EU warns climate talks at risk of floundering
Published on May 24, 2012
BONN (AFP) - Europe warned at climate talks in Bonn on Wednesday that efforts to forge a new global
pact to avert environmental disaster were in danger of floundering, and some pointed fingers at China.
Nine days into talks meant to set the stage for a United Nations (UN) gathering in Qatar in December
where countries must set new targets for curbing Earth-warming gas emissions, negotiators said procedural
bickering was quashing progress hopes.
With only two days left in this negotiating round, the parties have failed to agree on an agenda for a newly
established body dubbed the ADP tasked with overseeing the drafting of a new all-encompassing pact by
2015.
And in a further sign of trouble, elections were called late on Wednesday for the ADP's top officers after
several days of meetings failed to yield a consensus candidate.
The secret ballot to be held on Thursday if no last-minute agreement is reached, will mark the first time in
the 20-year history of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change environment treaty that a lack of
consensus on a chairmanship forces a vote.
'If this slow pace of negotiations continues... it poses the risk of unraveling the Durban package,' Danish
chief negotiator Christian Pilgaard Zinglersen warned on behalf of the European Union (EU).
He was referring to an agreement reached in South Africa last year to bind all countries under a new pact
from 2020 to curb Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions, not just developed nations as is the case now.
Mr Pilgaard told the Bonn gathering that some parties, which he did not name, wanted to rehash issues that
have already been settled.
'We are very concerned that the spirit of cooperation that prevailed in Durban has not carried over into this
session,' the diplomat said in a prepared speech.
French climate ambassador Serge Lepeltier said that China specifically 'gives the impression of having
hardened its positions since Durban'.
And Mr Wael Hmaidan, director of activist group Climate Action Network, said China was 'blocking the
ADP' out of fear that rich nations were trying to shift more of the emissions curbing burden onto poorer
states than was historically fair.
'Since the ADP has no firewall between developed and developing countries, that means they will have the
same kind of commitments as developed countries under the ADP,' said Mr Hmaidan, who is himself
taking part in the talks.
'This is where the fight is.'
Late on Wednesday, a message was broadcast on television screens at the conference venue that 'following
unsuccessful consultations among regional groups, the ADP will be invited to elect its officers' on
Thursday.
A document on the UNFCCC website said talks to choose the officers by consensus 'fell apart' and 'the
only avenue left is an election'.
Delegates told AFP that part of the bickering arose from small island states supporting a candidate from
Trinidad and Tobago put forward by Latin America rather than the Indian candidate suggested by its own
Asian bloc.
As countries bicker, researchers recently predicted Earth's temperature rising by as much as 5 deg C from
pre-industrial levels, instead of the 2 deg C limit being targeted.
While rich nations bear most of the historical responsibility for global warming, their place is being taken
by emerging giants such as China, India and Brazil which emit massive amounts of carbon in their rapid
development.
These countries will also have to meet emissions curb under a new deal, but some are reticent for fear the
restrictions may slow down their economic growth machines.
The Kyoto protocol's first roster of pledges expires at the end of the year, and an amended version must be
adopted in Qatar to regulate emissions curbs until 2020.
But Mr Zinglersen said Wednesday: 'We are very concerned that success in Doha is currently far from
certain. With only two days left in Bonn we have made very little progress on a number of key issues.'
The United States had never ratified the Kyoto Protocol, while Russia and Japan have said they did not
intend to sign up from next year. Australia and New Zealand have not confirmed their positions, while
Canada withdrew from the protocol last year.
Los Angeles to become largest US city to ban
plastic bags
Published on May 24, 2012
CALIFORNIA (REUTERS) - The Los Angeles City Council voted on Wednesday to ban the use of plastic
bags in grocery stores, setting the stage to become the largest American city to date to implement such a
measure.
The 13-1 vote kicks off a process that will include a four-month environmental review, a second vote to
formally adopt an ordinance, and a six-month grace period for the roughly 7,500 grocers within the limits
of the second-largest United States city.
Smaller grocers will have 12 months to phase out the bags.
'It's great for the environment, great for the future, and great for our beaches and our ocean,' Council
member Mr Ed Reyes said in a video posted on his website.
'It's a win for everybody.' An estimated 2.3 billion single-use plastic carry-out bags are used in Los
Angeles each year, according to environmental non-profit Heal The Bay, which supported the ban.
The measure also imposes a 10 US cent (13 Singapore cents) charge on the use of paper bags one year
after the plastic bag ban takes effect.
Some 45 other California cities have already banned the use of plastic bags by grocery stores.
A smoke-free country? New Zealand taxes
aim for it
Published on May 24, 2012
WELLINGTON (AP) - There are smoke-free bars, smoke-free parks, even smoke-free college campuses.
But a smoke-free country?
New Zealand's government on Thursday squeezed smokers more than ever by announcing a 40 per cent
hike in tobacco taxes over the next four years. Prices here are already among the highest in the world, and
by 2016 they will top NZ$20 (S$19) a pack on average.
Officials hope higher taxes and new restrictions will bring the nation of 4.4 million closer to a recent
pledge to snuff out the habit entirely by 2025. Other countries have lauded the idea of trying to wean their
populace off tobacco, but few, if any, have been willing to put a date on it.
Health officials here are so serious they recently considered hiking the cost of a pack of cigarettes to
NZ$100. Although that idea was dismissed, another measure, which will force retailers to hide cigarettes
below the counter rather than putting them on display, will come into effect in July.
Smoking rates among New Zealand adults have fallen from about 30 per cent in 1986 to about 20 per cent
today. Cigarette sales have fallen more sharply, suggesting that even people who haven't quit cut back as
prices rose.
People who are still smoking aren't happy about where prices are going.
Mr Chris Hobman said the cost is 'horrendous' and could drive some low-income people to commit crimes
to support their habit. He said the government needs to provide more support and alternatives to smokers if
it's serious about making them quit.
Wellington resident Ms Hayley Mauriohooho, who has smoked for about 20 years, said that although it
would be good if more people quit, higher taxes won't stop her.
'It's quite ridiculous for the government to be concentrating on that,' she said. 'They have bigger things to
worry about.'
New Zealand's Cancer Society reacted to Thursday's announcement by sending out a press release titled
'Thumbs Up!'
Mr Michael Calhoun, a spokesman for the anti-smoking lobby group ASH, said the fact that a higher
percentage of low-income people smoke will mean the tax increases will force many to cut back or quit
entirely because they simply won't be able to afford their habit.
The New Zealand branch of cigarette company British American Tobacco says the tax increases will force
consumers to turn to the black market.
'Consumer demand is far better served by legitimate companies than by the illegal operators that will
surely grow as the government makes it increasingly difficult for people to buy their product of choice,'
wrote Ms Susan Jones, head of corporate and regulatory affairs, in an email.
So far, New Zealand officials have seen few cases of illegal tobacco sales.
The South Pacific nation's smoking statistics are similar to those in other developed countries. According
to a 2011 study by the World Health Organization, about 20 per cent of adult New Zealanders smoke. That
compares to about 16 per cent of adults in the United States (US), 17 per cent in Australia, 23 per cent in
China and 27 per cent in France.
New Zealand already charges more than 70 per cent tax on cigarettes, compared to 41 per cent on average
for China, 45 per cent on average for the US, 64 per cent for Australia and 80 per cent for France.