From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:ENVIRONMENT: Third World has own vision of climatic changes
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 17:50:53 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: ENVIRONMENT: Third World has own vision of climatic changes


geneva, dec 11 (ips) -- the third world has confirmed its own
agenda in the ongoing debate on climatic change and environmental
reform and it requires that these issues be put firmly in the
context of social and economic development.

the third world ''requires'' that the industrialised countries'
commitments to development cooperation ''be oriented towards
development, and not only to what these countries consider
priorities,'' said gerard ngendabanka, director of cabinet for the
burundi ministry of environment.

he was speaking at the end of the three day sixth session of the
intergovernmental committee on climatic changes this week in
geneva. an identical position was expressed by representatives of
latin america, the caribbean, africa and asia.

with special reference to the joint world bank and u.n. agency
coordinated global environment facility (gef) and the world
bank's own initiatives they insisted that funding must take into
consideration the needs of the third world when commitments to
prevention of climatic change.

funds have been allocated by the world bank to provide financial
resources for those countries which need to modernise their
technologies and systems of production in order to cut the overall
emissions of gases blamed for causing 'global warming'.

these gases are the main factors in causing the climatic
alterations dealt with in the united nations general convention on
climatic changes.

the fund was created in mid-1990, and four months later, the
developing countries committed to join it maintained that they
would only finance projects linked to climatic changes,
preservation of the ozone layer, biodiversity and conservation of
international waters.

the canadian representative in geneva, elizabeth dowdeswell,
believes the world bank fund must be oriented to these objectives
because ''they are global, and therefore affect the whole world''.

dowdeswell was elected tuesday to succeed mostafa tolba as head
of the united nations environment program (unep), which has its
headquarters in nairobi.

south american diplomats maintained that third world countries
require financing for problems linked to climatic changes which
directly affect their development possibilities.

in this sense, they said the industrialised world must fund new
forms of non-polluting agriculture, new energy resources and new
roads, to mention only a few examples. (more/ips)

environment: third world has own vision of climatic changes(2-e)

environment: third world (2)

the u.n. general convention on climatic changes was signed by 154
countries during the 'earth summit', the united nations conference
on environment and development held in rio de janeiro last june.

according to the u.n., climatic change is considered the factor
having the most influence on long-range economic and social
development plans. therefore the international community must
consider cooperation with the third world as one of its
''principal objectives''.

a report presented by unep and the world meteorological
organisation (wmo) maintains that gases generating the global
warming effect which have the most effect on climatic changes are
carbon dioxide (co2), methane and the chlorofluorocarbons (cfcs).

co2 rises are due largely to fossil fuel emissions and are
exacerbated by deforestation of the planet. intensive agriculture
and the escape of natural gas from gas pipes are the most
important sources of the accumulation of methane. cfcs come from
industrial emissions, air conditioners and aerosol vapour.

according to world resources institute figures, 54 percent of the
current global warming problem is due to co2 production alone,
while methane adds 12 percent and cfcs 21 percent.

owing to the lack of measures tending to reduce these emissions,
computerised calculations on the climatic evolution of the earth
reveal that the average world surface temperatures will increase
between 1.5 and 4.5 degrees in the course of the next century.

according to nassrine azimi, coordinator of the united nations
institute for training and research (unitar), the general
convention signed at the earth summit has as its objective an
international commitment tending to avoid the continuation of
emissions which are changing the planet's climate.

this convention provides for two types of commitment, one for the
industrialised countries and the other for the developing nations.
the former must promise that by the year 2000 its emissions must
return to 1990 levels.

the latter are obliged to keep the united nations informed on the
evolution of their polluting activities while waiting for world
financial mechanisms to supply the resources necessary for
modernising their technologies.

the intergovernmental committee on climatic changes has fixed a
working agenda to follow up the provisions of the general
convention, and has convoked another meeting for march 1993 in new
york. (end/ips/trd/en/ego/tt/rj/92)
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