Rich countries are arriving in Bonn empty-handed and need to take bigger and
bolder action if a deal is going to be reached at the end of the year, international agency Oxfam said today. Mid-term emissions reduction targets for most rich countries fall
seriously short of what the science demands (25 - 40 percent cuts below 1990 levels by 2020) and they have yet to commit anything near the $50 billion per year needed, at a minimum, to help poor
countries adapt to climate change. - Europe has committed to a 20 - 30 percent cut in emissions by 2020 on 1990 level and has made no firm commitment on finance- Statements
made by President Obama’s administration point to stabilization at 1990 levels by 2020. The $10 million made available by Congress in the 2009 budget to support adaptation falls short of
requirements but is significant as the first US contribution to any multilateral climate fund.- Australian commitments equate to a 4 - 14 per cent cut on 1990 levels by 2020. It has not
committed money for adaptation over and above existing aid commitments.- Japan has not set any targets for 2020 but, if it continues on its current course, its emissions will increase by 6
percent on 1990 levels by 2020. Japan has yet to contribute to existing UN funds for adaptation. Antonio Hill Senior Policy Adviser on Climate Change for Oxfam
said:Â ”The climate negotiations in Bonn start with a critical casting change. President Obama has put the US back in the game. The US must now combine strong new leadership in the
international negotiations with swift and ambitious action at home. “The clock is ticking. We have just a few short months left to agree a deal that will help prevent climate
catastrophe. A deal is possible but poor countries, who are already suffering from the impacts of a climate crisis they did not create, need to be convinced that rich countries are ready to deliver on
their side of the bargain. “Rich countries will make or break this deal. The talks will fail unless rich countries deliver their fair shares of the emissions cuts that science
demands - and the resources to help poor people and countries adapt to a changing climate and develop in a low carbon way. “ Notes For more information or to arrange an interview with Oxfam representatives in Bonn contact: Lucy Brinicombe, +44(0)1865 472192 / +44(0)7786 110054 / lbrinicombe@oxfam.org.uk Background to BonnThe UNFCCC meeting in Bonn, Germany from 29 March - 8 April kicks off
the final year of negotiations on a global climate change deal. The negotiations, which began in Bali in 2007, are due to culminate in a deal in Copenhagen in December
2009. Bonn will be the first round of negotiations since President Obama took office. Bonn will also be the last global meeting before the draft text of a deal is published in
June.  The talks are a much needed opportunity to build trust between rich and poor countries. They hit an all time low at UN talks in Poznan, Poland in December last
year, where rich countries’ reluctance to commit money and resources to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change was widely condemned by developing country representatives. The recent
failure of the EU to commit on adaptation finance and its demands for poor countries to develop national mitigation strategies before they commit to provide funding has further soured
relations. Unless there is a concrete commitment of money and resources a global agreement is unlikely. The UN talks are happening against a backdrop of high level
meetings. President Obama will meet EU leaders at a US - EU Summit in Prague on Sunday 5 April where climate change and energy security is expected to be high on the agenda. President Obama is also
expected to meet President Hu of China on the fringes of G20 in London on 2 April. It is hoped these meetings will forge new partnerships - particularly between the US and China - and breathe new life
into the increasing stale international negotiations. Where are the key players at? US: In what is widely seen as a positive
sign for US engagement, Todd Stern, the US Climate Change Envoy will speak at the opening session of the talks. However as the US delegation is not at full capacity and the new Administration has not
set its position, the US is likely to be in listening mode - testing and exploring ideas and sizing up the political landscape. Public statements to date continue to state a low level of ambition for
the US - stabilization of emissions at 1990 levels by 2020. Very little funding has been pledged for poor country adaptation and mitigation.EU: While previously amongst the
most progressive countries, internal wrangling and a desire to ‘wait and see’ what the US will do have left the EU without an agreed negotiating position for Bonn and little new
to say - the exception being a proposal for determining how emissions reductions should be shared across rich countries. The EU has committed to cutting its emissions by 20 - 30 per cent by 2020 and
it has just yet to make a specific commitment on how much money it will provide to help poor countries adapt to climate change. Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, also accused
