Umbrella group must fold – Kyoto Protocol at stake
November 9, 2001 – Friends of the Earth today demanded that Japan, Russia, Canada and Australia (the so-called Umbrella Group) sign up to the Marrakech deal – the best hope for taking forward the Kyoto Protocol.
Late last night [Thurs] members of the Umbrella Group stalled on a proposed package that reflected the spirit of the Bonn Agreement, and which offered no excuses for countries to continue to hold these talks hostage.
Today is the last opportunity for countries at the UN Climate Talks in Morocco to reach a deal if the Kyoto Protocol is going come into force before the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg next year.
Kate Hampton, Friends of the Earth International’s Climate Coordinator said: “It is totally unacceptable that a small group of countries can hold up a deal that the rest of the world wants.
With three years of drought here, the people of Morocco are already suffering from the effects of climate change. Japan, Canada, Australia and Russia must agree to this deal so that the fight against climate change can begin.”
Contact:
Kate Hampton (FOEI International Climate Coordinator)
(English/French/Spanish) +44 774 896 7323 Helen Burley (FOEI Press) +44 7778 356888
Also available:
Yuri Onodera, FOE Japan (Japanese/English)
Tore Brænd, FOE Norway (Norwegian/English)
Tuuli Lehtinen, FOE Finland (Finnish/English) +358 (0)40 5624905
Douglas Korsah Brown, FOE Ghana (English)
