1 May 2007Bangkokpost.comPiyaporn Wongruang and Apinya Wipatayotin
The world scientific body assessing the health of the world's climate yesterday dismissed speculation that it will recommend nuclear power as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) insisted that energy efficiency as well as renewable energy was still a central issue in the Bangkok meeting which continues until Friday.
The meeting began yesterday.
Rajenda Pachauri, head of the IPCC, maintained that the agency had never said that the world should go for any particular options or actions as claimed by some media.
In fact, it was not the agency's work to recommend particular actions, he said, adding that it would provide facts to governments to decide.
"I don't know where newspapers have picked that up. We never say let's go nuclear, go coal or, go natural gas. That's not the work of the IPCC," Mr Pachauri said.
He said the meeting in Bangkok would finalise a summary report for policy-makers to cope with greenhouse gases through mitigation options, including the use of scientific technology for energy efficiency, renewable energy and measures to help reduce emissions.
All are expected to help the world to cope with the effects of climate change by 2030.
The Bangkok meeting has brought together hundreds of leading scientists in the field of climate change to finalise the last of the IPCC's three summary reports for policy-makers.
The IPCC's three working groups have assessed the situation four times since early 1990. This time it has divided the work into three main evaluations. They involve the world's climate conditions, impacts and adaptations, and mitigation.
The outcome of its work will pave the way for consideration on future actions before the global commitment on greenhouse gas reductions under the Kyoto Protocol run out in 2012.
The agency's assessment is expected to spark heated debates since it will involve extensive socio-economic costs.
Mr Pachauri did not rule out the possibility of such debates in the meeting, but believes that the scientists would make sure the proceedings run smoothly.
According to the draft summary report summarised by Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, it foresees greenhouse gas emissions increasing during the next two to three decades if no action is taken to discourage their release. Most would come from developing countries, the draft said.
Its impacts would give rise to more diseases and extreme events, from which the poorest would suffer the most.
The ministry is responsible for approving the report on behalf of the Thai government.
The IPCC's draft on mitigation being discussed at the Bangkok meeting also says that the cost of taking action against climate change can be compensated by health benefits from reducing those gases.
Chatree Chueyprasit, deputy permanent secretary for natural resources and the environment, did not rule out that the IPCC's work is also about a fight between the developed and developing countries.
He said the draft summary report tried to focus on farm sector emissions in developing countries, despite the fact emissions per capita in such countries was far below those in developed countries. The IPCC's reports would definitely impact the policy decisions of the world governments, he said.
Thailand has been planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions despite the fact that the country has not been asked to do so by the Kyoto Protocol.
However, a level of mitigation must be set among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
"We are going for an acceptable level of mitigation, which we, as a developing country, will not burden ourselves too much with when it comes to the cost of mitigation," he said.
Martin Hiller, WWF's climate change spokesman, called for a serious discussion on the cost and who should cover that to determine clear procedures for governments to be able to adopt it in the future.
