AFP 16 Jan 09;
TOKYO (AFP) — Representatives of 20 nations and the European Union called Friday on the air and maritime industries to act on global warming and address carbon emissions from the unregulated sector by year-end.
Transport ministers and envoys from the nations, including the Group of Eight major economies, held two days of talks in Tokyo as part of efforts to meet a goal of drafting a new climate change treaty by December.
In a joint statement, the nations said that while transport was "an important foundation of our society" it was responsible for "considerable emissions of carbon dioxide," affecting the climate and public health.
"Urgent actions are required to address these issues while ensuring sustainable development," the statement said.
They called on the International Maritime Organisation to "deliver a package of appropriate mechanisms for reducing emissions, preferably by the end of 2009."
The countries also said they would support the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to come up with technology, standards and market-based measures by the end of the year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The aviation industry group had agreed in 2007 to come up with ways to reduce the environmental impact of airplanes.
But ICAO chief Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez, speaking afterwards to reporters, said he did not expect moves to slap a carbon tax on airlines to force them to curb emissions.
The transport industry has been badly hit by the global economic crisis, with fewer people taking to the air, shipping merchandise or buying new cars.
Antonio Tajani, the European commissioner for transport, said the Tokyo declaration was "a very important signal of our common strategy for sustainable development."
"We have to build a type of economic growth that does not put at risk health or the environment," Tajani told AFP.
Transport accounts for some 23 percent of carbon emissions blamed for global warming, more than any other sector other than electricity generation and indoor heating, according to the International Energy Agency.
Nations have been imposing stricter standards on automobile emissions. But the Kyoto Protocol makes no demands of the airline and shipping industries due to their international nature.
A conference in December in Copenhagen is set to approve a new climate treaty for the period after 2012, when Kyoto's obligations on emission cuts expire.
The Tokyo conference included ministers or officials from the Group of Eight and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with Australia, India and South Korea. China was invited but did not come, while ASEAN member Malaysia took part as an observer as a senior official could not attend.
Japan's transport minister, Kazuyoshi Kaneko, said it was "regrettable" that China did not take part but said its absence "did not prevent a fruitful discussion."
Asked why China did not attend, Kaneko said Beijing "had wanted for there to be more consideration for developing countries."
China, which by some estimates has surpassed the United States as the world's top polluter, last week unveiled a major bailout for its troubled aviation industry.
Transport Can Help Propel World To Greener Future
Risa Maeda, PlanetArk 16 Jan 09;
TOKYO - Shipping, airlines and road transport need to clean up their emissions and help drive governments toward policies to fight global warming, a top U.N. official said on Thursday.
The transport sector accounts for more than 20 percent of mankind's carbon dioxide emissions, and further growth is likely given rising demand for cars, goods and travel in developing countries.
Transport will also be a key part of a broader U.N. climate pact about 190 nations will try to agree on at the end of the year during talks on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
"There can be no doubt that the transport sector will come under intense pressure and needs to dramatically change direction," Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told a global transport ministerial gathering in Tokyo on Thursday.
"Transport industries should no longer find themselves in the position of beggars for billions of taxpayer's dollars. Instead, they need to come back into pole position of drivers of economic growth, through the production of smart and efficient cars, trains, ships and planes," he said in a speech.
"The transport sector is at a juncture," he said, adding the key question was how the industry could influence regulators to back greener policies "rather than digging itself deeper into a hole" as airlines, shippers and car makers battled shrinking revenue because of the global financial crisis.
Transport ministers from 21 major countries are holding a three-day meeting in Tokyo until Friday. They account to about 70 percent of CO2 emissions of the global transport sector, according to Japan's transport ministry.
China, believed to be now the world's top greenhouse gas polluter, pulled out at the last minute, insisting rich nations lead the charge in emissions cuts, a Japanese transport ministry official told reporters.
BROAD MESSAGE
De Boer said he expected only a broad political message to come out of the talks on how the transport sector was tackling climate change.
"It's early in the debate for a number of countries to commit to a statement," he told Reuters earlier.
Airlines contribute about two percent of global CO2 emissions by mankind and are expected to keep rising because of growing demand for air travel, despite aircraft becoming more efficient.
Shipping's share of global emissions is about 3 percent, equivalent to total industrial emissions from Germany, but the industry is trying to trim fuel use through better hull designs, cleaner fuels and simple measures such as installing more efficient lighting onboard.
In addition, separate meetings under a U.N. body aiming to report to the climate meeting at year's end in Copenhagen will look into greater fuel efficiency and emissions trading for shipping.
De Boer said countries attending the gathering were already taking actions to limit transport emissions, not only to address climate change, but also costs, public health and energy security.
"I'm struck by the fact this meeting of transport ministers universally recognizes their sector needs to be a part of the solution to climate change not a part of the problem of climate change," he said.
(Editing by David Fogarty)
