US vows to let post-2012 climate change agreement happen

Montreal (Platts)--29Nov2005

The US pledged Tuesday not to block a post-2012 international climate
change agreement among countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

     Countries that have ratified the treaty are required to discuss what
happens following the period 2008-2012, known as the Kyoto accord's "first
commitment period," during Nov 28-Dec 9 negotiations in Montreal. The talks
mark the first "meeting of the parties" since the Kyoto treaty became
international law in February.

     Speaking to reporters at what may be the only US media briefing this
week, Harlan Watson, the chief US negotiator at the talks, said the Bush
administration has no intention of preventing an agreement to follow up the
first phase of Kyoto with another legally binding treaty.

     Watson, the politically appointed senior climate change negotiator and
special advisor at the US State Dept, said countries that have ratified the
treaty "are obligated to initiate negotiations over what will happen starting
in 2013 and we expect them to meet their obligations."

     When asked specifically if the US would oppose any agreement on a
post-2012 Kyoto-like framework, Watson said, "absolutely not."

     He also reiterated US opposition to "legally binding targets and
timetables" for cutting emissions, claiming that the Bush administration's
voluntary approach to cutting greenhouse gas emissions is working well.

     Between 2000 and 2003, Watson said US emissions have declined 1% while
the economy has grown by $2-3-tril. That record is the "fifth best" among
developed countries and is better than many European nations, Watson said.

     But while the US has promised not to stand in the way of a post-2012
international mandate to cut GHGs, Watson rejected a suggestion Tuesday by
British Prime Minister Tony Blair--made in a speech to the Confederation of
British Industries--that the US would accept a deal outside the UNFCCC.

     "The US is opposed to any such agreement outside the [United Nations]
Framework Convention [on Climate Change]," Watson said.

     The US may not oppose a post-2012 mandate, but it will make specific
recommendations at the international talks on adapting to climate change,
Watson said.

     In addition, the US has been active in the scientific and technical
discussions at the Montreal talks on policies to encourage the capture and
storage of carbon.

     Besides wanting to ensure that the talks do not result in new
restrictions on carbon capture and storage, a Bush administration official
told Platts the US is urging other countries to make sure that there is a
clear separation of what can be agreed to as part of the UNFCCC dialogue, and
the separate but parallel discussions on a post-2012 international climate
change agreement.

     Despite the pledge by the US not to obstruct any new mandatory agreement,
environmental groups on Nov 29 accused the Bush administration of deliberately
hindering the talks.

     "There are lots of issues on the agenda [for the climate change talks],
but the only problem is the US," said Greenpeace International Climate Policy
Director Bill Hare in a briefing with reporters.

     Meanwhile, European officials countered criticisms of the existing Clean
Development Mechanism process. In a briefing with reporters, Artur
Runge-Metzger, the head of the European Commission delegation, said the CDM
has already been much more effective than the United Nations Global
Environment Facility at marshalling GHG reductions.

     "The market for the CDM is already $3-4-bil" with 500 potential projects
developed this year alone compared to the $1.7-bil market generated be GEF
since 1991. "When you put it in perspective, you have to say that we have
unleashed a significant force" to combat climate change, Runge-Metzger said.

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