A U.N. boondoggle on ice

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By William R. Hawkins

Saturday was the U.N. World Action Day for Climate Change with events scheduled in 181 countries. In Washington, green activists marched to the White House, the residence of this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner. President Obama won the award in part because, due to his "initiative, the U.S.A. is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting," said the Nobel citation.

The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared by Al Gore and the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Mr. Gore met Oct. 21 with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to discuss climate issues under the auspices of the Brookings Institution. The work of the UNIPC was cited in the House "cap-and-trade" bill (H.R. 2454) passed in June. The Senate version was introduced Sept. 30 by Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. The bill (S. 1733) states, "The United States should lead the global community in combating the threat of global climate change and reaching a robust international agreement to address global warming under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change."

The UNFCCC conference to draw up a new climate treaty is set for Dec. 7-18 in Copenhagen. A series of preliminary talks has filled five-star hotels around the world. The most recent was in Bangkok, Sept. 28-Oct. 9. The next is set in Barcelona, Spain, Monday through Friday. These events are tied to the United Nations' "seal the deal" campaign.

With all this effort, the fix should be in, but it is not. Most of the world is not sold on the need to reduce human progress to "save the planet" from global warming. The paranoia about "climate change" that has gripped Western liberalism has been rejected by everyone else.

China and India are leading the opposition to the UNFCCC agenda to impose greenhouse gas emission restrictions on the developing world. The day after Mr. Gore met with Mr. Wen, China's Xie Zhenhua, vice minister at the National Development and Reform Commission, signed a memorandum with Jairam Ramesh, India's environment minister, in New Delhi. The accord provides an alternative framework to counter pressure from America and Europe.

The two Asian powers will collaborate on the development of renewable power projects, "clean coal" technology, and improved energy efficiency programs, while presenting a common front to reject any outside mandates that would slow economic growth.

The United States and the European Union have been trying to find a formula to persuade the developing countries to accept some mandates, even if far less than the Western industrialized nations are willing to impose on themselves.

At their summer meeting, the Group of Eight major industrial countries pledged to cut their emissions by 80 percent to reach the global goal of a 50 percent reduction, if the developing countries would help make up the rest. China and India, supported by Mexico, South Africa and Brazil, rejected the offer.

Chinese President Hu Jintao told the U.N. Climate Summit on Sept. 22 that "Climate change is an environment issue, but also, and more importantly, a development issue. ... We should and can only advance efforts to address climate change in the course of development and meet the challenge through common development." Giving economic growth top priority makes perfect sense if one does not believe the planet is in danger.

Xiao Ziniu, director general of the Beijing Climate Center, told the British Guardian newspaper recently that "There is no agreed conclusion about how much change is dangerous.... Whether the climate turns warmer or cooler, there are both positive and negative effects. ... In Chinese history, there have been many periods warmer than today." He disputed the disaster warnings of the UNIPCC, saying, "The accuracy of the prediction is very low because the climate is affected by many mechanisms we do not fully understand."

At the UNFCCC meeting in Bangkok, the Group of 77 developing nations threatened to walk out if there was any language in the draft documents leading to Copenhagen that would limit their growth. As a result, the two weeks of talks ended "without a consensus."

Without a consensus, a new U.N. climate treaty is impossible unless it is simply a statement urging action while allowing every nation to go its separate way in dealing with environmental and economic issues. In other words, another expensive, time-consuming and pointless effort as per U.N. experience.

The problem this will leave for Americans concerned about economic recovery and future career opportunities is that the Obama administration will continue to unilaterally impose crippling restrictions and taxes on the nation's industrial and energy sectors. U.S. competitiveness will continue to suffer as the rising powers of Asia storm ahead with their high-growth policies.

A change in the world balance of power is already apparent.

William R. Hawkins is a consultant specializing in international economic and national security issues. He is a former economics professor and Republican congressional staff member.