Turkish officials: Country’s special circumstances will not go away

Ministry of Environment and Forestry Undersecretary Hasan Sarıkaya, who served as the head of the Turkish delegation at the talks, told Today’s Zaman yesterday that the delegation had worked to have a reference to the decision made at a previous climate conference regarding Turkey’s sui generis case included.

“A decision was already made at the 2001 COP 7 conference in Marrakech. And we wanted a reference to it to be included,” he told Today’s Zaman by phone from Brussels, where he is attending the opening of the environment chapter in Turkey’s accession negotiations with the European Union.

Sarıkaya was referring to Turkey’s “special circumstances” recognized by decisions made at the conference in Marrakech where Turkey’s name was removed from Annex II of the convention, meaning that Turkey was no longer inappropriately included in that category as a developed country. But Turkey remained in Annex I of the convention because it was included in that category as a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

A reference to the Marrakech decision was made in the preamble of a draft document that resulted from the negotiations last week. But the new non-binding “Copenhagen Accord” reached late on Saturday following an exhausting overnight negotiating marathon did not repeat the reference.

Greenpeace projects: Copenhagen, job not done Greenpeace Mediterranean’s office, based in İstanbul, projected an image of a large banner onto İstanbul’s Galata Tower early yesterday morning to criticize world leaders for failing to reach a legally binding agreement in the climate conference in Copenhagen. Their banner read Copenhagen, job not done! The projected banner was written in English, Turkish, Arabic and Hebrew. Greenpeace Mediterranean Communications Director Deniz Sözüdoğru told Today’s Zaman that it was a global demonstration by Greenpeace held in almost every city where they have a presence. “It started in Australia, where the sun rises first in the world, and went around the world,” she said. With the demonstration, Greenpeace called on big states that blocked the Copenhagen process in addition to Middle Eastern leaders to prevent climate change through a legally binding agreement. The historic UN climate conference ended with only a nonbinding “Copenhagen Accord.” It was a deal short of concrete steps against global warming, but signaled a new start for rich-poor cooperation on climate change.

“The accord is not legally binding because there was no unanimous agreement on it. Turkey will state its reservations in upcoming meetings,” Sarıkaya said. “Our arguments have made their way into many other documents in Copenhagen.”

Turkish officials in Copenhagen reiterated that the country is different than other Annex I countries because indicators, such as per capita income, per capita energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, show that Turkey is not a developed country.

İstanbul-based Greenpeace Mediterranean’s Hilal Atıcı said the Turkish delegation had expressed no emission reduction targets in Copenhagen.

“Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan should now closely watch climate policies in order to prove his interest in his people’s future. Turkey should understand that it will not gain anything by being an elephant hiding behind the curtains,” she said.

Turkey’s emissions have increased rapidly, from 170 million tons in 1990 to 372 million tons in 2007 as annual per capita income rose from $3,000 in 1990 to $10,000 in 2007.

Eyes on next year’s talks

Mexico will host the next annual UN ministerial talks from Nov. 29 to Dec. 10, 2010 to build on the Copenhagen Accord, which seeks to limit temperatures rising to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above levels recorded in pre-industrial times. But it does not spell out how to achieve that goal.

However, the agreement brokered by US President Barack Obama with China and others in fast-paced hours of diplomacy on Friday sets up the first significant program of climate aid to poorer nations as the decision supported a “goal” for a $100 billion annual fund by 2020 to help poor countries fight climate change, with a quick-start $10 billion a year from 2010-12.

A legally binding international agreement requiring further emissions cuts by richer nations was the goal in Bali in 2007 when the annual UN conference set a two-year timetable leading to Copenhagen, which culminated with a summit of 120 world leaders last Friday.

On Saturday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged the deal -- led by the United States and China and which leaves blanks for national commitments -- fell short of hopes but was “an important beginning.”

China and the United States are the top emitters of greenhouse gases. Some analysts said the US and China deal could brighten prospects for action by the US Senate to cap carbon emissions in 2010. The United States is the only major industrialized nation with no carbon cap.