CAN SNAP Intervention in the COP18 KP Contact Group, 27 November, 2012

KP Snap Intervention 

27 November, 2012

Lina from WWF Mexico

We welcome Australia’s decision to join phase-two of Kyoto and are pleased that they have tabled a QELRO at the beginning of the meeting to allow other Parties time to respond. But CAN does not welcome the lack of ambition and would like to see QELROs that reflect what science demands – reductions of 25% – 40% rather than 5%. We also have concerns about the conditions that Australia has attached to its submission. Any AAU decision mustn’t be used to inflate Australia’s carbon budget for second commitment period. Whilst Australia has a relatively small surplus of AAUs, for developed countries as a whole the surplus from the first commitment period is very large. This surplus risks undermining the effectiveness of action in the post-2012 period and beyond. We urge Australia to speak out in favour of strong rules to restrict carry over of this surplus. If Australia does not speak out in favour of these rules, we can only assume you support hot air in the second commitment period. However, at least Australia is constructively discussing its targets within the KP. CAN would like to encourage New Zealand to get back on board and submit its QELRO along with all the other countries previously within Kyoto who have not yet submitted a target for the second commitment period.