Developing countries take steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions

Date: 18/03/1999

By Renée Cordes

THERE is no doubt that industrialised countries are the biggest emitters of the greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming.

That is the rationale behind the EU's insistence that the developed world must take the lead in the battle to cut them. “We cannot deny that we have a historical responsibility for climate change,” said an aide to Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard. “Developed countries are responsible for more than half of the world's emissions. Therefore we need to be the first to show that we can take measures to reduce them.”

But even Commission officials acknowledge that emissions from developing countries are likely to exceed those of developed countries by 2020, with 30&percent; of the world's output coming from China and India.

Nevertheless, pressure is mounting on developed countries to take a proactive approach towards halting increases in emissions - and, in an ideal world, reducing them.

The US has repeatedly argued that developing countries have an important role to play in combating climate change, much to the dismay of EU leaders who fear that if the heaviest polluters do not take responsibility today, their poorer cousins may not be inspired to follow.

In a letter to US President Bill Clinton in July 1995, chief executives of 119 leading American companies insisted that “agreements cannot exempt developing nations, which are expected to be the major contributors to greenhouse gases in the 21st century”.

Politicians from 170 countries who met in Buenos Aires last autumn to discuss progress on combatting climate change called for developed nations to help developing countries with climate-friendly, more efficient technology.

But even without that helping hand, a group of developing countries has begun to introduce voluntary measures to stem emissions. “There is quite a bit of evidence that developing companies are doing more than they need to do,” says Liam Salter, an energy expert at Climate Network Europe.

At Buenos Aires, Argentina pledged to adopt a voluntary emissions-limit target for 2008-2012 and Kazakhstan expressed its intention to join the group of industrialised countries in accepting a legally binding goal. China, Kenya and Brazil have already taken measures to cut their emissions significantly.

In the Eighties, Beijing introduced wide-scale energy price reforms, cutting subsidies for fossil fuels such as petroleum. While emissions increased between 1980 and 1990, experts say they would have been a lot higher without efficiency improvements.

China has also taken steps to promote cleaner and more efficient energy. The effort appears to be paying off. Industry experts estimate that by the end of 1995, China's use of renewable energy accounted for one-quarter of total energy consumption.

India, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Brazil - all among the world's top 25 C02 emission producers - have also significantly cut output.