12 Oct, 2007

Climate Change: Industrialised Countries Speak

Imtiaz Muqbil

The last of a five-part series summarising the high-level presentations at the special UN session on 24 Sept 2007 under the theme: “The Future in Our Hands: Addressing The Leadership Challenge Of Climate Change”.

CLIMATE CHANGE: INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES SPEAK (Part 5 of 5)

This is the last of a five-part series summarising the high-level presentations at the special UN session on 24 Sept 2007 under the theme: “The Future in Our Hands: Addressing The Leadership Challenge Of Climate Change”. The statements by the industrialised countries indicate clearly that the technology exists; the key question is how and at what price they will make it available to the developing countries.

In this series of dispatches, the statements delivered at the UN session have been edited down to keypoints and quotes, saving my readers time in downloading and wading through reams of often repetitive and boring verbiage. The first four sets of statements were covered in TIN Editions 56, 57, 58 and 59. Groundbreaking journalism and service to the travel & tourism industry, only from Travel Impact Newswire.

1. FREDRIK REINFELDT, PRIME MINISTER OF SWEDEN: Sweden uses taxes and incentives to direct people’s choices, to help them make economically sound decisions which also help protect the environment and our climate.

2. JENS STOLTENBERG, PRIME MINISTER OF NORWAY: It will be essential to provide financing and incentives for reforestation and adaptation, in particular for the least developed countries and small island states.

3. ALFRED GUSENBAUER, FEDERAL CHANCELLOR OF AUSTRIA: The wasteful management of energy resources in the industrial world has to be reversed.

4. YOSHIRO MORI, SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN: We will embark on reforms that delve into our way of life and social systems, including creating lifestyles harmonious with nature, efficient transport systems including public transportation, and compact urban development.

5. ALEXANDER DOWNER, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA: Mitigation actions, particularly the major economies, should be ambitious for all, and include measurable mitigation actions by developing countries.

6. STEPHEN HARPER, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: The core principle of Canada’s approach to climate change is balance. We are balancing environmental protection with economic growth.

7. NICOLAS SARKOZY, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: What is needed is a new kind of growth that consumes less energy and fewer raw materials.

8. CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: The world needs a technological revolution. Our common challenge is to promote these technological solutions aggressively — and implement them now.

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1. FREDRIK REINFELDT, PRIME MINISTER OF SWEDEN: Sweden uses taxes and incentives to direct people’s choices, to help them make economically sound decisions which also help protect the environment and our climate.

We know from science that this is the result of human activity. We also know that the countries that are most affected are the poorest and most vulnerable.

What we need now is political leadership to turn developments around. We need decisive and global political action to prevent further dangerous changes to our climate system and to adapt to the consequences that are inevitable. And we all need to start negotiations in Bali on an effective and broad climate regime for the period after 2012, and to complete these by 2009.

The Swedish Government considers climate change to be one of the major environmental and political challenges of this century.

I know that political decisions can make a difference! Sweden’s emissions of greenhouse gases were 7 per cent lower in 2005 than in 1990. During the same period, between 1990 and 2005, the Swedish economy grew by 36 per cent. Thus it is possible to reduce emissions and have economic growth at the same time.

The success of Swedish climate policy is largely a result of various mitigation policies and measures. The most important of these is the carbon dioxide tax which was introduced in 1991. Sweden uses taxes and incentives to direct people’s choices, to help them make economically sound decisions which also help protect the environment and our climate.

As a result of the carbon dioxide tax, the use of fossil fuels in the heating sector has decreased dramatically and instead, the incineration of biomass and energy efficiency has increased.

Swedish electricity production is nearly free from carbon dioxide as it is largely based on hydro and nuclear power. A system of green electricity certificates aims to promote electricity production based on renewable sources such as biofuels, wind power and small scale hydro power.

Since 1970, the use of oil in Sweden has decreased by nearly 50 per cent, whereas the supply of bioenergy has increased by sixty per cent. As a result, Sweden’s energy supply mix is now more differentiated and our security of supply is much more robust.

The transport sector is our next challenge. Ethanol and other biofuels used as propellants are exempt from tax. Sweden has introduced a rebate for the purchase of environmentally friendly cars. And we have introduced a new congestion tax in the city of Stockholm.

