Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 8 • Number 7 • 18th April 2008

DEBATE ON SECTORALS CONTINUES AT MAJOR EMITTERS MEETING

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In Brief

On 16 April, US President Bush unveiled national plans for addressing climate change, timed to coincide with the third round of discussions on mitigation among ‘major emitters,’ a process the US has initiated.

The major emitters meeting took place in Paris from 16-18 April. It brought together 17 countries that account for 80 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions — namely, the Group of Eight industrialised nations, China, India, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and the EU. The meeting included a workshop on sectoral approaches to mitigation, focusing on trade-exposed, energy-intensive industrial sectors.

US President Bush’s climate mitigation plans got a cool reception, with his counterparts awaiting his departure from the White House and hoping to engage with the next US president. Bush’s proposals included halting the growth of carbon dioxide emissions by 2025. He opposed carbon taxes, while supporting nuclear power and the use of current coal reserves. In line with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, he opposed erecting carbon barriers against trade (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 7 March 2008, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/08-03-07/story3.htm). Overall, his proposals emphasised technological fixes and economic expansion.

France called the proposals ‘a bit late’ and Germany described the proposals as ‘disappointing’.

The major emitters meeting kicked off with a workshop on sectoral approaches for achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions. The focus was on global industrial benchmarks, such as targets for greenhouse gas emissions per tonne in the production of steel, aluminium and cement. Developing-country participants said that sectoral approaches would harm their less efficient industry, adding that the burden of mitigation should fall on the North. Instead, India requested the transfer of technology to help developing countries to modernise their industrial sectors. France concluded that sectoral approaches should be complementary, and not an alternative, to national targets. Highlighting a private-sector and industry perspective, other participants said that any agreements should be international to reduce competitiveness concerns.

ICTSD Reporting; "Paris Talks On Global Warming April 16 -18", "Industry Curbs Seen Possible Extra In Climate Deal", "Poorer Nations Object To Industry Greenhouse Curbs", "Bush Urges Halt Of CO2 Emission Growth By 2025", "Bush Emission Plan Adds To Environmental Legacy", "Bush Offers Principles For CO2 Emission Growth Cuts", PLANET ARK, 16/17April 2008; "Top emitters meet in Paris, worries on UN overlap", ENN, 15 April 2008, "Bush Climate Plan Said Too Little, Too Late", PLANET ARK, 18 April 2008.

WTO COMMITTEE AGREES TO CONSIDER REGIONS IN AGRICULTURAL DISEASE CONTROL

A recent meeting of the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee agreed on new rules that allow exports to continue from disease-free regions within countries in events of disease outbreaks. At its meeting from 3-4 April, the Committee also agreed on new and updated transparency requirements with regard to Members’ notifications.

The new agreement on regionalism modifies the framework for ensuring disease and pests do not spread from region to region and country to country. It is the result of five years of talks, led by New Zealand. Previously, if disease or pests were present in a country, all exports of the affected products would be barred from the country. The new rules state that regions are liable to be barred from international trade. This means that countries can still engage in trade, while barring relevant exports from a disease or pest-infected region. If no objections are raised the agreement will go into force on 15 May.

Members also continued addressing private sector standards in a debate that has been on going since 2005 (see Bridges Weekly, 6 July 2005, http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/05-07-06/story3.htm). During the latest round of talks, Egypt and Uruguay were highly critical of the use of private sector standards by companies, saying they reduce the efficacy of the SPS regime by creating higher standards outside of government control. Some participants felt that the private sector standards are arbitrary and end up penalising developing countries exporting to the North. They said that government should to take responsibility for standards set by private-sector actors within their boundaries. The committee decided to consider, at their next meeting in June, whether to set up a small working group on the topic of private sector standards.

ICTSD reporting: "Members set to agree on regionalization, improved SPS transparency", WTO RELEASE, 3 April 2008.

RUSSIA TO INTRODUCE NEW TIMBER CONTROLS

Russian officials have said they are planning to install a new monitoring system in order to stem rampant illegal logging.

A new unified information system for the timber sector in Russia is set to be operational starting in 2011. The system will track timber from harvest to processing to export. It also will ensure the compulsory accounting of timber entering in and out of wood processing plants.

Illegal logging is a major problem in Russia, with around ten percent of logs estimated to be illegally felled. The illegal activities can be divided into three categories. The first involves criminal activities such as the use of false documentation, logging without permission and corruption. Second, people living in poverty often deplete forests to cut trees for fuel. Finally, there is often a lack of law enforcement, and alternatively law-breaking by official agencies. Examples include issuing permits for felling in areas where felling is prohibited or not envisioned in current legislation, and issuing logging permits with violations of the existing procedure for permit issuing, or without the assessment of the real logging capacity required in current legislation. Large volumes on timber from the Russian Far East cross the border to China, which is one of the main global manufacturers of basic wood products, such as plywood, furniture and flooring. From China, these products are exported to consumers worldwide.

Alexey Morozov of civil society group Russian NGOs Forest Club stressed the responsibility of companies that import from Russia to ensure their supplies are legal. He said it doesn’t "seem possible to solve the problem of illegal forest felling operations until both buyers and sellers of forest products close the illegally logged timber from entering the market."

Russia is also hoping to process more of its rich forest resources domestically, and has been phasing in export tariffs on raw timber.

ICTSD Reporting; "Russia Plans Timber Tracking to Control Illegal Logging", ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE, 10 April 2008; "Survey of Illegal Forest Felling Activities in Russia", RUSSIAN NGOS FOREST CLUB.