'Make or break' talks on climate change

Carbon dioxide is the greatest greenhouse gas

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Environmentalists are meeting in The Hague to combat the "greenhouse effect" as Europeans mop up after storms which many blame on global warming.

Diplomats and interest groups start two weeks of talks on Monday to hammer out policies intended to cut the greenhouse gas emissions to levels agreed in Kyoto three years ago.

Some 180 nations and thousands of environmental and industry pressure groups are expected to take part in the conference.

The meeting is officially called the Sixth Session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP6) U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"The Hague conference is a make-or-break opportunity for climate change treaties," said Michael Zammit Cutajar, the convention's executive secretary.

Adding to the pressure to reach an agreement are some of the worst weather crises in recent memory, including the heaviest flooding in Britain in 50 years, expected to cause damages in excess of a billion euros ($860 million), and last month's floods in Italy which cost insurers more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.29 billion).

Many scientists and environmental groups argue that the storms which caused the flooding are the first signs of climate change brought on by global warming.

And although global temperatures are rising -- the 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 1981 and the six hottest since 1990 -- the direct impact from greenhouse gas emissions remains under debate.

A number of groups whose futures depend on decisions about greenhouse gases are expected to turn out in force at The Hague.

They include representatives of members of The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), who argue they should receive compensation because of the impact reduced oil consumption would have on their economies.

Proponents of nuclear power, who say their reactors produce far fewer greenhouse gases than even the cleanest natural gas plants will also argue their case.

The Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997, built on the 1992 Rio agreements and call for an average of five percent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions internationally from 1990 levels by 2008-2012.

So far only about 30 states have ratified the Kyoto Protocols, and none of the major industrial countries have officially tied themselves to the targets.

To have the effect of law, 55 states producing a total of 55 percent of the output of greenhouse gases must approve the protocols domestically.

The early days of the conference are largely devoted to hearings by two U.N. working groups, one devoted to assessing the science behind the proposals and the other to creating practical ways to implement emissions cuts.

Under consideration are the so-called flexibility mechanisms designed to offer states a number of ways of reaching their emission cut targets without actually trimming their output.

Those include the clean development mechanisms, or CDMs, which promote investments by firms or governments in developing countries and could include the use of "sinks," or reforestation projects, to help absorb carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.

Another mechanism is joint implementation, under which credits for emissions targets are shared by developing states and the industrialised countries that helped them achieve the goals either by investments or technology transfers.

A third method is emissions trading, where countries such as Russia, which is expected to meet its emissions targets easily, can sell some credits to countries not meeting their limits.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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