaders called for curbs on bonuses.

However, if restrictions on bonuses in the financial services sector are to mean anything they will have to be agreed upon internationally and this is very unlikely.

Politicians are trying to win political favor by taking advantage of prevailing anti-banking sentiments. They know full well that their feigned indignation will not forge an international agreement to curb bankers pay. To illustrate the point, Sarkozy's promise of tough regulations comes with the all important caveat that they not be enforced without global agreement.

Dutch banks have also introduced a new code of conduct that includes capping executive bonuses. However, this new Dutch approach does not force banks to curb bonuses nor does it come with legal sanctions as banks need only explain why they have chosen not to comply.

As British finance minister Alstair Darling said last Thursday, "Banks need to be responsible about pay and bonuses and one of the things that is concerning me is that when you tackle banks about this they say that if you do something here, the Americans, the Swiss, or the French ... will poach our people."

Even in the unlikely event that legislation is passed in both the EU, and the US, there will always be nations without such stringent sanctions and these countries will claim the most talented people.

"Government has got a legitimate interest in making sure that you don't encourage behaviour that is damaging, but I think that is just one part of what we need to do to get the banking system going again," Darling said. "There is a generalised concern. What we need to do is make sure that we introduce legislation that actually works, that actually helps and strengthen our banking system," he concluded.

Regulation is required to limit excessively risky lending, and many see merit in employing other regulatory channels beyond legislation. Last week in Britain the financial regulator known as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) published a bankers' pay code and according to the British finance minister, the FSA is "the obvious vehicle to use."

These kinds of capital rules will hurt banks' profits and restrict their lending ability. Efforts to curb banker bonuses are a ruse. As Lord Turner pointed out, “insisting that someone ‘does something’ about bonuses is a populist diversion.”

COP 15 is now only 3 months away, and while political rhetoric scores points with a disgruntled public, it siphons energy away from the tremendous efforts required to find consensus on climate change. Instead of pandering to voters by pretending to curb bankers pay, world leaders should be working towards real consensus on climate change.
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