[EDITORIAL] Our future

Leaders from some 30 countries hammered out a draft climate accord, just hours before 130 world leaders were to meet in a summit on the last day of the Copenhagen climate talks.

The draft text is reported to call for keeping the global temperature from going up more than 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. Contributions from developed countries toward helping poorer countries deal with climate change, and how that money would be raised, are also outlined in the draft.

Also included are greenhouse gas cut commitments by developed countries as well as a proposal for a target for all countries by 2050, reports said.

It is also reported that the last-minute draft calls for drawing up a binding treaty on climate change within six months.

President Lee Myung-bak on Thursday called on nations to take the initiative to fight climate change, emphasizing that Korea is committed to voluntarily cutting emissions by 4 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level, although it is exempt from mandatory cuts under the current Kyoto Protocol.



Speaking at the climate talks in Copenhagen, Lee said that Korea decided to take on the challenge because "I believe this `me-first attitude` is the fastest way to save our planet."

Korea is the ninth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases and its emissions have nearly doubled in the past 15 years. It registered the fastest emissions growth among OECD members from 1990 to 2005.

Seeking a growing international role, Seoul proposed mediating between developed and developing countries on global climate change discussions.

Lee said Korea would host a Conference of Parties in 2012. Lee also announced that Korea will establish a Global Green Growth Institute and a global think tank in the first half of next year. The institute will act as a bridge between advanced and developing countries, where countries can share experiences and know-how.

The Lee administration proclaimed "Low Carbon Green Growth" as a new national vision last year. Since then, numerous plans and policies have been rolled out, including a plan to invest 2 percent of GDP into the research and development of new green technologies and infrastructure. A bill on green growth is pending at the National Assembly.

Although Korea`s voluntary commitment to reduce emissions by 4 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level is not as ambitious as it could have been, it is nevertheless the highest cut recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for developing and emerging countries.

The country can claim that it made a head start in fighting global warming, as Lee said, if it can achieve that goal.

The wide gap between what developed and developing countries offered and wanted threatens to sink the climate talks. The United States, which promised to cut emissions by 3 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, wants developing countries to submit to stringent checks on their emissions cuts in exchange for any financial assistance.

Developing countries, led primarily by China, which committed to cutting its carbon intensity - the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of GDP - by 40 to 45 percent by 2020 compared to 2005, say the U.S. emissions goal is not deep enough.

China wants average cuts of at least 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 by developed countries.

It also wants promises of more aid and green technology for developing countries to help them reach their carbon emissions goals.

The EU leaders have been pushing the United States and developing nations to commit to emissions cuts by agreeing to cut emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and by 30 percent if other developed nations follow suit.

A major issue at Copenhagen is the funding for poor countries to fight global warming. On Thursday, Hillary Clinton, U.S. secretary of state, breathed life into the Copenhagen talks, which appeared moribund, when she announced that the United States would help support a $100 billion a year fund.

Although the United States did not commit to specific figures or suggest how the fund would be raised, the announcement demonstrated the seriousness of the United States` commitment to fighting global warming.

In addition, a fast-track fund to help poor nations in the three years before the climate deal takes effect in 2013 is in the works.

The EU has pledged around $3.5 billion and Japan committed another $5 billion toward the $10 billion a year fund. The countries gathered in Copenhagen are looking to the United States to come up with the rest.

With so many parties with different interests and priorities involved and with so much ground to cover, the Copenhagen conference perhaps had little chance of success.

However, the urgent need to take immediate steps against global climate change necessitated the conference.

It would be unfortunate for all countries, indeed for all mankind, if we fail to take action now against global warming.

Countries should focus on the long-term, common good of the entire human race as they engage in last-minute efforts to strike a climate change deal.

Enough time has been wasted in posturing; it is time for world leaders to exercise leadership in fighting global warming that threatens the future of the planet and its inhabitants.