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The Challenge of Climate Change
International Climate change negotiations held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) umbrella will reach a pivotal point in December 2009 in Copenhagen. WLPGA will help to ensure that the LP Gas industry was fairly represented, well informed, and ready for any outcomes. Building on work began with the establishment of the Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) in 2007, WLPGA continues to be the face of the LP Gas industry in this long and complicated series of negotiations that will culminate in 2012 with a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
The long road to Copenhagen and beyond
In December 2009, WLPGA will be present at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) negotiations where the first steps towards replacing the Kyoto Protocol will finally taken and where the biggest carbon emitting countries in the world will come to the negotiating table for the first time. This two week meeting, part media event, part circus, part hard-nosed negotiations is a continuation of the work started in Bali in December 2007, continued through 2008 in Poznan, which will culminate in 2012 with a comprehensive treaty brokered by the UN to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.
In Copenhagen WLPGA will continue to represent the LP Gas industry by driving the simple message that LP Gas is an effective and efficient low carbon fuel that is available around the world immediately with no large investments required and with very little conflict over transference of technology that plagues some newer technologies. This simple message is summed up in the idea that LP Gas is an ‘Appropriate Technology’ for effecting immediate reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and should be considered as part of any national basket of energies.
Copenhagen Business Day
For the third year running WLPGA will partner with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as an official partner in the Copenhagen Business Day which will be held on 11 December and will include the participation of numerous key public and private sector representatives. This will be the third global business day parallel to UNFCCC negotiations and like in Bali and Poznan it will offer a forum for business leaders to explore, share and project their vision and commitment to implement climate solutions now and for the future.
Mr Kimball Chen will once again represent the LP Gas industry during the daylong event in which he will remind the gathered audience of business people negotiators, country representatives, NGOs and media that an important aspect in successfully dealing with the challenge of climate change will lie in looking at how existing technologies can make a difference and ensuring that all alternatives are explored. Mr Chen will stress picking the right fuel for the right application to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will also reference the issue of black carbon or ‘soot’ which comes principally from small cooking fires in the developing world and which some experts blame for up to 18% of the world’s warming, as an example where an easy to deploy, proven technology like LP Gas can have an immediate impact. |
