Climate Summit 2006

Greenpeace submitted the following responses to the five questions posed leading up to the 2006 Climate Summit.

Question 1: Who is regulated and where?

The European Union formally set the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.5 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels) and we urge the United States to do the same.

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Question 2:  Should the costs of regulation be mitigated for any sector of the economy, through the allocation of allowances without cost?  Or, should allowances be distributed by means of an auction?  If allowances are allocated, what is the criteria for and method of such allocation?

The default should be that the polluter pays for the allowances, and as many of the allowances should be auctioned as possible with the revenue going to fund technological innovation, incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency, subsidies for low income customers impacted by higher energy rates, and funding for climate change adaptation projects.

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Question 3:  Should a U.S. system be designed to eventually allow for trading with other greenhouse gas cap-and-trade systems being put in place around the world, such as the Canadian Large Final Emitter system or the European Union emissions trading system?

Yes.  A trading system that is fully compatible with the emerging Kyoto system and with the European Union trading system would allow U.S. enterprises to fully capture the economic benefits and efficiency of access to an efficient global market.

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Question 4: If a key element of the proposed U.S. system is to “encourage comparable action by other nations that are major trading partners and key contributors to global emissions,” should the design concepts in the NCEP plan (i.e., to take some action and then make further steps contingent on a review of what these other nations do) be part of a mandatory market-based program?  If so, how?

The best way to ensure that American actions encourage comparable efforts is to negotiate such agreements within the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol system.   The United States should rejoin this system as soon as possible during the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, which starts in 2013. 

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Final Question: If there is an additional topic related to the design of a mandatory market based program that you would like to address, please submit comments on this form.

No one knows how much warming is "safe". What we do know is that climate change is already harming people and ecosystems. Its reality can be seen in melting glaciers, disintegrating polar ice, thawing permafrost, dying coral reefs, rising sea levels, changing ecosystems and fatal heat waves. And it is not only scientists that are witnessing these changes. From Inuit in the far North to islanders near the equator - people are already struggling with the impacts of climate change.

But all of this is only the beginning.  We are already experiencing dangerous climate change and we need to act to avoid catastrophic climate change by limiting global warming to 2oC.

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