24 Sep 2007 - New York,
United States – Participants attending a
high-level climate change summit at the
United Nations declared that an ambitious
comprehensive climate agreement will be
negotiated within the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change — building on the Kyoto
Protocol — by no later than 2009.
“World leaders today united under the UN
banner and declared a stop to dangerous
climate change by agreeing to negotiate
deep cuts in carbon emissions," said
Hans Verolme, Director of WWF’s Global Climate
Change Programme.
Convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon,
the summit brought together more than 70
heads of state — a watershed moment in the
global climate debate.
“The UN Secretary-General has effectively
called for an end of the fossil-fuel age
by mid-century," Verolme added. "We
congratulate Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
for this show of real climate leadership."
Several countries spoke about the ravages
of extreme weather and climate change. Economic
assessments indicate that the benefits of
early action on climate change greatly exceed
the cost of reducing emissions.
“The unvarnished truth is that climate
change is here,” Verolme said. “The impending
climate catastrophe could cripple economies
and devastate livelihoods, so striking a
new global climate deal that will promote
investment in clean technologies is a top
priority.”
Overwhelming support for the launch of
negotiations at a climate change meeting
scheduled for December in Bali, Indonesia,
marks an important step in UN history.
Brian Thomson
Martin Hiller
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WWF comments on a major emittors conference
in the US
27 Sep 2007 - US President George Bush
has invited the leaders of 16 industrialized
and developing countries to Washington,
DC, from 27 to 28 September to seek agreement
on a new US-led process to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.
The conference comes only three days after
the United Nations climate change summit
at which over 80 heads of state committed
to launching formal negotiations for a global
climate agreement in December in Bali, Indonesia.
This comprehensive agreement, to be finalized
in 2009, will build on the Kyoto Protocol
by broadening carbon markets, mobilizing
investments in clean technology, and fund
adaptation for the poorest and most vulnerable
countries.
WWF's Position:
The US administration must support the
UN process and not undermine it.
"The timing of President Bush's meeting
risks creating a rival process to the formal
UN effort to secure an agreement that builds
on Kyoto to reduce global carbon emissions,"
says Hans Verolme, Director of WWF's Global
Climate Change Programme. "President
Bush should commit the US to the UN process
and the results of the climate summit of
Heads of State just held in New York."
Voluntary cuts in emissions are not enough.
The White House conference must call for
binding domestic cuts in greenhouse gas
emissions for industrialized countries of
at least 30% by 2020.
"The UN's Summit in Bali this December
will begin negotiations for an agreement
that builds on Kyoto," says Hans Verolme.
"To contribute to global action on
climate change, President Bush should use
this opportunity to propose meaningful emission
cuts and binding targets ready for Bali."
A fair and equitable UN agreement reduces
greenhouse gas emissions and keeps warming
well below 2°C, as the best-available
science tells us.
"The voluntary approach promoted by
the White House has fallen well short of
stopping climate change," says Hans
Verolme. "Now is the time to show we
are serious about protecting fragile ecosystems
and species but also people from the dangers
of climate change."
Press information, photos and reports available
at: www.panda.org/climate
Kathleen Sullivan, WWF-US
Erika Viltz, WWF-US
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Ban Ki-Moon sets ambitious climate agenda,
says WWF
21 Sep 2007 - UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moon is hosting a special UN Climate
Change Summit in New York on Monday, 24
September, that will be attended by over
150 political leaders.
The Secretary-General has repeatedly said
that climate change is an urgent, global
challenge, and has taken a personal interest
in creating a worldwide consensus to stop
it. The meeting is expected to send a clear
message to the UN’s Climate Change Summit
in Bali in December to launch formal negotiations
for a climate agreement that builds on the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Heads of
state will present their ideas on the action
needed in the areas of mitigation, adaptation,
technology and finance.
WWF aims:
• The UN Summit must declare that an ambitious
comprehensive climate agreement is negotiated
within the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change, building on the Kyoto Protocol,
by no later than 2009. This agreement should
set clear targets to reduce emissions for
industrialized countries as well as quantifiable
actions for more advanced developing nations.
"Governments have finally realized
that climate change poses a real danger
to the planet," says Hans Verolme,
Director of WWF's Global Climate Change
Programme. "For world leaders to come
together under the UN umbrella and to commit
to deeper cuts in emissions is a watershed
moment."
• Economic assessments indicate that the
benefits of early action on climate change
greatly exceed the cost of reducing emissions.
The UN Secretary-General must call for an
end of the fossil fuel age by mid-century.
”Clean energy technologies bring many benefits
which far outweigh the costs," says
Hans Verolme, Director of WWF's Global Climate
Change Programme. "The impending climate
catastrophe could cripple economies and
devastate livelihoods, so a new global climate
deal to channel investments to clean technologies
is a top priority for the Secretary-General."
• Climate change is already having significant
impacts in certain regions, particularly
in developing countries such as Small Island
States and Least Developed Countries. The
UN Secretary -General must call on rich
nations to put funds aside to help the poor
to deal with the worst impacts of climate
change.
"This week's floods in Africa once
again show that global warming hits those
least responsible the hardest," says
Hans Verolme, Director of WWF's Global Climate
Change Programme. "It’s the responsibility
of the largest polluters to pay and support
the least developed countries to adapt."
PRESS BRIEFING
Press Briefing at 9:30-10:15am, Monday,
24 September, Room S-226, UN Building New
York.
Speakers:
• Hans Verolme, Director, WWF’s Global Climate
Change Programme
• Lo Sze Ping, Campaign Director, Greenpeace
China (representing Greenpeace International)
• Meena Raman Chair, Friends of the Earth
International
• PJ Partington, Canadian Youth Climate
Coalition
*All backgrounders, press work, photos
and reports can be found at: http://www.panda.org/climate/UNCS
* For broadcast-standard video, please contact
the media team.
Spokesperson
Hans Verolme, Director WWF’s Global Climate
Change Programme
