27 Aug
2008 - WWF has welcomed the initiative taken
by a new group of countries in showing the
way forward as the latest round of UN climate
talks drew to a close in Accra, Ghana today.
Confirming trends observed
at previous talks, according to the WWF
climate team Accra again demonstrated that
the EU is losing its role as a climate leader
to a range of developing countries and creative
players such as Norway, Switzerland, Mexico,
South Korea and India as well as the tiny
Pacific island of Tuvalu.
By improving old proposals
or fleshing out new ones, the global conservation
agency sees these countries becoming reliable
agents of progress. Together with big emerging
economies they form the new engine of the
talks, highlighted by South Korea’s pledge
in Accra to set emission reduction targets
and boost renewable energies.
While the mandate to
agree a new global climate treaty by 2009
remains a gigantic challenge, Accra showed
that overcoming the muddle of conflicting
views and crafting an effective deal to
tackle climate change is possible and depends
on the political will to show leadership.
“Currently the glory
in the global fight against climate change
is reserved for those progressive governments
which are getting the debate further down
to the essentials,” says Kim Carstensen,
Director WWF Global Climate Initiative.
“The cumbersome talks
in Accra did not stop a first group of determined
negotiators from working towards a critical
shift in the debate, but a success at the
next climate talks in Poznan is far from
secured and we need to see more countries
engage seriously in lifting the political
ambitions.”
According to WWF governments
managed to push their critical discussions
closer to conclusions on some key issues:
strategies are shaping up to reduce CO2
emissions from the destruction of forests,
while talks about financing deep emission
cuts and adaptation to climate impacts have
gained clarity. However, other tracks of
the complex negotiations failed to progress
in Accra and are falling dangerously behind
schedule.
“Smoke grenades thrown
by backward parties and an overdose of procedural
discussions have paralyzed the climate talks
and overwhelmed negotiators for too long,”
said Kathrin Gutmann, Policy Coordinator
WWF Global Climate Initiative. “In Accra
we start seeing the first positive examples
of constructive dialogue led by innovative
parties, which should become a solid trend
in Poznan in December.”
“The EU disappointed
in Accra, just like it disappointed at previous
talks in Bonn, expressing regret for coming
to the negotiation table with empty hands,”
said Diane McFadzien, Programme Coordinator
WWF Global Climate Initiative. “Poznan should
be a home match for the Europeans and a
perfect opportunity to live up to their
full potential - in order to avoid matching
Canada, Russia, Japan, Australia and the
US in their lack of ambition.”
