16/02/2005 – As the
Kyoto Protocol enters into force today,
WWF says countries need to take another
nine steps to make the Protocol the success
that the world needs to avoid dangerous
levels of climate change.
This danger level is recognized by the
EU and other key players as a rise of the
average global temperature of 2°C above
pre-industrial levels.
According to WWF, to keep global warming
beneath that 2°C ceiling industrialized
countries must slash CO2 emissions by 80
per cent by mid-century, with global emissions
cut by 50 per cent over the same period.
Currently, the Kyoto Protocol asks industrialized
countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
to at least 5 per cent below 11000 levels
by 2012.
“While it is a big step forward, the entry
into force of the Kyoto Protocol is just
the first step in containing the threat
of climate change,” said Jennifer Morgan,
Director of WWF’s Global Climate Change
Programme.
“To make the intentions of the Kyoto Protocol
come true much more effort will have to
go into reducing emissions – and governments
will have to take the lead.”
WWF has drawn up nine steps that governments
need to take for Kyoto to be a success.
These include more ambitious policies to
ensure countries meet their Kyoto targets,
particularly in the power sector, as well
as making the right investment and policy
decisions now to set the world on a downward
emissions trend.
WWF also believes that the Kyoto Protocol
must provide the basis for agreements beyond
2012, the end of the agreement’s current
period.
“The entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol
starts a new market revolution – the carbon
market,” said Morgan. “Gone are the days
when companies and countries could emit
CO2 and not think about it. From now on
the switch from coal to clean power should
become the norm.”
“During the next commitment period beginning
in 2012 the Kyoto Club must be the driving
force and set even more ambitious targets.
The Kyoto Protocol must mark the beginning
of the transformation needed to avoid the
worst impacts of climate change, building
upon its momentum and not the irresponsible
approaches of the Bush administration. The
European Union must proactively work with
developing countries to create new alliances
for change.”
WWF supports parties to the Kyoto Protocol,
such as the EU, in increasing pressure on
the private sector to further invest in
clean energy. WWF’s recently launched PowerSwitch!
campaign promotes energy efficiency and
encourages electricity companies to make
the switch from polluting fuels to renewable
energy sources. The global power sector
accounts for 37 per cent of all energy-related
CO2 emissions.
NOTES:
• The Kyoto Protocol entered into force
today, Wednesday, 16 February 2005, seven
years after it was negotiated. The agreement,
ratified by 140 nations and implemented
by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), sets binding
targets for reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions for industrialized countries.
• A study commissioned by WWF — Arctic
Climate Change with a 2 degree Celsius Global
Warming by Dr Mark New of Oxford University
— shows that dangerous levels of climate
change could be reached in just over 20
years time. The review of global climate
simulations suggests that if nothing is
done, the earth will have warmed by 2°C
(3.6°F) above pre-industrial levels
(c.10000) by some time between 2026 and
2060. In the Arctic this could lead to a
loss of summer sea ice, species, and some
types of tundra vegetation as well as to
a fundamental change in the ways of life
of Inuit and other arctic residents.
