Australian position on the implementation of the Resolution on the UN Climate Change Negotiations on climate change in Copenhagen

AUSTRALIAN POSITION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESOLUTION ON THE UN CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN COPENHAGEN
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(26 November 2010)
Australian position on the implementation of the Resolution on the UN Climate Change Negotiations on climate change in Copenhagen
Introduction
Global climatic change has become a very sensitive issue in the world today due to the changing climatic patterns and increased climatic cause natural disasters. However some countries have continued to derail the positive progress through non compliance with the resolution on the UN climate change negotiations on climate change (Bodansky, 2010). Nevertheless other countries like Australia have played a significant role in implementing the resolutions and contributing to protection of environment (Pearce, et al, 2007).
With other conservation programs e.g. the Kyoto protocol in place some have refused to ratify it leading to betrayal and lack of commitment by many states (Akanle, et al., 2009). The nations have continued to emit huge amounts of greenhouse gasses with no or minimal conservations plans in place. Any nation that contributed to the UN Climate Change Negotiations on climate change in Copenhagen has a duty to protect its environment domestically which will then translate to global conservation (Akanle, et al., 2009). If such duties are not taken seriously, then the agreement and efforts taken by conservationist will remain futile all through. This paper analyses the role Australia plays in implementing the Resolution on the UN Climate Change Negotiations on climate change that were decided in Copenhagen so that the world would be cleaner and sustainable.
System analysis
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has held numerous conventions in order to reverse the trends of rise in global warming globally. This was done by the political class where there was need to stabilize the amounts of greenhouse gases that caused dangerous anthropogenic interference of the systems of climate. The countries that were united aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions at an average of 5.2% from levels in 1990 for the first commitment period of 2008 -2012 (Akanle, et al., 2009). The percentage levels varied with different countries with those producing more greenhouse gases required to reduce a greater percentage.
The average increase of global temperatures that continue rising daily can be traced from 1890 to 1935 where it rose by approximately half a degree Celsius that have continued to rise significantly. The temperature in the 20th century rose by range of 0.56 to 0.92, while in the 21st century it continues to rise from 1.1 – 6.40 Celsius (Akanle, et al., 2009). The rise in carbon dioxide gas emissions the melting of glaciers and the significant change in weather and climatic patterns speak volumes.
Also affected are other climate factors such as Cloud Cover, Diurnal Temperature Range, Ground-frost Frequency, Precipitation, Vapor Pressure, and Wet Day Frequency. There has been increase in natural environmental disasters such as El-Niño, lamina, huge winds, and avalanches which have impacted negatively on the social economics (Pittock, 2003).
Australia has a very long coastline and an extensive arid and semi-arid area thus makes it much vulnerable to global climatic change. With projected increase in average temperature, reduction in average precipitation increased erosions and increased global sea level then Australia has to take the necessary steps to shield itself from such disasters (Pittock, 2003). The intensity of bush fires has increased with more areas prone to fires as the global temperatures increase.
Research by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Bureau of Meteorology has indicated that rainfall, temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, potential evaporation, and relative humidity are projected to be affected (Andrews, 2000). This means the even the social economic activities in Australia will be highly affected particularly those aligned to climate like agriculture. Without the necessary action ecosystems, habitat, biodiversity and livelihoods will be affected negatively.
According to WWF, 2010 in “the watersheds of the world are shrinking” the world glaciers have also not been spared by global warming where they have continued to melt and lose water to the oceans at alarming rates. The mid-latitude (eastern and western hemisphere) glaciers, tropical glaciers, polar region glaciers especially the Greenland and Antarctica have all been subject to melting excessively due to global warming that precipitated the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to hold the Copenhagen conference to deliberate on the way forward. A further worrying revelation is that an increase in temperature by 40 C would cause a melting of all the world’s glaciers (WWF, 2010).
The melting aftermath means that those in the coastlines will be greatly affected due to the rise in sea level thus they will have to relocate. Australia has a vast coastline and thus such an effect will be catastrophic to the nation.
The Copenhagen conference was a strategic deliberation that would ensure all nations would come together to solve a common problem that threatened the existence of the world’s natural ecosystems, habitats, and biodiversity. The 1992 adoption of the UNFCCC laid down a framework that would reduce stabilize the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and thus save the ecosystems from collapse (Akanle, et al., 2009). The Conference of the Parties (COP 15) and the Meeting of the Parties (MOP 5) together deliberated on the Kyoto Protocol that was instrumental on all states that ratified it to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in their jurisdiction (Akanle, et al., 2009).
Stakeholders Analysis
Climatic change negotiations can be divided into three phases where the first phase was the setting up of a framework for governance in 1991 by the UNFCCC. The framework was adopted a year later i.e. 1992 and came into force in 1994 (Bodansky, 2010). The second phase was effects in 1995 to run through to 2001 where there were intense negotiations and deliberations that gave birth to the Kyoto Protocol. The targets of the protocol were to establish market based mechanisms to reduce the quantitative greenhouse emission that would run till 2012 (Bodansky, 2010). The Copenhagen talks were to take on the third phase that would address the period after 2012 that would mark the end of the Kyoto protocol (Bodansky, 2010).
According to the WWF, 2010 in the article “The path from Copenhagen to a real deal on climate change” the negotiations had three outcomes “draft detailed negotiating texts under the two ad-hoc working groups, a mandate to continue negotiations in these groups for one year, and a political statement dubbed ‘The Copenhagen Accord’”. The governments involved need to get involved in the implementation of the accord to get positive climatic changes in future.
Australia during the COP 3 at Kyoto made an international commitment to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases to 108% to the baseline year 1990; this translated to reducing 30% of the emissions more than the targeted levels (Pearce, 2007). Australia has been an active participant of the Conference of Parties meeting and attended the COP4 in Buenos Aires, COP5 in Bonn, COP6 at The Hague, COP6 Part 2 at Bonn and COP7 in Marrakesh (Bodansky, 2010). The US being responsible for a huge 25% of the global carbon emissions has not ratified the Kyoto protocol that has not augured well with other participants. The commitments of many nations to reverse effects of climatic change have been affected by such actions of nations in their lack of commitment to the discussed objectives (Bodansky, 2010).
Australia has also not ratified the Kyoto protocol but this has not blocked it from investing a lot to make its commitments fulfilled (Pearce, 2007). There has been setting of the Australia Greenhouse Office that plans, monitors and evaluates the investment progress. The release of the policy on Safeguarding the Future: Australia's Response to Climate Change in 1997 by the prime minister was a sign of total commitment to achieve the Copenhagen negotiations objectives and commitments (Andrews, 2000).
Another stakeholder’s commitment was the introduction of the National Greenhouse Response Strategy that would address all the local emissions of greenhouse gases currently and in future (Bodansky, 2010). The strategy involves other Commonwealth nations and governments in a view to have common measures, objectives and commitments towards combating global climatic change. The strategy seeks to monitor and control emissions that produce the emissions such as transport, energy, and greenhouse sinks (Pearce, 2007). It also c...