We have also included an increased tax on carbon dioxide in our newly proposed climate package. And we aim to implement a general tax cut for fuels that are carbon dioxide neutral.

A large part of our energy consumption and green house gas emissions take place in our cities. I have recently proposed a programme for sustainable cities and communities, aiming to achieve reduced emissions and improved technology.

A lot can be achieved with existing technology. We do not need to wait for advanced technology or technology which is not yet even available. Of course technological R&D is essential too. But I would also like to point to the many measures and “technologies” that are available today, that are inexpensive and sometimes can even be introduced at negative cost. It is a matter of energy efficiency measures, saving energy and using renewable sources.

There are three points I would like to highlight:

1) First: there is a vast potential for emissions reductions through technologies that already exist.

2) Second: a price needs to be set on emissions in order for this potential to be realised. And the carbon markets need legally binding commitments in order for this price to be set. With a global carbon market, covering as many gases, sectors and countries as possible, the emissions and costs can be reduced significantly.

3) Third: It is possible to achieve emissions reductions and positive economic growth at the same time.

We are only at the beginning of a major international and long term effort. In order to reduce global emissions in the order of 50 per cent by the middle of this century, developed countries need to make more far reaching emissions reductions. And more advanced developing countries must adequately contribute according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities.

The developing countries are the most vulnerable. But ODA amounts to only 1 percent of global investment flows. We need therefore to make sure that it has a true catalytic effect and that climate consequences are integrated. A Swedish initiative on this specific issue has today been brought forward to the UN Secretary General.

The EU has pledged to reduce its emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 within an international framework. Further, the EU will review the European emissions trading system. We wish to include more sectors, more gases, and have a lower cap and more auctioning. We need a framework based on legally binding reduction commitments.

Let us agree on a roadmap in Bali, with concrete steps and timetables. Lets us work within the UNFCCC framework to prevent dangerous climate change. Let us start comprehensive negotiations in Bali in December 2007 in order to reach a global agreement in Copenhagen in December 2009.

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2. JENS STOLTENBERG, PRIME MINISTER OF NORWAY: It will be essential to provide financing and incentives for reforestation and adaptation, in particular for the least developed countries and small island states.

Greenhouse gas emissions must be made to peak within a decade. If not, climate change will become a self-reinforcing, accelerating process. We who are gathered here today carry the responsibility for making the decisions that will drive the changes to avoid this.

The Norwegian position is that we must avoid a temperature increase above 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, a position we share with he EU. We might lose control if we fail this goal.

That is why Bali must launch a platform for negotiations of a comprehensive, global agreement. One that we will sign at Copenhagen in 2009, and that will close any gap between the Kyoto Protocol and its successor.

We must work under the umbrella of the Framework of the United Nations. This is where the legitimacy is vested. The countries which have undertaken quantitative obligations under the Kyoto Protocol are causing 30 per cent of global emissions, and this percentage is decreasing. Consequently, even drastic reductions domestically within those countries will not alone solve the problem in the light in the need for cuts exceeding 50 per cent by the middle of the century.

Therefore, the new agreement must include all major emitters. And our most important challenge is to work out an equitable solution which will include the US, and the developed countries, but also the emerging economies.

Many developing countries believe that the industrialized world has defaulted on the promise of financial and technology assistance. They claim rightly that the rich countries have filled up the atmosphere, and fueled their own development since the industrial revolution, by burning fossil fuels. And that it is unfair that developing countries should pay for the extravaganza of the north by accepting restrictions.

A Post 2012 regime must be equitable, workable and accommodate very different national circumstances. We must work on many fronts, and it will be essential to provide financing and incentives for reforestation and adaptation, in particular for the least developed countries and small island states.

A new regime should also include international aviation and international shipping. Aviation is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases, increasing by about 4 per cent a year. The climate impact of aircraft emissions at high altitude is 2 to 4 times the impact of C02 at ground level. In our view international air transport and maritime transport need to be included in the carbon market. Norway, together with the European Environmental Agency, will hold a workshop in Oslo two weeks from now to explore how this can be done in practice.

