Though they have diverse approaches and a range of timeframes in
mind, the nations of the region hold out hope that the Kyoto Protocol
will succeed in its goals of assistance for the developing South.
MEXICO CITY - Mexico is the only Latin American country that can proudly
claim a gold medal for having ratified the Kyoto Protocol prior to COP6
at The Hague - not impressive for a region that since 1997 has declared
itself a strong proponent of the Kyoto Protocol, and which knows firsthand
the catastrophic economic and social consequences of natural disasters
linked to climate change.
Most Latin American countries are pushing for the ratification of the
Protocol in their legislatures, though parliamentarians are generally
focusing on other priorities. Also under discussion are the co-operative
mechanisms outlined in the document, with nations defining approaches
that differ in details, timetables and outlook.
In Chile, government sources told Tierramérica that lawmakers would ratify
the Protocol during the first half of 2001. Authorities in Argentina affirmed
that it would be approved there as well, although they added that ''there
is no hurry.'' In Brazil, meanwhile, officials said they were awaiting
the legislators' final assessment of the document.
Costa Rica pledged to finalise the ratification process prior to COP6,
Peru indicated that it would reach a decision based on the results of
the meeting at The Hague, while Venezuela said it would wait for the United
States to approve the Protocol first.
All Latin American nations agree it is essential that the United States,
responsible for 25 percent of climate-changing gas emissions, ratify the
treaty.
But no one expects the United States to make such an announcement at
The Hague. The results of the November presidential elections could alter
the country's political outlook as far as the Protocol is concerned.
If the Kyoto Protocol does not take effect soon, the 2002 world conference
to assess compliance with the commitments assumed at the 1992 Earth Summit
will be fruitless, warned a forum of Latin American and Caribbean environment
ministers in October.
But will the region go to The Hague with a strong, united stance?
''More or less,'' responded Raúl Estrada Oyuela, head of Environmental
Affairs at Argentina's Foreign Ministry.
Venezuela has its own circumstances as a petroleum exporter, and wants
nothing to do with measures to reduce oil consumption. Brazil is not part
of the consensus because it faces a unique set of problems, while Argentina,
Chile and Uruguay have their own obstacles, explained Estrada Oyuela.
The Argentine official, who is on the front lines of Kyoto Protocol negotiations,
stressed that Mexico is part of the ''Environmental Integrity Club'' and
seeks to curb climate change from the perspective of industrialised nations.
Costa Rica, meanwhile, is negotiating resources on its own, ''offering
its native forests'' as a carbon reduction mechanism.
All Latin American countries are committed to the Protocol, but within
a mosaic of different nuances and positions, Estrada Oyuela said.
Franz Tattembach, Costa Rica's principal technical negotiator for the
Protocol, is of a different opinion. Latin America is going to COP6 ''more
united than at any previous meeting,'' because it now has precedents of
discussing the matter as a bloc in other forums.
There is clear consensus on the need to seek funds for programmes to
reduce the effects of climate change and to allow the forestry sector
to participate in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), said Tattembach.
In this spirit, Costa Rica will head to The Hague to negotiate everything
jointly with Latin America, he added.
What does Latin America specifically hope to obtain at COP6?
There is a wide range of positions. Maria Rita Fontes, adviser to the
Environment Division at Brazil's Foreign Ministry, said her country wants
regulation of the CDM included in the treaty, and the creation of an interim
executive committee that would define the course of such instruments by
2001.
José Luis Samaniego, spokesman for the International Affairs Coordination
Unit at the Mexican Ministry of the Environment, indicated that his country
hoped the parties at The Hague would agree on positions to eliminate the
conceptual differences held by developing and industrialised nations regarding
climate change.
At The Hague it must also be clarified, especially for the United States,
that Kyoto involves adopting commitments related to human activities,
and not to natural processes, as some US negotiators seem to think, Samaniego
emphasised.
At COP6, Mexico wants to define timeframes for CDM negotiations between
wealthy and developing countries, and would like to make it clear that
the issue covers ''a debate that is not necessarily environmental, but
has more to do with the global market and competition.''
Venezuela hopes COP6 will produce concrete decisions to minimise ''the
adverse aspects implied by application of the protocol'' for petroleum
producing countries, stated Evelyn Bravo, head of international relations
and the environment at the Venezuelan Energy Ministry.
Venezuela will also advocate at The Hague for enacting ''mechanisms for
sustainable development projects in developing countries through technology
transfer and support from industrialised nations.''
Peru plans to request the regulation of CDM operations and the creation
of a special support fund for technological changes in developing countries,
reported Patricia Iturregui, an expert at the Peruvian government's National
Environmental Council who will participate in the meeting at The Hague.
Chile also is focussing on the CDM, but with ''a special emphasis on
the inclusion of 'carbon sinks' in the mechanism, as well as an agreement
for its early implementation following COP6,'' said Adriana Hoffmann,
director of the country's National Environmental Commission.
In Colombia, Senator Rafael Orduz, who brought the ratification of the
Kyoto Protocol before his nation's Congress, said his colleagues were
living in ''prehistoric times'' when it came to the debate on climate
change and the importance of the phenomenon.
Fighting Fears
For Argentina, what should be hoped of The Hague convention is that,
amid the din of negotiations, the parties do not lose sight of the fact
that the essential issue is to protect the earth's climate.
''In this process there are groups that seek a certain material benefit,
in other words, obtaining money to do things,'' said Estrada Oyuela. ''But
that is a side issue. The important thing is that there must be a global
movement to curtail climate change.''
Latin America is hoping that co-operative strategies like the CDM will
arise from COP6, the Argentine diplomat added. ''But I fear that this
will be proven wishful thinking once again, because conditions today are
no different'' than in the past, he said.
Estrada Oyuela pointed out that in the 1970s, developing countries believed
industrialised nations would designate 0.7 percent of their gross domestic
product (GDP) to international aid, but that did not happen. The same
proposal was made in the 1980s, and did not bear fruit then either.
In the 1990s, with the upsurge of global environmental issues, new pledges
of support for the developing South were voiced, but proved to be just
more empty promises.
A sense of disappointment continued to reign after the Earth Summit in
Rio de Janeiro, but ''now I am once again seeing great excitement, and
I am doing everything possible so that my country and other developing
nations have a chance,'' declared Estrada Oyuela.
Despite the many obstacles, most of the region's officials expressed
hope that their efforts would result in the full implementation of the
Kyoto Protocol in 2002.
But for that to happen, the key lies in the vote of the United States
Congress, said the Latin American authorities, who added that the conditions
in that country are not yet favourable for ratification of the Protocol.
* The author is an IPS correspondent.
