Switzerland wants to achieve its climate goals. To do this, she resorts to means that have been criticized. Now the US newspaper “New York Times” is making the Swiss way of dealing with the climate a big problem.
The charge: Instead of cutting emissions within its borders, the country is paying poorer countries to reduce their emissions. That’s unfair.
Switzerland helps poorer countries – and itself
The paper criticizes Switzerland “grabbing its bulging treasury” “to pay poorer countries like Ghana or Dominica to reduce their emissions there — and give Switzerland credit for that.”
Projects are supported to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in other countries. However, Switzerland accounts for this on its own climate fund.
According to the paper, Veronika Elgart, deputy head of international climate policy at the Federal Office for the Environment in Switzerland, explains that such agreements entail additional measures to protect the climate while also benefiting host countries.
But the American medium wonders if “this mechanism is fair”. The debate will kick off during discussions at the UN Climate Change Conference taking place this week in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.
“Give responsibility for reducing emissions”
So says Crispin Gregoire, the former UN ambassador to Dominica, who signed an agreement with Switzerland last year: “It’s a way of transferring responsibility for reducing emissions.”
And further: “Instead of cutting emissions itself, Switzerland is going to other very low-emission countries to meet this obligation.” Domenica is a small island nation with only 72,000 inhabitants.
Climate targets not met
Switzerland cannot achieve its emission reduction targets alone. Therefore, at least a third of the savings would be realized elsewhere. According to FOEN, Switzerland has not reached its goal of reducing its emissions by 20 percent by 2020.
The rule that allows such agreements as with Domenica and Ghana is “dangerous”. Jade Begay, director of climate justice at NDN Collective, an indigenous-run social and environmental organization in the state of South Dakota, tells the paper.
It allows richer countries to “continue to pollute and continue as before, which is the root of the problem”. (EU)
Source: Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