The energy-sector is a huge and expanding source of emissions, and we will not succeed, unless we find the technology and incentives to de-carbonize it. Carbon pricing must be part of an equitable and effective global emission reduction scheme. Putting a price on carbon will lead business and individuals to switch away from high-carbon goods and services, and to invest in low-carbon alternatives. Our objective should be to establish a global carbon price and a global market for carbon trading.

In 1961 President Kennedy announced that before the decade was out the US would be landing a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth. The technology leap ahead of us must be based on a comparable vision. Existing clean technologies, properly deployed, can take us a long way, especially if the right price incentives are established. But there is also a need for the governments to contribute to funding development of new, clean technologies.

The Norwegian Government, in cooperation with the private sector, has embarked on a very ambitious programme for Carbon Capture and Storage. Before the middle of the next decade, we aim to operate a full-scale carbon capture and storage plant fitted to a large scale power plant. Such technology will be necessary for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and we intend to contribute actively to its diffusion and deployment.

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3. ALFRED GUSENBAUER, FEDERAL CHANCELLOR OF AUSTRIA: The wasteful management of energy resources in the industrial world has to be reversed.

Technolgy and its dissemination are — among other measures – at the heart of a strategy to limit climate change. The wasteful management of energy resources in the industrial world has to be reversed. We also need to ensure that rapidly industrializing countries grow in a climate friendly manner. We should bear in mind that the infrastructure in energy-intensive industries is long-lived, creating path dependency. Investment decisions taken today can only be reversed at high costs. So urgent action is needed.

But what are the instruments we have in our hands?

Reducing global emissions and fighting climate change require a science and technology revolution, at least as powerful as the one in the telecommunication sector. Massive investment, private as well as public, will be needed to boost this revolution. The setting of regulatory standards on energy efficiency will foster innovation and private sector investment in low carbon technologies itself. Kickstarting research and development in energy efficient technologies and in renewables, such as advanced solar thermal technologies, geothermal technologies, wind, biofuels which are environmentally sustainable, and hydrogen will also require the infusion of a considerable amount of public funds.

Many of the technologies already exist. Also due to their higher costs they only sluggishly find their way into the market. These technologies have to be made commercially available and affordable. Therefore we need to facilitate mechanisms to remove the barriers to technology transfer, reduce the cost of technology deployment and ensure access and affordability for all countries, in particular for the developing countries.

Austria has set up a national Climate and Energy Fund. Our aim is to stimulate research and development, to bring new technologies to economic maturity and to support diffusion of these technologies. 500 million Euro have been allocated for the period between 2007 and 2010.

Austria is one of the leading nations with respect to renewable energy. Already today we overfulfill the 20% target set by the European Union for 2020. This is due to our extensive use of hydro power. In addition, through the Green Electricity Act we support the production of electricity from our home-grown and local renewable energy sources, such as wind, biomass, with a special emphasis on biomass co-generation, photovoltaic, power heat coupling and geothermal power generation.

But we also act internationally. The Austrian Clean Development Mechanism Programm is supplementing domestic action to reach the Austrian Kyoto commitment and to push technology transfer. Until 2012 a total volume of up to 350 million Euro will be allocated to this program.

Over decades, environmental sustainability and economic growth were seen by many as mutually exclusive policy objectives. Today we know that the costs of climate change by far exceed the costs of fighting climate change. In Austria, we even experience that environmental technology is a major driver for economic growth and employment. At ten percent annually, the turnover and export growth rates were particularly high in the clean technolgies sector.

To increase cooperation in environmental technolgy implementation between Austria and other countries is key in our strategy. New and clean technolgies should be available to all countries that do not yet have the resources to engage in technolgy development, like Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States. Countries that have not contributed to climate change at all but are the worst affected by it. Special focus of our strategy will be efforts to promote cooperation with African and South Pacific States.

Research as well as the transfer of technologies and know how are indispensable tools in decoupling energy consumption from economic growth. We should urgently agree on procedures and mechanisms to support the required technological revolution and to strengthen economic and technogical exchange in a comprehensive and global manner. The United Nations offer the ideal platform for this undertaking. The successful dialogue during the preparatory process for the Bali conference should become an integral part of the negotiations to be started at this conference. These negotiations need to take into account the different interests and capabilities of all.

