Climate change debate being focussed on by the region
Updated
This week world leaders are in New York to take part in the General Assembly of the United Nations, with climate change the big issue being addressed by the assembly. Overnight, many of the smaller countries from around the world took part in a meeting of the Alliance Of Smaller Island States, or AOSIS, to discuss the concerns they have.
But those states, like the rest of the world, are waiting to hear what China's President Hu Jintao says in address to a UN climate change meeting being held later this week - a speech which many hope will help ensure the success of of the Copenhagan talks, to be held in December.
Presenter: Linda Mottram, Canberra correspondent
Speakers: Kevin Rudd, Australia's Prime Minister; Professor Stephen Howes, Crawford School of Economic and Government, Australian National University; Professor John Connor, CEO of Climate Institute of Australia; Kelly Dent, climate change spokesperson Oxfam Australia
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MOTTRAM: Its less than three months before the Copenhagen climate change summit and a deal remains elusive. Getting developing countries on board is vital but its long been recognised that developed and developing countries bear different responsibilities, with the latter also trying to haul Millions out of poverty. Its hoped that the political momentum generated by this week's international climate meeting at the UN in New York, and the G-20 leaders meeting in Pittsburgh, will help break the deadlock. Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
RUDD: We have both an historical and a future set of responsibilities. Its time for political leadership to come over the top of that and to forge an outcome. I believe we can get there. But its going to take every bit of effort to get there.
MOTTRAM: The Australian government's proposal is that under a new global climate change deal, all countries would agree to schedules of climate change mitigation actions. For developed countries, that would include legally binding, economy-wide targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. For developing countries there'd be no such targets, though their other schedule responsibilities would be legally binding and could include sector based targets. South Korea has proposed a similar plan, but without a legal obligation. Both follow the concept of a common but differentiated approach.
Professor Stephen Howes worked on Australia's Garnaut review of domestic and international climate change policy. He says the Australian and South Korean plans have been around for some time .. its the political opportunity in New York this week that's important.
HOWES: I guess the advantage of Copenhagen is its driving political attention. So at last leaders are having to grapple with what are some fairly complex technical issues. Because without the attention of the political leaders, the negotiators are simply spinning in circles, they could put forward proposals and there are lots of proposals but they're unable to reach agreement.
MOTTRAM: Detail though matters and could yet bedevil the proposals .. says Professor John Connor of Australia's Climate Institute.
CONNOR: How is it going to curb rising emissions before 2020, how is it going to make sure that people are actually making solid commitments, so it does need to have consequences if people don't take actions and some binding elements at that international level. So we think this needs to be looked at seriously but one also needs to be aware of the history of these talks as a range of countries all trying to get their best outcomes rather than what's best for humanity and what's best for an actual and effective agreement.
MOTTRAM: But the difficult issues don't end there. There's strong in-principle support, including from China, for a global fund to pay for technology transfer and adaptation and mitigation by developing countries. But that's not included in Australia's developing country plan.
Kelly Dent is the climate change spokesperson for aid agency Oxfam Australia.
DENT: There needs to be a signal before Copenhagen. We can't leave these things to the eleventh hour because trust has already broken down between developed and developing countries and in order to be able to restore that trust, developed countries need to start putting some money on the table, to show that there's a will.
MOTTRAM: Much turns, Stephen Howes says, on the so-called G-2 -- the United States and China, with Hu Jintao due to speak at the UN meeting this week.
HOWES: The U-S needs to have some assurance that China is also being bound in some way. if they're going to get this treaty ratified, if they're going to get it through their Senate. And of course that was a problem with Kyoto, because it was seen as one-sided, as only binding the rich countries, in particular only binding the US and not China, the US wasn't able to get it ratified and that sort of unwound Kyoto. It was dead on arrival.
MOTTRAM: Professor Howes believes China could step up to save the Copenhagen talks. It has not set a domestic target for emissions cuts but the China Daily newspaper recently reported that China could put a brake on its emissions by 2030. There'll be close attention paid when Hu Jintao rises to speak at the UN climate meeting this week.
