MEDIA ADVISORY
Friday 2 February 2007
Friends of the Earth International
INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE SCIENTISTS ISSUE
STARK GLOBAL WARNING
Urgent Action needed to prevent climate
catastrophe
PARIS (FRANCE) FEBRUARY 2, 2007 -- Friends
of the Earth International today called on
world leaders to take urgent action to cut
emissions of greenhouse gases after the
planet's leading scientific experts, endorsed
by the world's governments, delivered the
starkest warning yet on the threat of global
climate change.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), published its long anticipated
Fourth Assessment Report in Paris today
(Friday 2nd February) providing the most
credible and convincing evidence so far of
the human link to climate change and its
devastating impacts. [1]
The report, which has taken six years to
compile draws on research by 2,500 scientists
from over 130 countries, should shock the
world into taking urgent action to reduce
global emissions. The report itself has been
endorsed by world's governments.
Friends of the Earth International's
Climate Campaigner, Catherine Pearce,
said:
"This report shows with unquestionable
certainty that human activity is responsible
for the last 50 years of global warming, and
that the impacts of climate change have
already begun.
"The alarm bells are ringing. The world
must wake up to the threat posed by climate
change. There is still time to act, but
urgent action is required. World governments
have signed up to and accept these findings,
making the reason for action all the more
compelling. The industrialised world,
including the USA, must lead the way by
making significant cuts in their emissions,
helping less developed countries develop
sustainable, low-carbon economies, and
agreeing a more effective and stronger second
round to the Kyoto agreement on climate
change from 2013."
The release of today's report follows a
four day meeting in which governments
scrutinized the 14 page summary word by word.
During the painstaking process to agree the
final report, some governments attempted to
tone down the text, while others said it did
not go far enough. The co-Chairs of Working
Group I worked extremely hard to complete the
process in time and to ensure a strong,
robust summary.
Background to the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC):
Recognising the problem of potential
global climate change, the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
established the IPCC in 1988. It is open to
all members of the UN and WMO.
The role of the IPCC is to assess on a
comprehensive, objective, open and
transparent basis the scientific, technical
and socio-economic information relevant to
understanding the scientific basis of risk of
human-induced climate change, its potential
impacts and options for adaptation and
mitigation. It bases its assessment mainly on
peer reviewed and published
scientific/technical literature.
The First IPCC Assessment Report was
completed in 1990. The Report played an
important role in establishing the
Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change by
the UN General Assembly. The UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was
adopted in 1992 and entered into force in
1994. It provides the overall policy
framework for addressing the climate change
issue.
The IPCC has continued to provide
scientific, technical and socio-economic
advice to the world community, and in
particular to the Parties to the UNFCCC
through its periodic assessment reports and
special reports. Its Second Assessment
Report, Climate Change 1995, provided key
input to the negotiations, which led to the
adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC
in 1997.
The Third Assessment Report (TAR), Climate
Change 2001, was completed in 2001. It was
submitted to the 7th Conference of the
Parties to the UNFCCC and Parties agreed that
it should be used routinely as a useful
reference for providing information for
deliberations on agenda items of the
Conference of the Parties.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Catherine Pearce, Friends of the Earth's
International Climate Campaigner (mobile):
+44 (0)7811 283641
Caroline Prak, Friends of the Earth France
press officer +33 6 86415343
Anne Bringault, Friends of the Earth
France director + 33 6 07344067
NOTES
[1] The IPCC is online at
http://www.ipcc.ch
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