Welche perversen Folgen das Kyoto-Protokoll zeitigt, berichten heute die niederländische “Volkskrant” und das Wallstreet Journal.  “Moreover, the environmental organizations fear that Chinese businessmen will build new polluting factories in order to profit even more from the Western climate money.” In kurzen Worten geschieht Folgendes: Weil europäische Länder ihre Kohlendioxid-Reduktionsverpflichtungen nicht einhalten, überweisen sie eine dreiviertel Milliarde Euro nach Peking, auf dass dies in China geschehe. Die Chinesen sollen die Produktion der dort hergestellten hochklimawirksamen und ozonschädigenden Kältemittel herunterfahren. Und weil es für Schließen mehr Geld gibt als fürs Produzieren, werden jetzt neue Produktionslinien eröffnet, damit man sie dann für viel Geld schliessen kann. Für diejenigen, die nicht der niederländischen Sprache mächtig sind, veröffentlichte Benny Peiser auf seinem CCNet heute dankenswerterweise eine englische Übersetzung von Jos de Laat. Hier ist Sie…

THE NETHERLANDS PAYS FOR CHINESE POLLUTION

AMSTERDAM - The Dutch government contributes to maintaining two very polluting chemical factories in China. The factories produce cooling agents in a process during which a gas is released which is 11.700 as powerful as CO2 and which also affects the ozone layer. The Netherlands pay the factories, together with Italy and Spain, 775 million euros until 2012, as was agreed upon last year. The Dutch contribution is 69 million.

The Chinese factories get their money as a reward for making their production process more environmentally friendly. This way the Dutch government wants to help China to reduce environmental pollution. Furthermore, it helps the Netherlands to meet their Kyoto-protocol goals, the international agreements to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. The transaction with the two Chinese chemical factories are the largest environmental deals ever.

‘It is scandalous the Netherlands is involved in this’ says Lucas Reijnders, professor in environmental studies. The environmental organizations are of the opinion that the Netherlands rewards the polluting industries too much this way. ‘This is a perverse incentive’, says Steve Sawyer of Greenpeace International. ‘Such transactions are so profitable for China that it is worthwhile for the country to establish new polluting factories.’

‘These transactions conflict with previous environmental agreements’, says Donals Pols of “Millieudefensie” (Environment defense). In 1987, rich and poor countries already had agreed that the so-called soft CFC’s produced in factories should be banned. But according to Pols the Chinese factories stay in business unnecessarily long by the Dutch Money. China is rich enough to quit producing this cooling agent and to change to less damaging, but more expensive alternatives, according to Reijnders. ‘Western countries should pressure China.’

A spokeswoman of the department of environmental affairs (VROM) recognizes the danger of a perverse incentive for the Chinese factories. However, according to her this is not the case here. ‘This is not about new, but about existing factories. According to international agreements these factories have to close down only far beyond 2012’. The Chinese factories thus cannot be forced to close down and to use other cooling agents other than soft CFC’s. ‘But we are very alert on not closing deals with factories that recently have been built.’

To meet to the Kyoto demands western companies and governments can also pay foreign polluting industries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. The Dutch contribution in the contribution of a total of 775 million euro is, according to the VROM department, 69 million euro. With it the government obtains a CO2 emission reduction of 16 million tons. This amount equals the emission of four million cars, each with a mileage of 20 thousand kilometers. In total the Dutch government pays foreign companies 450 million euros until 2012 for cleaner production processes.

By Olav Velthuis. Copyright 2007, De Volkskrant

Und hier noch ein zweiter Artikel zum Thema vom gleichen Autor:

CHINESE HAPPY WITH CLIMATE MONEY

AMSTERDAM – For 3F Zhonghao, a chemical company in the Chinese city Changshu City, it is a double reward: the market for refrigerators and air conditioners shows a strong growth due to the fast develooping Chinese middle classes. For the cooling system within this equipment the manufacturers from 3D Zhonghao are the place to be. Using the companies’ website one can easily buy metal cylinders with 40, 80 or 500 kilos of a cooling agent that is used in the home equipment.

Very recently 3F Zhonghao has a new source of money: rich countries, including the Netherlands, are frantically looking for ways to meet their Kyoto-protocol goals. In their own countries it is difficult to further reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a trade system with is implemented together with the Kyoto-protocol, provides a way out: rich countries can buy environmental kudos by stimulating companies in developing countries to environmentally improve their production processes. For which they are paid, obviously.

3D Zhonghao turned out to be very willing to do business with the rich West. The factory emits HFC-23 as a byproduct, a gas that is many times more damaging than CO2 and also affects the ozone layer. With money from the Dutch, Spanish and Italian government, 3F is going to burn the gas, resulting in much reduced damage. The Netherlands can add the environmental profit to their reduction of emissions.

3F and other cooling agent manufacturers make quite a profit from their new environment friends, according to Steve Sawyer from Greenpeace International. The prices that western governments and companies pay vary between 4 and 8 euro per ton CO2. According to Sawyer it costs the Chinese manufacturers only a fraction of this amount built the burning equipment.

A part of the profit is for the company itself. Another part is paid to the Chinese government, which has promised to finance new environmental projects. The environmental business between Western governments and cooling agents are so attractive for all parties that are involved that by now it dominates the Clean Development Mechanism.

This is quite disturbing for international environmental organizations. ‘The Clean Development Mechanism was also meant for the production of sustainable production of energy. But it is now used by rich countries as an easy and cheap way to meet their Kyoto goals’, says Donald Pols of the Dutch environmental organization Millieudefensie.

At 3F and other cooling agent manufacturers the equivalent of man million tons of CO2 is effectively prevented from being emitted; this number is less than 50 thousand for most other projects which are financed by the CDM, like wind power, small water power plants or biomass power plants. In total there are 472 projects financed since 2004, the year the CDM started. Those projects are less interesting.According to Pols, the projects turn out to be problematic because nearly all cooling agent factories are located in China and India. Both countries profit from the CDM disproportionally compared to other developing countries.

Moreover, the environmental organizations fear that Chinese businessmen will build new polluting factories in order to profit even more from the Western climate money. At the climate summit last autumn in Nairobi the idea was expressed to no longer allow new factories to profit from the CDM. It was, remarkably, the US government - who has not ratified Kyoto - who expressed its concern that the cooperation with cooling agent manufacturers would undermine the battle against pollution, and that it poses a ‘perverse incentive‘. But it was especially China who prevented any adjustment of regulations to end such cooperations.The Dutch government defends itself by arguing that is better to reduce the damage as much as possible. The large Chinese polluters cannot be forced to close down because what they do is not illegal.

However, according to environmental organizations it is possible to come up with alternatives. For example, by presenting them with financial support to close down, or to stimulate the Chinese government to reach that goal by legislation. The Netherlands is one of the most important players in the CDM, and, according to Dutch environmental organizations, therefore very influential in redefining new rules.

By Olav Velthuis, Copyright 2007, De Volkskrant