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4. YOSHIRO MORI, SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN: We will embark on reforms that delve into our way of life and social systems, including creating lifestyles harmonious with nature, efficient transport systems including public transportation, and compact urban development.

In May this year, Japan launched an initiative called “Cool Earth 50.” One of the proposals it advanced is setting a long-term target of cutting global emissions by half from the current level by 2050 as a common goal for the entire world.

In order to achieve this goal, it is of vital importance to develop innovative technology that contributes to energy efficiency and conservation, for example, by drawing on renewable energy sources and employing advanced nuclear energy systems. We will promote the development and widest possible dissemination of such technology through international cooperation. An international project is already under way to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power generation, and Japan will contribute to it by world’s cutting-edge technologies.

We also presented a long-term vision for building a low carbon society. To that end, we will embark on reforms that delve into our way of life and social systems, including creating lifestyles harmonious with nature, efficient transport systems including public transportation, and compact urban development.

Japan has proposed to the world “3 principles” in designing an effective post-2012 international framework. The first is that all major emitters must participate. The second is that the framework must be flexible and diverse. And the third is that it must achieve compatibility between environmental protection and economic growth. We would like to get all countries’ support to these principles.

Japan will also approach the issue from the view point of energy measures. To that end, we will expand the endeavor to the entire world for improving energy efficiency and ensuring the safe and peaceful use of nuclear power. We believe that a sectoral approach is the key through which knowledge and experiences of industry effectively be shared and disseminated.

Furthermore, an effective integrated approach is to fight local pollution along with addressing global warming in developing countries (co-benefits approach).

Japan believes that discussions in fora such as the Major Economies Meeting hosted by the United States, the Asia- Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, and the East Asia Summit will also contribute to achieving consensus under the UNFCCC. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum held earlier this month, leaders engaged in a constructive discussion on action that might be taken. A new forum should be established under the UNFCCC in which all countries participate. Finally, as chair of the G8 next year, Japan will work to intensify the discussion of this subject among major economies.

Japan will provide assistance, in the form of the technology it has developed and the experience it has accumulated, to those developing countries that make efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve economic growth in response to Japan’s proposals. Instead of diverting the funds for assistance to such countries that has been traditionally extended, Japan will create a new financial mechanism for assistance in this area.

In Japan’s view, it is important to mainstream adaptation to climate change within development policies. Japan will consider the effect of climate change on developing countries, especially the most vulnerable, as it is manifest in natural disasters and food and water problems.

I propose that each country voluntarily reduce or eliminate tariffs on the products that have effect of greenhouse gas reduction, such as hybrid cars, wind power generators, and solar batteries.

Secondly, I call on every country to promote green purchasing. For its part, Japan has enacted and is vigorously implementing a law obliging its Government to purchase products evaluated by their effect on the environment. This scheme will soon be expanded from goods to services and buildings as well as from central government to local government.

Changes in our lifestyles and behavior can achieve a major reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases. We have called upon the people of Japan to set their air conditioners at no lower than 28 degrees Celsius in the summer and no higher than 20 in the winter. We have also proposed that the governments of every nation maintain their offices in an energy-efficient manner by setting their air conditioners at moderate temperatures. Subject to the agreement of the Member States, such a measure should be taken at the United Nations as well.

The key to implementing all these actions is leadership. For its part, Japan is making a concerted effort to ensure the achievement of the six percent reduction in emissions called for in the Kyoto accord. We have also announced that the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit will be environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral.

It is time for the nations of the world to stop focusing on the small differences that divide us and resolve instead to unite in addressing a problem that affects us all.

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5. ALEXANDER DOWNER, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA: Mitigation actions, particularly the major economies, should be ambitious for all, and include measurable mitigation actions by developing countries.

Leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit agreed an historic Sydney Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development. Historic because the APEC Leaders, whose economies represent more than half of the world’s GDP, broke new common ground on climate change.

