International Climate Negotiators Set Bold Targets in Vienna, U.S. Notably Absent.

Vienna Last Friday, negotiators from 158 countries agreed to rough emission reduction targets for industrialized countries to strive for. Since the U.S. has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, the U.S. was not a part of the agreement.

The negotiators convened in Vienna for an intersessional meeting of the UNFCCC to discuss an international agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012. The final agreement was for industrialized countries to strive to reduce emission their emissions 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020. It was a compromise between developing countries and the European Union, which were pushing for ambitious targets and Canada, Japan and Russia, who were not in favor of setting emission reduction targets at all. The goal is non-binding, yet considered to be a positive step towards the major annual climate negotiations that will take place in December in Bali.

In the lead up to Bali, there are a number of major international conferences on climate to look out for. This weekend, an APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Co-operation) summit will look to tackle the issue, but many expect more hot air from Australian Prime Minister Howard and Bush. Take a picture of yourself and join Avaaz’s photo petition, to remind officials that we need bold binding targets and not more “voluntary” or “aspirational” goals.

About Whit

Whit recently graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, MN where he majored in International Relations and minored in Political Economy and Environmental Studies. While on campus, he and his friends worked to make Carleton carbon neutral by designing a Sustainability Revolving Fund, studying the feasibility of bringing new wind turbines to campus, and participating in Minnesota Campus Wars. He spent his summer organizing the March to ReEnergize Iowa, and is currently working on Power Shift 2007 and preparing for upcoming international climate negotiations in Bali as the Partnerships Coordinator for SustainUS

1 Response to “International Climate Negotiators Set Bold Targets in Vienna, U.S. Notably Absent.”

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1 Josh Arnold Sep 4th, 2007 at 8:37 pm

Hi Whit. Thanks for the post. With the Bali negotiations right around the corner I am getting anxious to hear what the IGHIH community has to say. Do we have a youth team heading to Bali? I know SustainUS is sending a delegation, but are any other groups going? Maybe we should have an Energy Action conference call about to see who is interested and start to hash out some logistics. I’m confident we can find sponsorship to attend but we have to get the ball rolling PDQ. Maybe it already is and I’m just in the dark?