Criticizing the Bush administration and emphasizing multilateral action, His Excellency Iranian Ambassador Bagher Asadi spoke Thursday at Fletcher about the pressures and difficulties of international diplomacy and the future of international development post-Kyoto protocol - the international treaty on carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction.
Professor William Moomaw of the Fletcher School invited the Ambassador. "I had done some work with the G-77 [a coalition within the United Nations of China and 132 developing countries] and mentioned to him that it would be great for him to come to Fletcher," Moomaw said.
Although Asadi's background is in economics - a BA at the University of Tehran and an MA from the University of Colorado - he is a respected diplomat. He served on the Iranian Permanent Mission to the US as the representative in charge of economics and social affairs. Most recently, he served as the Chairman of the G-77.
The ambassador began his speech by referring to the vision of Austin Barclay Fletcher, the original donor to the Fletcher School. "I feel that I should embody [Fletcher's] vision," Asadi said. "That is why I am a diplomat, a multilateral diplomat: because I believe law and diplomacy can make a difference."
Asadi went on to emphasize the importance of multilateralism through his experiences with the G-77 after the US withdrew support for the Kyoto protocol in the spring of 2001. The protocol, supported by Democratic candidate Al Gore, established CO2 limits for developed nations, including the European Union, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Japan.
"The most important process within development is climate change and the Kyoto protocol," he said. "Like many other international agreements, it has been elusive."
The US is responsible for 25 percent of the world's CO2 emissions, and the US retraction of support was viewed as a huge step back to the process. Asadi described it as "complicating the picture."
"Problems arose," Asadi said. "Because the developing world was not involved per se in the negotiations, the developing world was exempt from targeting CO2 emissions."
According to Asadi, the issue was further complicated diplomatically "because the umbrella nations [other nations who signed onto the protocol] did not want to criticize Washington, nor could they endorse it. However, this unilateral action received serious opposition from the EU."
The problem then became to find a consensus among the G-77 nations in response to the US policy change. "Some quarters expressed satisfaction with the American decision. Namely some OPEC [Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries] nations. They had fears that with ratification of Kyoto that demand for oil would be negatively impacted. They would not favor early implementation of Kyoto. Iran was not one of these."
Faced with the potential of a split within the G-77, Asadi felt that coming to a consensus was imperatively important. "I felt that American policy should have been denounced because it ignored legitimate, credible and valid concerns," he said.
Asadi said that these concerns were also shared by "the small island nations... they see more clearly than others the effects of sea level changes."
Asadi believes the protocol should not be altered, and he criticized the Bush administration's "unilateral approach and withdrawal from a unilateral commitment as unacceptable and disappointing." With a small smile, he noted, "As always and in all circumstances, it takes two to tango. I am, of course, no expert in tango."
Asadi believes the G-77 will come to a consensus on the protocol. "A triumph of multilateralism over unilateralism," he called it. "We proved that we stayed true to our principles while staying flexible."