The Leaders agreed to work actively and constructively towards a comprehensive post-2012 arrangement at this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Bali. The APEC Leaders agreed to work to achieve a common understanding on a long-term aspirational global emissions reduction goal. And the Leaders also welcomed the US initiative to convene a meeting of major economies to seek agreement on a detailed contribution to a post-2012 global arrangement.

Crucially, the Leaders agreed that an equitable and effective post-2012 international climate change arrangement must draw on the following seven principles:

First, the principle of comprehensiveness. This means that all economies contribute to shared global goals in ways that are equitable, and environmentally and economically effective.

Second, the need to respect different domestic circumstances and capacities.

Third, the importance of flexibility and recognising diverse approaches and practical actions.

Fourth, the important role for co-operation on low and zero-emissions energy sources and technologies, particularly coal and other fossil fuels.

Fifth, the importance of addressing forests and land use in the post-2012 arrangement.

Sixth, the importance of promoting open trade and investment.

And, seventh, the need to support effective adaptation strategies.

APEC Leaders also agreed to work towards achieving an APEC-wide regional aspirational goal of a reduction in energy intensity of at least 25 per cent by 2030, and an APEC-wide aspirational goal of increasing forest cover in the region by at least 20 million hectares of all types of forests by 2020.

This positive outcome reinforces the UN Framework Convention and provides us with a guide for the work that lies ahead, including at Bali. Australia calls on all Parties in Bali to resolve a new mandate for the Convention to move beyond Kyoto.

These negotiations should first and foremost better mobilise and recognise mitigation actions by all, particularly the major economies. Such actions should be ambitious for all, and, in addition to further actions by developed countries, include measurable mitigation actions by developing countries.

It is crucial that a new negotiating mandate take a comprehensive view of emissions, including emissions from the land, particularly deforestation, which is responsible for a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. Australia has pledged $200 million to help developing countries avoid deforestation and promote reforestation through our Global Initiative on Forests and Climate.

A new negotiating mandate needs to spell out actions that will provide Parties to the UN Framework Convention with more confidence as they move to put in place better national mitigation policies and measures. Such actions should address effective adaptation strategies and cooperation, the impacts of response measures, as well as technology development and diffusion.

For Australia’s part, the Government is aiming to implement a national cap-and-trade emissions trading system by 2011. And we are committed to managing our emissions on a long-term basis. We have strong technology investments, especially in carbon capture and storage. And, as part of our commitment to support low-emissions energy sources, Australia will introduce a new national Clean Energy Target, requiring that 30,000 gigawatt hours each year come from low-emissions sources by 2020. This represents at least 15 per cent of Australia’s electricity consumption.

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6. STEPHEN HARPER, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: The core principle of Canada’s approach to climate change is balance. We are balancing environmental protection with economic growth.

There is an emerging consensus on the need for a new, effective and flexible climate change framework, one that commits all the world’s major emitters to real targets and concrete action against global greenhouse gas emissions. A new international framework must stimulate the development and deployment of clean, low-carbon energy technologies.

In the near-term, the world will continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels. As a major, reliable producer, Canada will play an increasingly important role in global energy security. We therefore have a responsibility to find cleaner and more efficient ways to convert hydrocarbons into energy.

Canada is working on a variety of strategies, but one of the most exciting is carbon capture and storage. Pilot projects are underway in western Canada. C02 is being pumped deep underground into rock formations that have been drained of their oil and gas. Trapping it there creates a virtuous energy cycle: We take hydrocarbons out, tap their energy, and put the emissions back.

The Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta have established a Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force that will develop practical options for government and industry to work together to implement this technology on a large scale in Canada. We are also increasing Canada’s supply of renewable energy by investing in energy sources like wind, biomass, low impact hydroelectricity, geothermics, solar photovoltaics and ocean tides.

But the development of clean, alternative energy sources is not solely the responsibility of governments and taxpayers. Indeed, we will not succeed unless and until the challenge is taken up in the marketplace. Private capital and entrepreneurial creativity drive technological development. The commercialization of clean energy is already happening. Government’s main role is to design tax and regulatory systems that enable the free market to work.

