Satellites to monitor countries for climate change under Gordon Brown plan

An international satellite monitoring system to check countries comply with new climate change targets was proposed by Gordon Brown last night as a way of binding developing nations into a new deal on the environment.
By Andrew Porter

The Telegraph
Nov. 30, 2009

It is part of a desperate bid by the Prime Minister to ensure a climate change deal can be salvaged at the Copenhagen summit in 10 days time.

Last night at a meeting in Trinidad he reached agreement with Commonwealth leaders and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, to put forward a new £10 billion fund to tackle what Mr Brown said was “a climate emergency.”

He said the Launch Fund would allow the world to break the “deadlock” over a deal at Copenhagen and “get moving on climate change as quickly as possible”.

Mr Brown said: “'Together the collective power of the Commonwealth must be brought together to tackle a new historic injustice, that of climate change.”

Ahead of the UN-sponsored climate change conference in the Danish capital, Mr Brown proposed a £10 billion rich-world fund - to which Britain would contribute £800 million - to give incentives to developing countries to halt deforestation, develop low-carbon energy sources and prepare for the effects of a warmer climate.

To police the new deal satellites would monitor countries, like Papua New Guinea, Guyana and Indonesia, responsible for deforestation. Any country found not to be abiding by the deal would have their funding halted.

But some countries, not least China, are likely to be very wary of allowing international satellites to spy on their country.

The fund would cover the years 2010-12 and deliver funds to poorer states on a “payment by results” system, under which those which showed they were taking action to halt climate change would receive more cash.

Mr Brown added: “The deal would make sure that some of the poorest countries, who are most affected by climate change... can get help so they can mitigate climate change and adopt and make the changes that are necessary.”

Mr Brown will present his ideas to world leaders at the Copenhagen summit. He is confident that Barack Obama will endorse it, despite the American President only attending for a short period at the beginning rather than the end of the gathering.

Britain has accepted that a legally-binding treaty cannot be sealed at Copenhagen, but believes it can be finalised in a matter of months if a top-level political commitment can be reached by world leaders in the Danish capital.

The European Union has already proposed a 100 billion euro (£90 billion) fund for the period up to 2020, but Mr Brown believes it is necessary to get mechanisms in place more quickly in order to ensure that there is no delay in reversing the rise in global temperatures.

Last night Greenpeace gave a lukewarm welcome to Mr Brown’s plan, but urged him to devote more energy to the issue of climate change to try and get a breakthrough at Copenhagen. Leaders have already effectively downgraded what they expect to achieve in December.

John Sauven, Greenpeace’s UK director, said: “Gordon Brown’s plan for a 10 billion dollar climate fund represents an admirable level of ambition, but that’s the easy part.

“The Prime Minister must now prove his commitment to this plan by actually putting the UK’s fair share of the money on the table.

“His Government came up with a rescue package for the banks almost overnight. By showing just a fraction of this urgency, he could help break the deadlock over funding and help kickstart the fight against climate change.”













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