With many developed countries unable to meet their Kyoto Protocol commitments, they have now joined hands to avoid having a second commitment period so they do not face punishment for non-compliance.
These countries include Japan, Norway, Australia, Iceland, Switzerland, Croatia and Canada.
Most of these nations are likely to miss the emission target deadline of 2012. Countries such as Spain, Italy, Austria and Denmark are also having problems meeting their targets.
Speaking at a seminar on Compliance and Liability, Centre for Science and Environment director, Sunita Narain warned that if a county crossed its allotted emissions budget at the end of the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, the enforcement branch had the authority to transfer the excess emissions to the second commitment period as also to suspend its carbon trading privileges.
The Copenhagen accord and the Cancun agreements have however failed to set up any compliance mechanism which can force nations to fulfil their obligations.
Ms Narain said, “To avoid punishment, nations can simply exit the treaty or jointly press not to have a second commitment period at all,” she said.
Industrialised nations, who are signatories to the Kyoto Protocol and had it written into their domestic law, are also reneging on their first commitment.
Director of the environment and climate change research wing of the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute, R. Gopichandran cited the example of the Canadian government who has openly stated their inability to meet their emissions obligation.
Two Canadian non-government organisations took the matter to the Supreme Court but their case was struck down on the grounds that if the law was not followed by the government, the public was free to protest this by voting in a different party.
Speakers called for a clarification on the concept of `loss and damage’ introduced in the Cancun Agreement in order to deal with refugees and migrants who were victims of climate change.
If, for example, the Solomon Islands would sink in the seas in the next 20 years, which country would accommodate them or pay for their migration.
The issue of holding industrialised countries who have not met their climate change funding commitments responsible was also discussed.
According to the Copenhagen agreement, the wealthy countries promised $3 billion additional funds for adaptation and mitigation to developing countries between 2010 and 2012 but only a paltry sum has been released so far.