08
Jul 2008 - The target of halving greenhouse
gas emissions by 2050 agreed by G8 leaders
at their Toyako summit in Japan has been
described as “pathetic” and “dangerously
short of what is needed” by Kim Carstensen,
Director of WWF Global Climate Initiative.
In a statement, WWF
accuses G8 leaders of failing to boost international
climate negotiations and criticises the
lack of commitment to mid-term targets.
WWF has urged the G8
to wake up to the threat of dangerous climate
change and raise the level of ambition drastically.
“Confirming the results
of last year’s summit in Heiligendamm is
hardly a remarkable outcome,” said Carstensen.
“So little progress after a whole year of
ministerial meetings and negotiations is
not only a wasted opportunity, it falls
dangerously short of what is needed to protect
people and nature from climate change.”
The global conservation
organization reminded G8 leaders that scientific
evidence clearly outlines an urgent need
to cut global emissions way more than 50
per cent by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts
of climate change.
To get there global
emissions have to peak and decline in 10
to 15 years and rich nations must reduce
emissions by 25-40 per cent by 2020. These
crucially important necessities are not
reflected in the G8 communiqué.
“The G8 are responsible
for 62 per cent of the carbon dioxide accumulated
in the Earth’s atmosphere, which makes them
the main culprit of climate change and the
biggest part of the problem,” added Carstensen.
“WWF finds it pathetic
that they still duck their historic responsibility
and refuse to turn from the main driver
of the problem into the main driver of the
solution.”
+ More
Major Economies Meeting
turns into Major Embarrassment Meeting for
G8
09 Jul 2008 - Rusutsu,
Japan: The deadlock paralyzing today’s Major
Economies Meeting (MEM) at the G8 summit
in Japan is a result of missing G8 leadership
on emission reductions. According to WWF,
strong actions by emerging economies – which
MEM host George W. Bush demands – can only
be made on the basis of stronger commitments
by industrialized nations. But G8 climate
talks yesterday failed to signal bold action
by rich nations.
“The Major Economies
Meeting has been a Major Embarrassment Meeting
for G8 leaders who were coming to the table
with too little while demanding too much
from the developing countries,” said Kim
Carstensen, Director WWF Global Climate
Initiative. “The G8 are trying to fool the
world in selling yesterday’s climate deal
as progress. The ball remains in the G8
court and countries like India and China
are rightly insisting on rich nations setting
ambitious targets.”
The global conservation
organisation welcomes the forward-leading
interventions made by G5 countries in Sapporo
yesterday, where Brazil, China, India, Mexico
and South Africa offered more domestic climate
action. In turn they called on industrialized
nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions
by 80-95 per cent by 2050, insisting that
mid-term targets in the range of 25-40 per
cent by 2020 are necessary to trigger the
energy revolution needed for reaching the
long-term goal.
“While some rich nations
get lost in tactics and seem to forget that
the survival of people and nature crucially
depends on their leadership, the developing
world understands the magnitude of the threat
and shows a strong will to act,” said Kim
Carstensen. “Yesterday’s G5 announcement
confirms the promising policy proposals
made individually by these countries over
recent weeks and months. Basically it’s
an outstretched arm the industrialized countries
cannot afford to ignore any longer.”
Despite little progress
being made in Toyako, WWF urges the developing
countries to keep up the helpful spirit
and stick to their pro-active approach.
UNFCCC meetings in Accra and Poznan later
this year will have to accelerate the negotiations,
while WWF calls for the MEM process to end.
It has proven to be a complete waste of
time, confusing rather than boosting the
G8 process and the UNFCCC negotiations for
a new climate treaty.
“The MEM process was
made up by the US administration to distract
public attention from the fact that President
Bush’s climate politics suffer a disastrous
lack of ambition,” added Carstensen. “Pointing
the finger at emerging economies and blaming
them for rising emissions won’t lead anywhere
and is a shameless attempt to cloud the
fact that a huge share of historic emissions
is US-made and that US per capita emissions
are among the highest in the world. MEM
must end.”
