With a view to the new deal on climate change expected at the end of the year in Copenhagen, the IPU is helping parliamentarians develop a shared understanding of the problem and practical solutions to tackle it.
At the recent 120th IPU Assembly held in Addis Ababa, a sweeping resolution on climate change and renewable energies was adopted. The resolution endorses the G8 goal of a minimum of 50 per cent reduction of global emissions by 2050, but also urges countries to set their own more ambitious targets.
A key provision in the resolution calls for greater investment in research and development of renewable technologies, as well as for more support for their transfer to developing countries. In order to help make renewable energies more competitive, countries are urged to develop ways to calculate the real environmental cost of fossil fuels.
With some 180 proposed amendments received prior to the debate in Addis Ababa, the resolution was not without controversy. The debate became particularly heated when it came to the issue of nuclear energy. Compromise language in the end gave only tepid support to this form of energy by cautioning countries to weigh carefully factors such as the finite nature of uranium, the risk of serious harm to both people and the environment, and the still intractable problem of waste disposal.
Biofuels as a sustainable energy source were also given only limited support, conditional on finding more efficient production methods that do not reduce the availability of staples and other foods.
Much of the text is devoted to energy efficiency, which is well within reach, and where relatively small investments can go a long way to reducing CO2 emissions, especially in developed countries. The resolution calls for more investments to improve automobile emissions, retrofit buildings, develop more energy efficient appliances and expand public transport.
As an immediate follow-up to the resolution, the IPU will participate in a thematic debate on renewable energies at the United Nations on 18 June. Other activities include a parliamentary meeting to be held on 16 December in the wings of the Copenhagen Conference.
