Climate Action Plan in USA and Japan - Assignment Example

U.S, Japan Launch Climate Action Plan and US, Japan Launch Climate Action Plan Almost three days have elapsed since the leading nations in the world made a momentous effortaimed at reaching an international consensus to curb global warming. In the first meeting, U.S and China, the highest carbon emitters in the world, proclaimed a revolutionary settlement promising to reduce those emissions. In the second meeting, the U.S and Japan jointly promised to set aside approximately 4.5 billion dollars to support the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a body charged with the responsibility of helping developing economies to adjust to the effects of climatic variations and lower carbon emissions (Doukas 1). US president Barack Obama officially declared a $3 billion contribution to a global fund to assist third developing states manage the implications of global warming. Addressing University students at Brisbane, Obama spelt out his promise to the UN Green Climate Fund. The president’s declaration comes amid preparation for the official beginning of the G20 Leader’s Conference (Koplowitz 1). “Today, I’m announcing that the United States will take another important step,” said Obama, “the United States will channel $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund to assist third world countries handle climate change” (1). Obama’s pledge referred to Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), cautioned could be at jeopardy if no step is taken to reduce carbon emissions. Echoing Obama’s sentiments, Athena Ballesteros, an executive member of the World Resource Institute, commended the U.S’s effort in curbing greenhouse emissions. “These promises take us a significant step closer to attaining an international climate settlement(Koplowitz 1),” said Ballesteros. In attendance was HelaCheikhrouhou, the head of the GCF. Mrs. Cheikhrouhou expressed optimism that the U.S and Japanese assurances and the subsequent G20 focus on climate change, would pave way for more important contributions by other states. “The U.S’s commitment will be a legacy of U.S President Barack Obama,” said Cheikhrouhou. Reading from the same script, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to follow Obama’s footsteps, assuring the GCF that his country’s contributions are on the way. “Concerning the Green Climate Fund, the moment all the appropriatecircumstances for receiving the contributions are met, we will deliberate on whether to contribute the fair share of the problem” (1), said Abe. For this major objective to be realized, the three nations developed a set of conditions. In a White House fact sheet circulated to the press on15th, the conditions identify three possible impediments that are viewed as thornyconcerns by several third world economies. First, the White House remarks that the total amount of money that has been pledged by the U.S government should not go beyond a third of the total confirmed promises. For that reason, should the total promises to the Fund fail to reach the targeted $10 billion, United States may give out an amount not surpassing $3 billion. It assures the Australian and Canadian governments, which have the capacity of pledging, but have till today expressed reluctance to follow suit.However the question casts doubt on the total fund received, which might be much lower in case other nations decide not to aid the initiative achieve hit the required target amount(Doukas 1). In addition, the circular reveals that the American government plans to aim a considerable fraction of its promises to the Green Climate Fund’s Private Sector Facility, a component of the GCFmeant for unlocking the potentials of the sectorto curb climate change. Whereas the Board has arrived at an agreement that on average, a considerable proportion of the total amount of moneycollected will be pumped to the Private Sector Facility, ascribing particular endowments to a person’s promise concerning the areas that money ought to be allocatedmay spark controversiesduring the Board meeting. In the most recent Board’s meeting held in Barbados, third world nations suggested that the contributions ought not to pick and select where their funds flow, but must respect the decisions arrived at by the Board’s section concerning how the money can be channeled to various operations in an equitable perspective (Doukas 1). While White House states that the United States acknowledges that GCF must become an outstanding and effectual platform for the GCF, it notes that the United States can set aside a proportion of its total amount for other bilateral climatic funds. These are inclusive of the Climate Investment Funds and the Global Environment Facility, bearing in mindthe development made by the Board in arriving at the ultimate verdict in the forthcoming Board summits in the year 2015. However, this idea may not be welcomed by some third world states, considering that most view the GlobalClimate Fund as aninstrument for the global climatic finance’s progress, a significant boost from several climatic finances with regard to balanced governance, where the sum of slots in the GCF’spolicymaking Board equitably shared between third world and industrialized economies(Doukas 1). The U.S and Japanese governments joined hands with a group of nations which had already assisted in expanding the fund, thereby pushing the total promised amount to approximately $7.5 billion in the run up to the November 20thvowing conference. Germans were the earliest to pledge with an almost $1 billion offer. This catalyzed the French and Swedish governments to give out a billion dollars and $550 respectively. A number of developing economies, notably Mexico and South Korea, also expressed positive leadership direction by pledging to provide resources and support(Doukas 1). The monetary binders to the Global Climate Fund and the US-China agreement relays a firm message to the world that both industrialized and third world states have expressed their willingness to fight carbon emissions and assist communities to plan for the impacts of climatic changes. Both Japan and United States’ promises also indicate that the international climatic initiative is a productive investment, since both nations’ global non-polluting technology areas are properly positioned to provide climatic solutions all over the world(Doukas 1). Finally, these are significant forewarnings of the United States’ promise, hence can prove controversial at the Global Climate Fund’s vowing conference ahead of 20th. Experts need to closely monitor these conditions along with their impacts on the Global Climate Fund in the months to come. Although the revolutionary United States’ pledges have been warmly welcomed as a show of direction and devotion to a global climate pact ahead of 2015, the list of rules that come with the pledges ought to be accurately communicated to the third world country partners so as to preserve and maintain mutual confidence ahead ofthe Berlin vowing conference set to take place on November 20th, together with the forthcoming UN climate talks to be convened in Peru this December (Doukas 1). Works Cited Doukas, Alex. “US, Japan Pledge $4.5 Billion to Green Climate Fund, but Are the Conditions Fair?” World Resources Institute 19 Nov. 2014. Web Koplowitz, Howard. “G20 Summit 2014: US, Japan Pledge $4.5B To Green Climate Fund.”Ibi times19 Nov. 2014.Web. Read More