1. FCCC/CP/1997/7 English I. OPENING OF THE SESSION (Agenda item 1) The third session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, convened pursuant to Article 7.4 of the Convention and decision 1/CP.2, was opened at the Kyoto International Conference Hall, Kyoto, Japan, on 1 December 1997, by the President of the Conference at its second session, Mr. Chen Chimutengwende, Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications of 2. A. Statement by the President of the Conference at its second session The President of the Conference at its second session welcomed all participants to the third session of the Conference of the Parties and thanked the Government of Japan for the excellent facilities it had provided. He said that, since the second session of the Conference, climate change had been the subject of growing worldwide attention and media coverage. The Convention process itself had also made considerable progress, mainly through the work of the subsidiary bodies. The Ad Hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM), in particular, had arrived step by step at a consolidated negotiating text for a protocol or another legal instrument, prepared by the Chairman. The adoption of such a protocol or instrument reflecting the principles of equity, justice and fair play constituted the greatest challenge of the current session. 3. Global warming was already happening and the climate system might well be taking an irreversible path unless action was taken immediately. While climate change constituted a threat to each and every individual nation in the world, its impact was likely to be more severe in the developing countries that were least able to cope with the consequences. It was the responsibility of the industrialized nations that had indirectly placed burdens on the rest of the world to take the lead in meeting existing commitments, in reducing emissions and in alleviating human suffering caused by climate change. It was a question of survival for small island States and other low-lying areas of the world and for vulnerable communities in other poor countries. Developing countries were already making efforts domestically, with their limited resources, to attain sustainable economic development and it was not possible for those countries to take on new commitments under the new instrument. In the interests of equity, binding commitments for non-Annex I Parties could not even be envisaged until agreement had been reached on a fair system of apportionment of emission limits, a globally agreed reduction pathway and a projected sustainable future emission level on an equitable basis, and until there was reliable and predictable financial provision for the acquisition and adaptation of sound technologies, know-how and production systems in developing countries. 4. In conclusion, he reported to the Conference of the Parties on the outcome of the informal consultations which he had undertaken in the intersessional period on the draft rules of procedure and the composition of the Bureau. Thanking all those who had co-operated with him during his term of office, and extending his best wishes to the new President, he expressed the hope that the session would prove to be a success and a landmark in the annals of international cooperation. FCCC/CP/1997/7 B. Election of the President of the Conference at its third session (Agenda item 1 (b)) 5. At the 1st plenary meeting, on 1 December, on the proposal of the outgoing President, the Conference of the Parties elected by acclamation Mr. Hiroshi Ohki, Minister of State, Director-General of the Environment Agency, Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems of Japan, as its President. 6. C. Statement by the President On assuming office, the President welcomed all participants to the third session of the Conference of the Parties and paid tribute to the outgoing President and the Chairman of the AGBM for their important contributions to the Convention process. He also thanked the Executive Secretary and the secretariat for their work in preparing for the present session of the Conference. The most important task facing the Conference of the Parties was to establish a more concrete international framework for the protection of the global climate through the adoption of a protocol to the Convention or another form of legal instrument. Climate change was one of the most serious global environmental issues facing the world today and only a fully worldwide strategy could effectively address the problem. Such a strategy should be based on three principles: developed countries should take the lead now in committing themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels; developing countries should also take actions to address the issue of climate change in promoting their sustainable development, taking into account their common but differentiated responsibilities under the Convention and their respective capabilities; and developed countries should strengthen their partnership with developing countries through the provision of financial and technological support for mitigating global greenhouse gas emissions. 7. There were a large number of outstanding issues to be resolved and he called upon all Parties to work together in a spirit of cooperation and compromise, urging the developed countries with the greatest economic capacity in particular to demonstrate such spirit and leadership in action. In conclusion, he stressed the need to discuss future steps to be taken after the Kyoto Conference for the effective implementation of the protocol and other measures to attain the objective of the Convention. All the climate change problems could not be solved at Kyoto; there was still a long way to go and many more negotiations would have to follow. By reaching agreement at Kyoto, however, the international community could take a definite first step towards promoting climate protection policies for the twenty-first century. It was his earnest hope that, here in Kyoto, where some of the most important events in Japan's history had taken place, it would prove possible to reach another historic decision to protect the world's environment and to secure a sustainable basis for the future prosperity of all mankind. |