International climate summit begins

The next round of international climate negotiations begins in Buenos Aires next week. The 10th Conference of the Parties (COP 10) of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change runs from 6 -17 December during which the world’s governments will meet to discuss implementation the Kyoto Protocol, which will finally come into force on 16 February 2005.

Greenpeace is urging all governments to take their responsibilities as Parties to the Convention seriously and start laying the groundwork for the rapid and radical cuts that are required in the very near future if the world is to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

“The burden of climate change is falling first and hardest on developing countries. The industrialised world needs to cut emissions by 70-80% by mid-century. This translates into global emissions reductions by mid century of up to 50%. Anything less than this will consign our children and our children’s children to a very unpleasant and unstable world,” said Greenpeace spokesperson Steve Sawyer.

“Protecting the climate and saving lives should provide the imperative for action to cut emissions. The recently released Arctic Climate Impact Assessment confirms the devastating global impacts of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere; today’s article in the journal Nature (1) is an important first step in assigning clear responsibility for the devastating increase in extreme weather events whose impacts, primarily on the poor in the developing world, have increased exponentially over the past two decades.

“We need to keep global mean temperature increase below two degrees above pre-industrial levels if we are to have a hope of saving the lives and livelihoods of the millions currently at risk from climate change.

“The decisions that governments, industry and civil society make over the next decade or two will be decisive and the commitment to act needs to begin next Monday in Buenos Aires,” added Sawyer.

Greenpeace is calling on governments in Buenos Aires to confirm their commitment to implement the Kyoto Protocol and to take urgent steps to build on it for the period after 2012, both committing to the urgent and deep cuts which will prevent the worst of dangerous climate change, and to making the resources available for the world’s poorest to adapt to those impacts which are now inevitable.

(1) Stott, P.A., et. al., “Human contribution to the European heatwave of 2003” NATURE |VOL 432 | 2 DECEMBER 2004, pp 610-614