(IPCC Chair) Pachauri Still Sees a Chance for Success in Copenhagen Talks

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2206

04 Nov 2009: Interview

Pachauri Still Sees a Chance
for Success in Copenhagen Talks

With skepticism growing about the chances of reaching a climate agreement next month in Copenhagen, Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says he is “cautiously optimistic” that a treaty can still be signed. But in an interview with Yale Environment 360, Pachauri says the global community may have to move ahead without any commitment from the United States.

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Rajendra Pachauri: Well, I am cautiously optimistic because undoubtedly, there’s very slow progress as far as negotiations are concerned. And that to some extent is to be expected, because different countries and parties are jockeying for position. They are trying to carry out maneuvers by which they protect their own positions and try to get the best of the deal that’s expected over there.

But the good news is that all the leaders of the world realize that this is a problem that cannot be ignored much longer. And therefore we have a remarkable opportunity during COP15 (the Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen), when hopefully the leadership of the major countries in the world will bring to bear on the negotiators, their negotiators, what needs to be done, what kinds of compromises to make. So I’m expecting that in the remaining few weeks, we will see some hectic activity as a result of which, possibly down to the midnight hour, we might get an agreement. I hope it’s a reasonably satisfactory agreement because the last thing that the world needs today is a weak agreement that doesn’t really help in mounting an effort at the level that’s required globally. So I remain cautiously optimistic, and I’m hoping that things will work out in the end.

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Pachauri: Yes, well, to be quite honest, one expected a lot more to have happened in the U.S. by now. But as you know, legislation is bogged down in Congress. We have the Waxman-Markley bill having gone through the House of Representatives, and now we have the Kerry-Boxer bill in the Senate. But it’s not quite clear whether that would get passage within this year, and before the Copenhagen meeting. But I think the world will have to find some way by which they’re able to make a special provision for the U.S. if we don’t get this legislation in place.

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Pachauri: In other words, the U.S. may have to be given some more time to get its act together, and that I think will hopefully put some pressure on Congress and the public in this country. And I hope even business and industry would realize the benefit of being part of the global agreement and being behind it. Because let’s face it, if the rest of the world is willing to move ahead towards low-carbon technologies, U.S. business doesn’t want to be left behind, because if they are, they’ll lose market share all over the world.

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Much more (including audio) at the link.