In Canada, our Government has created a clean technology fund as part of a new regulatory framework that sets mandatory emission reduction targets for our major industries for the first time ever. The Fund will be used primarily to finance investments in technology and infrastructure that are highly likely to result in substantial, near-term emission reductions.

The core principle of Canada’s approach to climate change is balance. We are balancing environmental protection with economic growth. We are balancing public and private sector involvement in clean energy technology development. And we are promoting a balanced international approach to emissions reduction that engages all major emitters while respecting the unique characteristics of their economies.

The challenge we face is global. The solution is global. Canada is committed to working with the international community and the United Nations to develop the targets and the technologies that will overcome the challenge of climate change.

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7. NICOLAS SARKOZY, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: What is needed is a new kind of growth that consumes less energy and fewer raw materials.

I wish to make it clear that determined action on the climate challenge is and will remain a priority for me. Let us be clear: the industrialized countries have a special responsibility; within the spirit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, France will fully take part in the effort.

I am committed to bringing about the breakthroughs needed in France. I have convened all the stakeholders to a meeting this autumn to re-define our environmental policies. I have made the climate issue a major focus of my country’s foreign policy. During my first trip to Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, I went to the Congo basin forest in Gabon to clearly mark my commitment to the fight against deforestation. I have also decided that the climate issue will be a priority during the French presidency of the European Union in 2008.

Climate issue already lies at the heart of European policy. The European Union has made its determination to shoulder its responsibilities quite clear. If we wait until irreparable damage has been done; it would also mean allowing millions of people to become climate refugees.

Let us together set objectives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to clearly signal our determination to act. A 50% reduction in these emissions by 2050 is crucial if we are to avoid the looming point of no return.

The European Union has taken the decision to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 20% – and even 30% if the other industrialized countries do so as well – by 2020. We have taken the decision to improve our energy efficiency by 20% over the same period. We will develop renewable and low-carbon energies.

France supports this realistic goal. France has enacted legislation requiring a 75% reduction of its emissions by 2050. All the developed countries and the major emitting countries must commit to the objective of reducing emissions by at least 50% between now and 2050. Collective action is imperative. The fate of each is linked with that of all. Solidarity is imperative. The poor would be the first victims of our selfishness.

The United Nations is the only effective and legitimate framework for providing global solutions. The goal is to all work together to reach an agreement for the post-2012 period aimed at simultaneously fostering clean world growth, organising technological solutions and enabling the poor to adapt to climate change.

Since Rio in 1992, the climate issue has changed radically. Yesterday’s climate change assumptions have now become certainties. This shows that we were right to embark on the path set out in the Rio Convention. The funding requirements have been established. We must now reach agreement on our goals.

Our first goal is to find a way to achieve “clean” growth. Without growth, we will in any case fail to cope with the challenge before us. But what is needed is a new kind of growth that consumes less energy and fewer raw materials. A new economy must be invented. We must work on both behaviour and technology simultaneously. There is no simple answer.

The technologies for “cleaner” growth exist – positive energy buildings, hybrid and electric vehicles, carbon capture and sequestration, the new fuels and, of course, all the “low-carbon” energies, including nuclear. One figure is worth mentioning: thanks to nuclear energy, France’s greenhouse gas emission level per point of GDP is 35% below the average of the OECD countries, and energy intensity has further improved since 1990.

We must deploy technologies without discouraging innovation. We can achieve this through technology cooperation programmes and the development of market instruments such as the clean development mechanism. We can better achieve this by developing a flexible sectoral approach, with different procedures for each country.

The second goal is to protect forests. Deforestation and forest degradation account for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. The planet must keep its forests in good condition. The countries that contribute to this effort should be compensated for a service they are performing for all.

The third goal is adaptation of the populations and countries most vulnerable to climate change. Desertification, extreme weather events and rising sea levels are challenges to security and even survival. The developed countries have a solidarity imperative. This reality futher justifies the call for a global agreement under United Nations auspices.

Financing is not beyond our reach. The investment can be deemed unprecedented: 1% of global GDP, according to the authoritative Stem report. The cost of non-investment would be far greater – 5 to 20% of world GDP. The question is not whether we can finance these investments, but how to finance them.

