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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 10, NUMBER 9, SEPTEMBER 1997

NEWS...
CLIMATE CONVENTION

Item #d97sep86

"We should all be concerned about the lack of progress," said Michael Zammit Cutajar, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, at the conclusion of the seventh round of negotiations in Bonn, August 7 (Intl. Environ. Rptr., p. 781-783, Aug. 20, 1997). Much of the concern stems from the absence of proposals on targets and timetables from two major players, the U.S. and Japan. These are expected in early October, just in time for the last round of negotiations before the Kyoto meeting in December.

Although the U.S. has not yet proposed specific targets and timetables, it has pushed for several components of any future commitments. (See Global Climate Change Digest, NEWS, Aug. and Feb. 1997.) However Japan's position remains unclear, even though prior to the meeting in Bonn, Japan's Prime Minister, Ryutato Hashimoto, had called on senior ministers to sort out the country's climate policy, to avoid international embarrassment as it prepares to host the Kyoto meeting. (See Nature, p. 316, July 24, 1997.) According to a later article on the Bonn meeting (Nature, p. 614, Aug. 14), a Japanese newspaper reported that Japan has informally proposed to the U.S. a plan that is relatively favorable to industry. Japanese officials denied the story. The rumored plan is thought to represent the position of Japan's powerful Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which is at odds with the Environmental Agency and to some extent with domestic opinion, regarding climate commitments.

For electronic sources of information on the progress of the climate treaty, see the GCC ONLINE column in this Global Climate Change Digest issue--Sep. 1997; also see the Global Change Electronic Edition (http://www.globalchange.org/).

The New York Times is running a series of articles leading up to Kyoto, including the following (all by W.K. Stevens):

• "Experts on Climate Change Ponder: How Urgent Is It?" and "Warming Could Bring Some Cold Surprises," pp. C1, C2, Sep. 9, 1997.
• "U.S. and Japan Key to Outcome in Climate Talks," pp. C1, C8, Aug. 12
• "On Global Warming, Some in Industry are Now Yielding," Aug. 5. (See next NEWS item.)