Botswana team ill-prepared for UN climate change conference

EPHRAIM KEORENG
Staff Writer | Friday November 14, 2008 00:00

The breathtaking range of issues to be tackled include analyses of means to reach emission targets and identification of ways to enhance their effectiveness, capacity building under the Kyoto Protocol, greenhouse gas, emission from fuel used for international aviation and maritime transport, amendment of the Kyoto Protocol's procedures and mechanisms relating to compliance, analysis of mitigation potential and identification of ranges of emission reduction objectives. But it is feared some countries will not accept Botswana's view on carbon emissions, for instance, and will require thorough preparation to win them over.

Some of the issues that Botswana wants to advance at the global conference include amending of the Kyoto Protocol. In a presentation at a preparatory workshop in Gaborone this week, the Chief Meteorologist at the Department of Meteorology, David Lesolle, said 'we need to amend the Kyoto Protocol because the decisions made on it may have an impact on our economy, especially the beef and diamond industries.

'We use coal to power the production of our diamonds and beef, and this means that we leave a certain carbon imprint on the atmosphere. So if they are to say let's not buy their diamonds or beef because the way the way they produce them pollutes the atmosphere, we will have a serious problem.'

It is this Herculean task that the Botswana team will face and from what Mmegi gathers, the team looks very much unprepared to deliver Botswana's solid position on pertinent issues. The Botswana team has not even met in full to share views on negotiating strategies and to form a consolidated position ahead of this Herculean task. This week's preparatory meeting was dominated by the Met, but otherwise, poorly attended. On the first day (Tuesday) of the preparatory meeting, Lesolle distributed papers on other countries' positions to be presented before the 10 000 to 15 000 experts in various areas of the environment and other fields expected to attend the conference.

Botswana goes to Poznan at a time when the country is on the threshold of becoming an energy giant in southern Africa. A power station that will generate 2 100MW to 2 460 MW and require between 7,5 million tons and 9 million tons of coal a year. It is to be developed at Mmamabule.

Lesolle said this calls for a vigorous and convincing team because Botswana is about to join the league of high carbon emission countries. 'At least we should try to buy time and ensure that we don't agree to something that will bind us to stop or be forced to reduce our carbon footprint in the atmosphere,' he said.

In an interview with Mmegi, the Director of Meteorological Services, Phetolo Phage, acknowledged that the Botswana team is not enough.

We are going to need a lot of experts in deforestation and other areas,he said, but unfortunately some people do not turn up for preparatory meetings. We have called meetings before and people did not turn up.Phage said his department is fine-tuning the Botswana position paper, which will be circulated to the rest of the Botswana team soon so it may form a consolidated position.

He emphasised the need to keep the contents of the document confidential.The contents should not leak at all as this may give others (rival countries) a leverage over us, he said.He disclosed that the advance group of the Botswana team will leave for Poland on the 27th of this month to attend preparatory and technical meetings, while the others will follow later.