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| Arabia |
| Kingdom seeks share of $100 billion climate aid boodle |
| 2011-02-19 |
| [Arab News] Soddy Arabia is a special case in need of climate aid if the world shifts to clean energy, the world's top oil exporter told the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society ahead of a Monday deadline for proposals about slowing global warming. Almost 200 nations agreed in Mexico in December to a package of measures including a new fund to help poor nations, due to be worth $100 billion annually from 2020, find ways to adapt to climate change and protect tropical forests. That deal set a Feb. 21 deadline for detailed comments. Soddy Arabia said that it would need help to develop solar power and financial aid to diversify, as it was "among the most vulnerable economies," dependent on oil exports whose use may be curbed under a climate deal. "Impacts are expected to be massive and deep," it said of countries dependent on fossil fuels, noting that oil makes up half Soddy Arabia's gross domestic product and 90 percent of its export earnings. Many other developing countries -- including the poorest in Africa and Pacific island states at risk of rising sea levels -- have expressed irritation that OPEC nations harp on about their vulnerability. Soddy Arabia's gross national income per capita was about $25,000 in 2008, similar to that of New Zealand, according to the UN Development Programme. Countries have squabbled for many years on sharing the cost of carbon emissions cuts and the benefit of funds, making a comprehensive deal increasingly unlikely from 2013 after the present round of the Kyoto Protocol expires They are meant to agree this year fine print including how to share funds meant for countries which are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, and to raise money, for example from carbon markets. But the submissions also showed a rift between rich and poor about the makeup of a new panel meant to help poorer countries adapt to climate change, by methods such as developing flood defenses or new drought-resistant crops. Ghana said that the board of the Adaptation Committee should comprise 32 members with a majority from developing nations, or two-thirds, according to Soddy Arabia. The European Union said that it should have 12-18 members, equally split between rich and poor. The climate funds will likely in large part be levied from carbon markets, where developing countries sell carbon offsets to rich countries struggling to meet their emissions caps in a trade worth 2.2 billion euros ($2.98 billion) last year. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #9 Saudis - they don't do tourism The Sauds control the greatest tourism scam on earth. It's called the haj. |
| Posted by: Pearl Gleaper1127 2011-02-19 19:33 |
| #8 It really pisses me off that a nation, no wait make that a cuture that has benefited from the oil economy simply by being in the right place at the right time is also going to be a big winner in solar power generation that like it or not will come to pass. And with the money they have been making they should og been able to develop this them selves. Instead they build BS projects to spread the wealth |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2011-02-19 15:38 |
| #7 "That's like paying farmers not to farm." Not exactly, grom. It's like paying rich guys not to "farm" the land they weren't going to farm anyway. :-( |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2011-02-19 14:53 |
| #6 That's like paying farmers not to farm. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-02-19 14:47 |
| #5 I'm sure Obama will support this proposal ... |
| Posted by: CincinnatusChili 2011-02-19 11:52 |
| #4 Climate change aid? So where is the most of the money coming from? I suspect the U.S. A scheme for "income redistribution." More social justice garbage. Forget about it, we've got more important problems in the U.S. to straighten out. Do the Saudi's not have enough of our money? The average income is fairly high in the magic Kingdom. They don't need outside money to deal with climate change formerly known as global warming. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2011-02-19 10:45 |
| #3 Moose - That is why they have all been building huge airport hubs, lots of tourism, and trying to figure out any other way to make a living once their oil money runs out. FWIW, that's a big problem for the Saudis - they don't do tourism in any way, shape or form. And that is actually a shame - I've been there, and though I wasn't exactly welcomed like a long lost relative, I was treated correctly and politely. On top of that, there is some truly beautiful scenery there. Tourism would probably help moderate the Saudis a bit, but knowing the way many tourists behave (including, regrettably, Americans) it would probably just drive them a bit deeper into their shell. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2011-02-19 09:52 |
| #2 This is nonsense. All the Arab Gulf States have been aware that there is going to be oil income disruption, sooner or later, for at least 20 years. That is why they have all been building huge airport hubs, lots of tourism, and trying to figure out any other way to make a living once their oil money runs out. In fact, since some of their great schemes have turned into disasters, they are about to the second generation of schemes. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-02-19 09:14 |
| #1 Clearly they need to take their education up another level. Did nobody think of harvesting sunlight in the desert and storing it in batteries to sell? There'd be the initial investment in solar panels and batteries (possibly have them made in Yemen -- but only in the morning, or in Egypt, for solidarity reasons. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-02-19 01:28 |