Nations participating in the Major Economies Forum on Climate and Energy that ended in Washington yesterday reaffirmed their interest in moving forward on actions that could lay a foundation for a new international framework on cutting carbon emissions.
Annie Petsonk, EDF’s international counsel, said:
These countries recognize that the first to seize the initiative will have the greatest edge in the race for the low-carbon economy of the future.
The rapid succession of high-level talks on climate change in various forums demonstrates the growing focus on the need for action.
Reuters and the FT Energy Source blog (subscription required) have nice readouts of the State Department’s concluding press briefing.
Countries are acting already
Actions that have put some nations in the forefront of international efforts include:
- Brazil‘s decision to reduce emissions from deforestation, its largest source of carbon pollution
- Voluntary emissions cuts offered by nations under last December’s Copenhagen Accord
- State-level actions linking California and other U.S. states with emission reduction efforts in provinces in Brazil and Indonesia, the world’s third and fourth largest emitting countries
Upcoming Meetings
More high-level ministerial meetings are scheduled within the next few weeks; the next ministerial meetings will be convened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Petersberg, Germany from May 2-4 and by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo, Norway on May 27. High-level talks among Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) concluded last week in Brasilia, Brazil.
The UN Climate Treaty Parties are expected to conduct a ministerial meeting shortly after their next round of talks in Bonn, Germany, in June.