A report by Oxfam and WWF shows how it is possible to tackle the huge and growing greenhouse gas emissions from ships and raise billions of dollars to help developing countries tackle climate change, without unfairly hitting developing countries. It argues that a deal to apply a carbon price to international shipping should be at the heart of the agreement at the UN climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, later this year. It would also offer a solution to the deadlock on shipping emissions that has lasted more than a decade.
According to the proposal, applying a carbon price of US$25 per tonne to shipping fuel would help cut emissions while generating US$25 billion per year by 2020. The finance would be used both to compensate developing countries for marginally higher import costs that could result from the carbon price, and to provide more than US$10 billion per year to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Out of the Bunker – Time for a fair deal on shipping emissions
Source: WWF/Oxfam press release, 8 September 2011
If all the 20 planned coal-fired power plant projects in Germany are realised, they would together emit more than 140 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from 2050 onwards. This would make it impossible to achieve the climate targets of the German government.
Significant additional emission reductions and accompanying environmental improvements can be achieved in Europe by 2020. Health benefits alone far outweigh the extra costs for emission control.
A proposal for a revision of the EU Energy Tax Directive, launched in April by the European Commission, has triggered strong reactions from some of the EU member states, including giants like the UK and Germany.
The European Commission do not believe that their own proposal for a new Energy Efficiency Directive will be enough to meet the 20 per cent energy savings target by 2020.
The fate of the vast boreal forest belt of the northern hemisphere is crucial for global climate. A new AirClim-report looks into our possibilities to protect and manage these forests for climate mitigation. Reducing paper consumption turns out to be an option.