press release
friends of the earth international
friday 8 july 2005
g8 summit agrees more talk, no
action
Gleneagles, Scotland - The final statement
on climate change, issued at the Group of
Eight Summit this afternoon, shows that
leaders are still divided and have made no
real progress in the fight against climate
change.
Friends of the Earth International said
that the very small steps made on debt relief
and aid for Africa will be further undermined
by the failure to address climate change.
The environmental campaign group blamed
the US administration for the lack of
progress, saying the document offered nothing
new, with no commitment to firm action
agreed. The group also queried the role of a
separate dialogue process outside of the
Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations (UN)
Climate Change Convention, but said this
would be valuable if it aided agreement at UN
climate talks in Montreal in December.
Friends of the Earth International vice
chair, Tony Juniper, said
"This is a very disappointing finale. The
G8 have delivered nothing new here and the
text conveys no sense of the scale or urgency
of the challenge. Bush appears to have
effectively stalled all progress. The action
plan, without any targets or timetables, will
deliver very little to reduce emissions, or
to roll out renewables to the scale
required."
G8 countries currently represent 45% of
global emissions of greenhouse gases, but
have just 13% of the world's population.
The plan of action issued as part of the
statement today contains no targets,
timetables or committed funding to address
the challenge of climate change. While there
are initiatives on renewable power, energy
efficiency and a clean energy mix, they lack
specific detail.
Tony Juniper continued:
"Despite the growing evidence of human
induced climate change and the dangers of its
impacts becoming more widely known and
understood, the outcomes of this summit leave
us very little further ahead. While the
leaders carry on talking, the world continues
warming."
Friends of the Earth International had
hoped to see a plan of action for an
immediate emission reduction programme to
avoid catastrophic climate change. But the
final text fails to recognise the need for
global emissions to peak and decline in the
next 10-15 years, or suggest a way in which
stabilisation can be achieved.
The G8 leaders have failed to rule out
nuclear power as a ‘clean energy
technology’.
For those developing countries already
facing the dangerous impacts of climate
change, no financial assistance or support is
offered. Whilst the statement issued
yesterday by Brazil, India, South Africa,
China and Mexico includes reference to the
threat of climate change on their countries,
the G8 only mentions providing further access
to information and developing scientific
capacity.
Tony Juniper said:
"Tony Blair was right to put climate
change at the top of his agenda and we warmly
welcome the leadership role he is now
playing, but what we have here keeps us at
the status quo. There is an urgent need to
keep on the pressure for action at the
crucial climate talks in Canada later this
year, and through the British Presidency of
the EU that runs to the end of 2005. Tony
Blair must use this crucial opportunity to
work with other countries to find a way
forward".
The G8 has suggested a new mandate for the
World Bank to establish financial instruments
and develop a clear framework to accelerate
the adoption of renewable energy. But this
will need to be defined before its
contribution can be assessed. Moreover it
appears that existing support for fossil fuel
development will continue.
In a separate announcement on the global
economy and oil, the G8 leaders commit
themselves to consider measures to encourage
the expansion of refinery capacity.
Tony Juniper concluded:
"Recognition of the need to secure access
to energy in developing countries is an
important step but does not go far enough. To
truly help the fight against the poverty and
against climate change, G8 countries needed
to immediately introduce public finance for
sustainable and accessible clean energy.
Instead they continue to support the
extraction of coal, oil and gas through
bodies like the World Bank."
Action plans and communiques:
http://www.g8.gov.uk
Contact:
Catherine Pearce, International Climate
campaigner, + 44 (0) 7811 283 641 (m)
Tony Juniper, vice chair Friends of the
Earth International, + 44 (0) 7712 843 207
(m)
Helen Burley, Press Officer, + 44 (0) 7778
069 930 (m)
Lang Banks, Press Officer, 0131 554 9977/
+ 44 (0) 7813 766 759 (m)
Niccolo Sarno, Press Officer, Friends of
the Earth International (5 -8 July)
+31-6-51005630 (m)
In London
Neil Verlander, Press Office, + 44 (0) 20
7566 1649/ + 44 (0) 7712 843 209
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