Is economic recession slowing down actions against climate change?

By Dongying Wang

LONDON, March 10 (Chinese media) -- Global efforts to combat climate change have not been played down by the current economic slump, although relevant non-governmental organizations have started to feel the pressure, experts say.

"As the economic crisis is deepening, there could be some impact on climate change in general. But so far, I do not see direct and evident 'compromise' of the global efforts," Feng Gao, director of the Legal Affairs Program of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat, said in an interview with Chinese media.

CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS PROCEED

The implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, the first phase of which will expire in 2012, is proceeding well, Gao said.

"Political signals so far we have received have been encouraging" at the ongoing negotiations for a new post-2012 climate agreement, expected to be signed in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December, he said.

The Kyoto Protocol binds 37 industrialized countries and the European community to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent from 1990 levels by 2012.

Developing countries, such as China and India, which have emerged as leading economies, have come under great pressure to join a new accord and cap their pollution.

LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT HIGH ON AGENDA

At the recent Davos economic forum, officials warned that the economic slump should not be an excuse for further delaying actions against climate change.

More promisingly, many countries, including China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, France and Germany, have announced green economic stimulus plans that are expected to increase both employment and energy efficiency.

Among them, the U.S. billions-of-dollars low-carbon packages have been highly applauded. The huge spending will focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy and green technologies, and will usher in a low-carbon era in the country.

Green recovery is also high on the agenda of the forthcoming April G20 summit in London, which has a core task of stabilizing the global financial system and coordinating efforts to rescue the global economy.

"At the G20, we will push for stronger global commitment to fight climate change" to prevent the failure of the Poznan meeting from repeating at Copenhagen, said Mark Malloch-Brown, British minister for Africa, Asia and the UN.

However, green development should not be pursued at the immediate cost of current recovery, he said, adding that Europe, with Germany being a champion, must take the lead in low-carbon development.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged his people to back the national task to build a low-carbon economy, saying that his government is working on a new industrial strategy to support the green transformation.

Independent research showed that Britain, with its ambition to cut emissions, could expect 400,000 new jobs in the environmental sector over the next eight years with a total of 1.3 million people to be employed in the sector by 2017.

NGOS FEEL KNOCK-ON EFFECTS OF DOWNTURN

Although the big picture looks rosy, the reality seems far from clear.

Amid current economic woes, many NGOs have felt that sustainable development is slowing down, as it is not something achievable by quick solutions that usually bring quick benefits but incur negative effects in the long run.

"The problem now is that political leaders and businesses are distracted by an urgent crisis which means that they reach for short term solutions," said Isabel Hilton, editor of China Dialogue, a London-based online journal on climate change and sustainable development.

"Many businesses regard corporate social responsibility as a luxury rather than integral to sustainable business and will reduce their commitments," she said.

"As margins shrink, businesses tend to cut corners to the detriment of environmental protection and cut back on investments in energy efficiency," she said.

Though China Dialogue has not yet suffered from the economic crisis, Hilton anticipated that it will be more difficult for the company to secure new funding, a situation also faced by many other non-profit organizations.

Many major foundations have seen a drop of up to 25 percent in their endowments, and are reluctant to take on new projects, preferring to use their resources to support existing clients, Hilton said.

Ironically, some bigger charities are suffering more, partly because they have funds invested in banks or funds that have collapsed, notably in Iceland, and because they depend on public donations that are going down, she said.