Carrier Corporate News

CHALLENGE IN KYOTO -- A FIRST-HAND LOOK AT THE GLOBAL WARMING SUMMIT

Matthew J. Chadderdon
Vice President, Government Relations, Public Affairs and Communications, Carrier Corporation


KYOTO, Japan, Dec. 5 -- The first week of negotiations at the Global Warming Summit here wrapped up amid much posturing by developed and developing countries, industry representatives and environmental groups over the elements for a successful treaty. Although environmental ministers from 150 countries will eventually try to hammer out an agreement, this first week is mainly attended by key staff people trying to work out details prior to arrival of the ministers and delegation leaders for the second and final week of negotiations.

As might be expected at an international summit of this magnitude, representatives of both the media and industry/environmental groups outnumber the ministers five to one. Press coverage in international and domestic papers has been, so far, both comprehensive and accurate.

What is being negotiated?

The ministers' task is to agree on measures that would begin to reduce anthropogenic, or man-made, emissions of greenhouse gases that are linked to global warming. The big target is carbon dioxide, which is emitted into the air every day by the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas in power plants, factories and autos. Of course, there are other gases that contribute to global warming. Of special interest to the HVAC industry are HFCs, the preferred replacement refrigerants for CFCs and HCFCs, which are already scheduled to be phased out under the Montreal Protocol.

The position of the United States has been to advocate a reduction in emissions to 1990 levels between the years 2008 and 2012 and includes six greenhouse gases -- carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. During this first week delegates debated the number of gases to be included in a treaty. The U.S. position favors a "basket" approach -- include them all now and let individual countries and markets decide how they will reach their target. The "basket" approach is comprehensive and does not isolate particular gases to be phased out. HFCs have a very minimal role in the total picture, which means companies can have some certainty in their future investment and product planning.

The "basket" approach would also require an appropriate baseline adjustment for the gases covered. For example, HFCs haven't been around very long, so a 1990 baseline would not allow for the appropriate growth needed to make the conversion from chlorine-containing refrigerants (HCFCs) to the more environmentally responsible HFCs.

The other key issue is the role for developing countries in the global warming debate. Most developing countries do not want to make commitments. They maintain that the developed countries have emitted the most greenhouse gases, therefore they should be responsible for fixing the problems. However, emissions from developing countries will grow to be 50 percent of the total world emissions by 2010. Therefore, negotiators are insisting that the developing countries participate. This is a very volatile issue -- it has the potential for causing the treaty to fall apart. The U.S. Senate focused attention on the issue when it passed a resolution stating it would not ratify a treaty without developing country participation. A number of Senators and Congressional representatives are in Kyoto to observe the negotiations.

By the time you read this in the United States, international politics will have become a factor when Vice President Al Gore meets with key delegates and delivers a speech in Kyoto. So the stage is set for a dramatic ending to a long and very complex process with many challenges and much at stake. As the Chairman of the Alliance for a Responsible Atmospheric Policy and a member of the International Climate Change Partnership, I have been able to discuss these issues and our concerns with Congressional observers, the U.S. delegation and other environmental and industry groups here. I will report back next week with a wrap-up of this historical meeting.

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