In Brief

EUROPE LOOKS BEYOND KYOTO AS PROTOCOL ENTERS INTO FORCE

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force on 16 February (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 19 November 2004). The event was celebrated around the world both by governments and civil society groups, despite the fact that some significant polluters -- such as the US -- have chosen to remain outside the treaty. Environmental groups also stressed that although the Kyoto Protocol was important, and its entry into force signalled a commitment among Parties to move towards a low-carbon economy, it only represented a first step. Friends of the Earth's Catherine Pearce commented that "It is time for rich countries to act now, before it becomes too late... With concerted action, industrialised countries, led by the European Union, can be delivering cuts in emissions and set us on the path to 80 percent reductions by 2050".

A week earlier, on 9 February, the European Commission released a communication on its strategy beyond 2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends. According to European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas, "We will continue to lead by example, but we will also continue to pressure hard for all of our international partners to come on board." Among measures for future EU climate policy, the Commission proposed: including new sectors, such as aviation, maritime transport and forestry; supporting innovation and research on new climate-friendly technologies; continuing the use of flexible market-based instruments such as emissions trading both in the EU and internationally; and focusing on adaptation policy.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin announced on 16 February that the 11th Conference of the Parties -- which will also be the first Meeting of the Parties when negotiations will begin on the post-2012 phase -- will be held in Montreal, Canada in early December 2004.

To access the Commission documents visit here.

"Canada To Host Next Major International Meeting Setting Global Course On Climate Change Beyond Kyoto," CANADIAN GOVERNMENT, 16 February 2005; "Climate Change Treaty Goes Live But Battle On Emissions Has Only Just Begun," FOEI RELEASE, 14 February 2005; "EU Climate Policy Aims for Wider International Involvement," ENS, 10 February 2005; "EU Climate Policy Aims for Wider International Involvement," EC RELEASE, 9 February 2005.

US QUESTIONS EU ON WOOD PALLET RESTRICTIONS

US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick urged European governments in a 9 February letter to suspend a new rule, scheduled to go into effect on 1 March, that would require wood pallets used to import many goods into the EU to be bark-free. The EU had approved the new regulation last October in an effort to "prevent nasty little insects from getting into the ports and causing all kinds of damage," according to Anthony Gooch, a spokesman for the European Commission in Washington. EU officials will discuss the potentially trade-distorting effects of this environmental regulation, and the possibility of delaying it, at a meeting on 28 February. The US as well as a number of Latin American countries have previously raised related concerns at the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, arguing that the requirements go beyond the agreed International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures on wood packaging (see Bridges Weekly, 3 November 2004).

Wood pallets, which are used to ship more than US$8 billion in goods from the US to the EU annually, can provide temporary sanctuary to insects that are harmful to plants. Several countries, including Brazil and Finland, have imposed regulations in response to outbreaks of long-horned beetles, requiring wood pallets to be heat-treated, fumigated or treated with preservatives prior to departure from the country of origin. Among the chemicals used to treat pallets, methyl bromide -- a significant ozone depleting substance -- has proven controversial among Parties to the Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances who have repeatedly failed to agree on whether to allow limited use (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 3 December 2004).

"U.S. Complains to Europe Over Rules on Wood Pallets," BLOOMBERG, 10 February 2005; "Insects making pallets unpalatable," BOSTON GLOBE, 13 February 2005.

DNA 'BARCODING' PROJECT LAUNCHED

The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) held their first international conference from 7 to 9 February where they launched an initiative to create a database that will enable identification of all plant and animal species based on a portion of their DNA. This process, dubbed 'DNA Barcoding', uses a DNA sequence from an agreed-upon location in the genome to characterise species of organisms. The database will not only facilitate the finding of new species, but also help to identify carriers of disease and monitor endangered species. However, some researchers expressed doubts about the reliability of the approach, particularly in classifying closely related species. The process is split into three classification projects based on the type of organism: species of birds; marine and fresh water fish; and plants in Costa Rica and Central America. The CBOL hope to collect barcodes for the 10,000 known species of birds by 2010.

"Consortium for the Barcode of Life," SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE, 17 February 2005; "Genetic Barcodes Will Identify World's Species," REUTERS, 17 February 2005; "Science Intends to Tag All Life," BBC NEWS, 17 February 2005.

WTO MEMBERS MEET FOR FIRST COTTON TALKS

The WTO Cotton Sub-committee, set up in the July framework adopted by WTO Members last year (Bridges Trade BioRes, 6 August 2004), met for the first time on 11 February. The Sub-committee agreed to focus on assessing progress in the agriculture negotiations and including regular updates on developmental aspects of the cotton initiative to ensure coherence between trade and development aspects of the issue. Members, however, failed to agree on whether the scope of the group should include any other issues. The US advocated for including a heading of "other" in the work programme, which would allow Members to raise broader issues raised in non-agricultural market access negotiations (such as textiles), trade remedies and other government policies. The move was opposed by India, Egypt, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, Paraguay, China and Japan. Most speakers stressed the importance of the cotton issue, in particular given the impact of cotton subsidies on poor farmers, and reiterated the mandate to proceed "ambitiously, expeditiously, and specifically" given to the group from the July Package. Chairperson Tim Groser (New Zealand) stressed that 100 million farmers in 80 developing countries produce cotton and noted that the issue was important enough to decide the fate of the Doha negotiations. The meeting was suspended for consultations and will meet again once agreement is reached on the work programme.

ICTSD Reporting.