Oil rich countries urged to strike balance between input and output

ABU DHABI — A UN official has called for striking a balance between production and consumption operations to help solve the problem of the status of oil producing and developing countries when they observe their commitments to cut gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.

By Atef Hanafi

Published: Wed 6 Sep 2006, 9:41 AM

Last updated: Sat 4 Apr 2015, 8:19 PM

Youssef Nassef, of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, told Khaleej Times that the parities to the Convention continue to respond to the challenges that they face in addressing climate changes by strengthening their efforts to combat and adapt to the effects that may arise from that phenomenon. “In implementing these efforts, the Kyoto Protocol has determined that any negative side effects on developing countries should be minimised. The objective of this workshop is to contribute to furthering our workshop on reporting on how this is being done” he said.

Asked about the US reluctance to sign the protocol, he stated that Washington had signed the mainframe convention and didn’t ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

He pointed out to the current negotiations seeking to offer financial assistance from rich industrialised nations to developing oil producers to help them diversify bases of their economic sources away from mainly depending on oil as a key source of income.

“The UAE has be selected to host the event out of the fact that it is one of the developing petroleum countries which set example for economic diversification. The UAE is also vulnerable to climatic changes,”he admitted.

The four European countries plus Canada and Japan will present an overview of their plans to handle harmful gas (carbon dioxide and methane) emissions.

“The Abu Dhabi workshop is the first step towards implementing the Kyoto Protocol,” he explained. On the projected growing oil consumption from China and India, he said that this is one of the reasons making the US and Australia to balk at ratifying the Protocol and demand inclusion of India, China, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea as major consumers and users of energy.

Majed Al Mansouri, Secretary-General of the Environment Agency -Abu Dhabi, said the workshop aims at urging participants to design a mechanism to mitigate harmful economic damages befalling the developing countries as a result of executing the protocol.

He noted that the UAE national blueprint contains a list of measures adopted in regards to cut harmful gas emissions. The overall targets adopted for greenhouse gas emissions by 2008 are an 8 per cent cut from 1990 levels for the European Union (EU), 7 per cent for the USA, and 6 per cent for Japan and Canada. Australia is allowed an 8 per cent increase, while Russia has a target of 0 per cent (i.e. 1990 levels).