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Australia to claim special status at climate conference
November 29, 1997
In October, Greenpeace activists installed solar panels on the roof of the prime minister's residence
Web posted at: 2:05 p.m. EST (1905 GMT)SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australia said it remained hopeful about reducing greenhouse gases linked to global warming at an international climate conference in Japan next week, but added that the government would not accept reduction targets that might endanger Australian jobs.
"We have rejected and we will continue to reject mandatory uniform targets which advantage many developed countries to the distinct disadvantage of Australia," Prime Minister John Howard said earlier in the week.
That view was repeated Friday when Environment Minister Robert Hill underlined the government's position that Australia was a special case among developed nations.
John Raedler's report from Sydney, Australia
"The Australian government cannot commit to a target which makes no allowances for the circumstances we face, which are atypical among developed nations and which make our emissions reduction task more difficult," he said.
Australia is proposing conservation measures that will slow its emission of greenhouse gases, but still increase them by 18 percent by 2010.
Australia maintains it is unique, because its economy relies on exporting energy resources, such as coal, that produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses. The country also has energy-dependent heavy industries such as mining and aluminum smelting.
Howard said these and other factors, including rapid population growth, made it impossible for Australia to reduce greenhouse gasses in the near future.
Australia relies on exporting energy resources such as coal "We are not prepared to see Australian jobs sacrificed and efficient Australian industries, particularly those in the resources sector, robbed of their hard-earned competitive advantage," Howard said.
No agreement on emission targets
The European Union wants a 15 percent reduction of 1990 emission levels by 2010, while the United States -- the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter -- has offered a modest stabilization of emissions at 1990 levels by 2012.
The Japanese have proposed that industrial nations' emissions be reduced by only 5 percent from 1990 levels by 2010.
Carbon dioxide, a byproduct of burning gasoline and other fossil fuels, is the most common of the greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere. Unless emissions are controlled, scientists warn, rising atmospheric temperatures will raise ocean levels and severely disrupt global climate.
A U.N. panel that has prepared a report for the climate conference in Kyoto has warned that small island states, including those in the South Pacific, are "extremely vulnerable to global climate change and global sea-level rise."
But Howard -- who has been strongly criticized by the environmental organization Greenpeace -- gave a sober response to South Pacific leaders who have repeatedly expressed their concern that rising sea levels might ultimately ruin their island nations.
"I understand their concerns, but they must understand that this is an issue that directly affects jobs and the living standards of all Australians," Howard said.
Ways of measuring carbon dioxide varies
Australia may not be the only critical voice at the Kyoto climate conference.
Another report, this one compiled by the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on the climate change, has cited uncertainties regarding forest absorption of carbon dioxide, or CO2, noting that different countries use different methods of calculating the absorption levels, sources close to the secretariat said Saturday.
Burning gasoline is one source of Australia's carbon dioxide emissions The report by the Bonn-based secretariat was likely to affect discussions on a proposal by the United States and New Zealand that countries be allowed to deduct forest-absorbed CO2 from their CO2 emissions in calculating greenhouse gas cuts, said the sources.
Some non-government organizations have criticized the proposal, branding it another loophole for evading reductions.
The global climate conference opens Monday in the ancient capital city in western Japan. About 5,000 people -- including delegates, representatives from non-government groups and journalists from 170 countries -- are expected to attend.
Correspondent John Raedler and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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