Reading through the agenda for the May 31 - June 11 UN meeting on Climate Change, one could easily conclude that the Kyoto Protocol is a done deal. It is not.
Eighteen months after is was adopted, the Kyoto Protocol has been signed by only 84 of the 176 nations that ratified the original Convention on Climate Change; only eight nations have ratified it. None of the eight nations that have ratified it are subject to its requirements.
Nevertheless, delegates from more than 150 nations will gather in Bonn's Maritim Hotel to invest another two weeks discussing ways to implement the Protocol.
Among the issues to be discussed, are methods of implementation of Article 2(ii)(iii):
(ii) Protection and enhancement of sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases not controlled by the
Montreal Protocol, taking into account its commitments under relevant international
environmental agreements; promotion of sustainable forest management practices, afforestation
and reforestation;
(iii) Promotion of sustainable forms of agriculture in light of climate change considerations;
One of the questions to be answered is how these two provisions are to be related to other international treaties, particularly, to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on Desertification, neither of which have been ratified by the U.S. Senate. Of course, it doesn't matter to the UN delegates that the United States has not ratified either the Kyoto Protocol or the other two treaties. They appear to be confident that the administration will continue to implement the mandates set forth in the UN treaties - whether ratified or not. Their confidence is not ill-founded.
Throughout the administration, federal agencies are developing and implementing policies to implement the measures set forth in all three unratified treaties. The recently issued report of the President's Council on Sustainable Development, Toward a Sustainable America (See eco-logic, Summer 1999), contains 170 pages of specific recommendations related to climate change, environmental management, and international leadership. Virtually every recommendation arises from one or more of the unratified treaties.
At the 4th Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting in Buenos Aires in 1998, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was asked to study ways to implement Article 2(ii). They have been holding meetings all over the world, most recently in Indianapolis last month (at a cost of $118,847), to discuss.... According to the Bonn agenda, they are expected to report their progress in Bonn, but not to have final recommendations for another year. More meetings; more discussions. More tax dollars down the drain.
Another hot topic in Bonn will be "Administration and Finance." On the administration side, a formal agreement between the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN is expected to be approved. The relationship between the two organizations has been semi-official; this action will make official what has been occurring since 1992. The UNFCCC consists of delegates from the 176 nations that have ratified the original Convention (read: treaty) on Climate Change. The body, called "Conference of the Parties" (COP) is managed by an Executive Secretary appointed by the UN Secretary General, and his staff, consisting of 86 budgeted positions. The "Secretariat" is housed in the UN facility in Bonn, Germany. The German government pays the UNFCCC 3.5 million deutsche marks (about $887,600) annually for the privilege
On the finance side, Executive Secretary, Michael Cutajar, will announce that his expenditures are outstripping his income. Surprise! The budget is intact; the income is not. Every two years, the COP adopts a budget, then assesses each nation a proportional amount. For the '97-'98 period, the approved budget is $21,346,000. Many nations are asked to pay only a few hundred dollars. The bulk of the money comes from the developed nations, and as usual, the United States pays the lion's share. Cash flow is a continual problem caused by nations that fail to pay their assessment on time.
Like every UN climate change meeting since Kyoto, the delegates will meet, there will be very little press coverage in the United States, and the administration will continue to develop policies to conform to the decisions made in Bonn. While a handful of Congressmen have attended these meetings, most have not, and consequently, have very little understanding of either the Protocol, or the procedure by which the policy decisions are made.
The Kyoto Protocol is being implemented by the UN as if it were already international law. Why not? Who is going to stop them?
See also: Sovereignty International.