the EU of breaking an agreement made in Bali in 2007 by trying to set further preconditions before releasing funds for mitigation action developing countries.China and the G77
group of developing countries has put forward the highest number of proposals for consideration at the talks covering a range of issues from adaptation finance to deforestation. This large negotiating
block of developing countries are ready to engage and will be expecting action from rich countries on adaptation finance and emissions reductions. With a commitment to cut emissions by 50 per cent by
2050 Mexico is leading the challenge to rich countries to act. Canada, Japan are Australia are likely to play their traditional role as ‘foot
draggers’ - fighting to minimize commitments and actions both domestically and in the negotiations. Â Australia has committed to an emissions reduction target of just 5 per cent below
2000 levels by 2020 if there is no international agreement, and a 15 per cent cut if there is (equivalent to 4 - 14 per cent cut below 1990 levels by 2020); Canada has committed to a 20 percent cut in
industrial emissions on 2006 levels by 2020 (equivalent to a 24 per cent increase in total emissions on 1990 levels by 2020); Japan has not set any targets for 2020 but, if it continues on its current
trajectory, its emissions will increase by 6 percent on 1990 levels by 2020. Australia has committed $150 million for adaptation in vulnerable countries over three years as part of its
existing aid budget. Japan has yet to contribute to existing UN funds for adaptation.Vulnerable countries and small island states such as Bangladesh and Jamaica are pushing
hard for serious new resources for adaptation and ambitious emissions reductions in order to guarantee their survival. In a bold move which could prove diplomatically troublesome at the UN
talks the group has put forward proposals for capping global warming at no more then 1.5 degrees. As it is the UN conference is still a long way from endorsing event the more modest target of two
degrees championed by the European Union. The group’s demands were bolstered by the findings of an international science congress in Copenhagen earlier this month which concluded that the
climate is changing faster and with more devastating effects then was expected.What is on the agenda?  Negotiations will cover a range of issues
including emission reduction targets for rich industrialized countries (Annex 1 countries), what developing countries should do to cut emissions and what rich countries will provide in terms of
finance and technology to enable them to do this.  It will also address so called ‘spill over effects’ - what action the international community
will take to compensate countries, such as the oil producing states, which could lose out as a result of a global climate deal.What is the outcome likely to
be? There are unlikely to be any decisions or agreements made in Bonn because no country will fully agree to any element of the climate deal until the entire package is
agreed in December 2009. However it is likely that countries will re-affirm and build on previous commitments such as the importance of rich countries cutting their emissions by 25-40
percent by 2020. They are also likely to add more detail to core concepts such as the way that mitigation actions in developing countries will be measured, reported on and
verified. More importantly, clues and hints should begin to emerge as to the positions of different countries and what the key areas of agreement and disagreement are. All this will
feed into a negotiating text for a climate change agreement that will be tabled at the next UNFCCC meeting in Bonn in June. What needs to happen? There is still time to reach a global deal in Copenhagen that is safe and fair however to achieve this we need to see action on the following at Bonn: - A commitment by rich
countries to cut emissions by at least 40 percent by 2020 (relative to 1990 levels). - A commitment by rich countries to provide funding needed to help developing countries adapt to
a changing climate (at least $50 billion per year) and develop in a low carbon way.   Climate change Impacts Rich countries
have created climate chaos. But it is the world’s poorest people who are already suffering most from its effects. For them climate change already means more poverty,
hunger, disease and death. If left unchecked, climate change, will threaten the survival of hundreds of millions of vulnerable people. Women, who provide food, water and fuel for their
families, will be the hardest hit of all.The number of people at risk of hunger is projected to increase by 50 million by 2050 without urgent action on climate change. About three-quarters of
that number will be in Africa. Across Africa, 75 million to 250 million people could face severe water shortages by 2020. Up to one billion people in Asia could face water shortages
because of melted glaciers. More from the Oxfam Press Office at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/news
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