Carbon must have a price, either through market mechanisms or through taxes. This debate is ongoing in France. The European Union led the way in putting a carbon market into practice and I see that a number of regions, States and economic sectors are now following suit.

This market will expand and I will support all projects pursuing that objective. But the approach must in future be by sector, and no longer only by country. A portion of the emission credits must be auctioned. There must be a strong expansion of clean development mechanisms to enable “polluting” companies to invest in the ecological development of the emerging and developing countries. Let us have the courage to allow all to join the carbon market voluntarily, with flexible carbon emission objectives.

The carbon market holds out great hope. It will ultimately provide innovative, more plentiful financing.

The market cannot of course be the only answer. Public financing will also be indispensable. Financing adaptation is the priority for Africa and the countries most exposed to the effects of warming. France devotes official development assistance amounting to more than 430 million euros to projects that contribute to fighting climate change. It intends to ensure that in future all the projects it finances in developing countries are compliant with national plans to combat climate change and are assessed according to their impact and their viability. This in no way constitutes a new conditionality; it is on the contrary an additional dimension of the partnership with developing countries. Adaptation support is needed. I call on all industrialized countries to commit to it.

I would also call for the coordination of the funds, often modest, managed by the international financial institutions. Action on the ground must be coordinated for maximum effectiveness.

Beyond financing, there is the issue of what future we choose. No country can reasonably plan its development without taking energy and climate issues on board. This is a matter of foresight. And none of us can imagine passing an unliveable, doomed world on to our children.

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8. CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: The world needs a technological revolution. Our common challenge is to promote these technological solutions aggressively — and implement them now.

Climate change is a generational and global challenge. As a major economy and also a major greenhouse gas emitter, the United States takes this challenge very seriously. Our efforts to address climate change are focused on technological transformation. Our government is prepared to broaden our leadership on this issue.

First, the United States is firmly committed to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. We believe the UN climate process is the appropriate forum for negotiating future global action on climate change, and we look forward to participating actively in the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. We view the Major Economies Meeting that President Bush and I will host later this week as the first in a series of meetings to support and help advance ongoing UN discussions — bringing together developed and developing countries to seek consensus on the key elements of a post-2012 framework on climate change.

Second, we recognize that climate change is such a complex and difficult issue because it cannot be dealt with effectively as an environmental challenge alone. As leaders agreed at this year’s G-8 and APEC meetings, climate change requires an integrated response — encompassing environmental stewardship, the security of energy supply, and economic growth and development. How we forge this integrated response has major consequences, not only for our future, but also for our present –and especially for the millions of men, women, and children in the developing world, whose efforts to escape poverty require broad and sustained economic growth, and thus the energy to fuel it.

Existing energy technologies alone will not meet the growing global demand for energy, while also reducing emissions to necessary levels. Ultimately, we must develop and bring to market new energy technologies that transcend the current system of fossil fuels, carbon emissions, and economic activity. Put simply, the world needs a technological revolution. Our common challenge is to promote these technological solutions aggressively — and implement them now.

Since 2001, the United States government has invested nearly $18 billion to develop cleaner sources of energy, including through hydrogen technologies, carbon sequestration, advanced nuclear energy, renewable fuels and sources of electricity, and support for greater energy efficiency.

At the same time, the United States is working actively, both in the public sphere and in the private sector, to help other countries bring clean energy technologies and alternative energy sources to the marketplace — from solar, and wind, and biofuels, to diesel and hybrid vehicles, and clean, safe nuclear power. We are also promoting public-private partnerships in key energy-intensive sectors through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate. And, through initiatives such as the FutureGen International Partnership, we are providing substantial public investments to advance the cleaner use of coal.

What the public sector alone cannot do, however, is bring all of these technologies to market. So one of our major common goals must be to encourage the private sector investments that will bring about a new low-carbon energy future, while ensuring continued economic growth.

The United States is fully committed to climate adaptation. The goal of climate adaptation is to enhance societal resilience. Key sectors for our investments include agriculture, water management, and coastal zones. Improved technology can play a key role in our efforts to build more resilient societies. One advancement in this area is the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, an important partnership we have advanced with more than 70 developing and developed countries to address the world’s most pressing environmental and biological challenges.