Day three at COP16 Japan comes under huge criticism, while elsewhere delegates promote energy saving

On the third day (December 1) of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) held this year in Cancun, several nations have come under huge scrutiny, with several new revelations of their disinterest in a new legally binding global treaty.

Japan won "fossil of the day" when they had announced that they would never sign up to another set of emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol, and will not join another treaty.

The text of the award, awarded to Japan yesterday, said: "Japan wins the 1st place Fossil of the Day. When leadership is needed most, the home country of the Kyoto Protocol made a destructive statement in the AWG KP Plenary yesterday.

It factually rejected the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol by saying 'Japan will not inscribe its target under the KP on any conditions or under any circumstances'.

'Preferring' a single-treaty approach is one thing, but aggressively denying the future of Kyoto in opening plenary is another. The statement upset many parties and created an unconstructive atmosphere for the negotiations. This COP was supposed to be the place to rebuild trust among parties. Japan's move is most unwelcome."

The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, so it is now increasingly urgent that developed nations agree to a new treaty, and the announcement that Japan, a super power, is not going to include itself is increasingly worrying. What is most surprising is that the Protocol was created at climate change talks in 1997, and Japan was the host nation.

During a press conference, Japan's delegation was unrepentant and revealed that the orders to change policy came from their Prime Minister. However, by signing the Protocol Japan has a legal duty under international law to agree to new targets.

There will be vast pressure from aid agencies and developing countries to come to an agreement. In their closing remarks Japanese diplomats said they were a friend of developing nations as they provide them with enough money to enable them to cope with the effects of climate change.

Canada also received criticism yesterday, as it has already been awarded with three "fossil of the day" awards three days into talks.

Elsewhere Britain has been trying to persuade nations that they should join in their scheme to phase out traditional bulbs and use compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The scheme is part of EU regulations to save energy.

Unfortunately the scheme has had little world-wide success as the lamps take longer to warm up and give some people headaches. However, Britain has been trying to highlight its positives, such as the fact that they last ten times longer than traditional bulbs. They also require much less electricity to produce the exact same amount of light.

The UN launched a study yesterday to prove how easy it would be if the world worked together to tackle climate change. If everyone converted to CFLs the energy saving would be immense. Indonesia alone could save USD$1 billion a year and cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) by eight million tonnes of CO2 annually, the equivalent of taking two million cars of the road. Small nations like Cambodia could save over 30 per cent of its electricity consumption while reducing CO2 emissions by more than 13 per cent.

At the moment CFLs are becoming cheaper, but the UN study commented that if there was mass demand across the world, the price could fall dramatically. New light emitting diodes (LEDs) are due to come out soon, and they will be even cheaper and more efficient than CFLs.

During the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) the UN will be trying to encourage all countries to change to energy saving bulbs. So far Europe, U.S., Australia, Cuba, Canada and the Philipines have all banned incandescent bulbs. The UN is now working with llighting companies to try and encourage China, Russia, Vietnam and Morocco to also ban incandescent bulbs.

Achim Steiner, the head of the UN's Environment Programme, said it would not only be good for climate change but the economy, as businesses save money on lighting and less power stations are needed, he said: "Among the low hanging fruit in the climate change challenge, a switch to far more efficient lighting must rank as among the lowest. Efficient lighting systems is one path that is literally available at the flip of a policy switch".

Author: Charity Knight | Climate Action

Image: AZAdam | flickr