The issue of the changing climate was once more up for controversy as the 7th UN Climate Change Convention met in Marrakech, Morocco for a 10 day conference between Oct 29th and November 9th 2001.

The Marrakech convention was the 7th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP 7). A total of 171 governments attended with approximately 4500 participants.

Initial negotiations for a framework on climate change began back in 1990 orchestrated by the UN general assembly. By 1994 the convention had achieved the necessary 50 ratifications and the Conference of Parties (COP) was established to help with decisions and advance implementation. Each year the convention has continued to attract new parties. The Conference of the Parties biggest breakthrough was at COP 3 in 1997 whereby negotiations led to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol was an agreement reached by the parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This was to be achieved through monitoring the global market forces and in turn protecting the environment. Emission targets were set for 39 industrialized nations. For the European Union, USA, Japan this was 8%, 7% and 6% respectively by the period 2008-2012. Emission targets could be offset by such activities as planting trees and creating carbon sinks. Emissions trading could be utilized by countries through purchasing less expensive emissions permits from countries that had already met their targets, thus a global approach was being instigated.

The Protocol also included the Clean Development Mechanism whereby companies of developed countries could work in partnership with corporations in developing countries to reduce emissions. Developing countries themselves did not have such specific emission targets.

The Kyoto Protocol came under some criticism because it lacked substantial operational details. It was attempted in COP4 and COP5 to work out these operational details. The majority of detailed specifications occured in COP 6 and were named the Bonn Agreements on the Implementation of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action.

On March 28 2001, the USA officially pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol. This caused anger from within and outside the USA particularly since the USA account for about 25% of the Earth's greenhouse gas emissions yet only house 4% of the population.

With this background looming, the COP7 had difficult tasks ahead. Its major task was to finalize the details of the Bonn Agreement. This was achieved with the Kyoto rulebook. This now specifies how to measure emissions and reductions, the extent to which carbon dioxide absorbed by carbon sinks can be counted towards targets, how the joint implementation and emissions trading systems will work and the rules for ensuring compliance with commitments. 15 members were elected to the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism. The Kyoto Protocol will be legally binding after it has been ratified by 55 Parties to the Convention. So far 40 countries have ratified this with the full ratification hoped for in 2002.

The developments of COP7 have been met with wary enthusiasm by environmental groups around the world. Greenpeace showed notable cynicism prior to and during the conference but ended on a more positive key. Its main message is that the Kyoto Protocol is just the beginning and that ratification needs to be put in place as soon as possible. Friends of the Earth noted that progress had been made with the negotiations but that Europe needed to put pressure on the Russian delegation to prevent further concessions and ensure that Japan do not back out of the agreements.

Sources/Further information

United Nations Climate Change Convention
BBC News
US State Department
Lycos Environment News Service
Greenpeace News
Friends of the Earth News
Free Photos

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