Dec 14th, 2007 3:55 PM

Bali Global Climate Protection Compact lays down challenge for rich and poor nations to join battle against global warming

(Nusa Dua, Bali, December 14, 2007) Corporate Knights, a Canadian-based sustainable development media and policy company, released an annual trillion-dollar climate protection compact to 120 environment ministers today as the UN climate change talks wrapped up in Bali.

"The world has spoken with one voice in Bali: climate change is the defining issue of our time. Now we need a plan to carry us forward to a grand climate compact to be agreed upon no later than the UN Climate Meeting in Copenhagen in 2009," said Toby Heaps, Director of Corporate Knights and lead author of the proposal.

Heaps added, "While there are no silver bullets in the war on global warming, without a price on carbon, the gun is not even loaded," noting that because of the trillion dollar scale of the challenge, "we will need the same price on carbon everywhere or it won't work anywhere."

The Corporate Knights proposal, named Option 13 (as 2013 is when Kyoto expires) shows a clear way to a 2009 Copenhagen Compact that would satisfy two essential conditions for a successful climate agreement:

• Establish a globally harmonized carbon price that is high enough to curb emissions at a level that keeps temperature increases to less than 2° Celsius

• Provide compelling incentives for developing nations to participate, including $100 billion per year in financing for the developing world to help preserve forests and to prepare for climate change (flood walls, improved irrigation, drought resistant crops, desalination facilities)

Option 13 will ask industrialized countries to agree to a common carbon cap and would commit developing countries to apply the carbon market determined price within their domestic economies in the form of a C02 tax which would kick in automatically following a grace period of five years.

Countries that chose not to comply would face stiff penalties, including countervailing duties.

"Planting a Global Climate Compact in the foundation of a polluter pays principle, provides developing countries with time and money to tackle GHG production while allowing their economies to grow. It will also minimize the chance for countries to become carbon-pollution havens," said Peter Diplaros, Option 13 co-author.