MEDIA ADVISORY
Friends of the Earth International
Wednesday November 15, 2006
CLIMATE IS CHANGING BUT ... TALKS ARE
SLOWING
NAIROBI (Kenya), November 15, 2006 - The
sense of urgency is missing but needed at
once in Nairobi where ministers from 165
countries and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
are gathering today for the last three days
of United Nations talks on climate change.
[1]
Confronted with the latest dramatic
evidence of the impacts of rising greenhouse
gas emissions, ministers are seeking
international agreement on future action. Key
to the talks is action after 2012, when the
first phase of the Kyoto climate change
treaty ends.
"Some countries have been slow to
recognise the problem and seem to want to
delay global action – but if they take their
heads out of the sand, they may realise that
the only way to tackle climate change is by
actually reducing the levels of greenhouse
gases they emit," said Catherine Pearce of
Friends of the Earth International.
"We must not lose the momentum gathered so
far; we need to see far quicker and more
drastic actions to meet the needs of the most
vulnerable people, including those living in
Africa," she added.
The Kyoto Protocol is the only
international agreement that actually
requires countries to cut their carbon
emissions, and most nations see it as the
main instrument to fight climate change. The
current commitments of the Kyoto Protocol on
climate change end in 2012.
"We must see ministers put us on a pathway
to agree a post 2012 agreement. This requires
a clear work programme with a clear end date
to ensure that this agreement is reached by
the end of 2008, in order to avoid a gap
between commitment periods," said Catherine
Pearce of Friends of the Earth
International.
"Industrialised countries have to lead,
with all countries working to agree a mandate
to take us into formal negotiations at the
next UN climate meeting in 2007. These
preparations must start now here in Nairobi,"
she added.
A UK government-commissioned report
released last October showed that if
significant global action is not taken
rapidly, climate change could push the world
into the worst recession in recent history,
comparable to the downturn of the great
depression and two world wars [2].
The Stern review also warned that if no
action was taken on emissions, there was more
than a 75% chance of global temperatures
rising between 2 and 3 degrees celsius over
the next 50 years, resulting in melting
glaciers, causing floods, a decline in crop
yields and an increase in extreme weather.
More than 200 million people could also be
permanently displaced because of rising sea
levels, the review said.
Campaigners following the talks report
that some major polluters including
Australia, Canada and the US are attempting
to derail the talks by making misleading
claims that the Protocol is a failure and
will not deliver results for the environment
or the economy.
However, most countries support the
affected communities and civil society
organisations that want ministers here to
agree that further Kyoto action is urgently
needed and there should be no gap between
current and future commitments after
2012.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT IN NAIROBI,
KENYA:
Catherine Pearce, Friends of the Earth
International climate campaign coordinator,
Tel: + 44 7811 283 641 (UK mobile) or Tel: +
254 (0) 720 828 889 (Kenyan mobile valid
until Nov. 17 only)
Jan Kowalzig, Friends of the Earth Europe
climate campaigner, Tel: + 32-496-384696
(Belgian mobile)
Erasmus Aborley, Friends of the Earth
Ghana, +254 (0)720827588 (Kenya mobile until
Nov.17 only)
Yuri Onodera, Friends of the Earth Japan,
Tel: +254 (0) 720827577 (Kenyan mobile valid
until Nov. 17 only)
Stephanie Long, Friends of the Earth
Australia, Tel: +254 (0) 720 827 577 (Kenyan
mobile valid until Nov. 17 only)
Donald Pols, Friends of the Earth
Netherlands, Tel: +31 6 20801096 (Dutch
mobile)
Friends of the Earth International media
line: Kenya mobile +254 (0) 721 478 841
(Kenyan mobile valid until Nov. 17 only) or
Dutch mobile: +31-6-51005630
NOTES TO EDITORS
[1] The UN climate change website is
www.unfccc.int
[2] The Stern report draws a gloomy
picture on climate change impacts on the
global economy but also says that averting
the crisis is well within our hands - at the
costs of 1% of global GDP, avoiding economic
damages of about 10% of global GDP. Read the
'Stern Review on the Economics of Climate
Change', published 30 October 2006 at
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm
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