07/07/2005 – The G8 Summit,
which was tragically overshadowed by the terrorist
attacks in London, bowed to pressure from
the Bush administration and failed to deliver
a strong statement on the urgency of the problem
of climate change and the need to cut emissions
now.
WWF sees the Summit as a missed opportunity
to make the world’s top eight economies agree
to an effective agenda on climate change.
“There’s nothing meaningful in the G8 text
because they couldn’t come to an agreement
demonstrating the continued split between
the Kyoto seven and the US,” said Jennifer
Morgan, Director of WWF International’s Climate
Change Programme.
“Following the strong statements on the science
and the Kyoto Protocol from Brazil, China,
India, Mexico and South Africa, the Bush administration
is clearly more isolated than before.”
WWF says the current US administration continues
to ignore the overwhelming weight of evidence
outlining the threat climate change will have
on the global economy and the environment.
The US’s focus on new technologies as a solution
to reducing emissions fails to address the
problems caused by climate change.
“Thanks to the Bush administration, the world’s
biggest polluters have given little hope to
those already suffering from climate change,
especially those in Africa who will be hit
hardest by climate change,” added Morgan.
“Technology is important but without real
targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
it is simply not enough.”
Even if progress is made on poverty issues
in Africa it will be undermined by the lack
of action on climate change. The consequences
of G8 inaction will be devastating for Africa,
making droughts and floods more likely, with
decreasing crop yields adversely affecting
the livelihoods of the world’s poor.
WWF is concerned by the G8’s failure to provide
financial and technical support to the world’s
five major developing countries (Brazil, China,
India, Mexico, and South Africa) for a low
carbon development path, which they called
for in a consensus statement on Thursday.
“Why should we in the developing world end
up with the bill for the G8’s carbon emissions,”
said Samrat Sengupta, Senior Policy Officer
at WWF-India.
“The world’s leading economies need to help
us with clear programmes and financing to
develop our economies, leapfrogging dirty
technologies.”
