Climate Change on G8 Agenda in Scotland
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Canadian Government Needs to Solidify Global Resolve on Climate Change
The annual G8 Heads of State Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland will focus on both climate change and Africa. This is the first time climate change has taken centre stage at a G8 summit, and is being linked closely to Africa, where the impacts of climate change threaten the continents overall development potential.
With a growing number of scientific studies warning that the earth is at risk of approaching dangerous levels of climate change, WWF has high expectations that the Summit participants will recognize the urgency of the situation and agree that aggressive action on greenhouse gases is required. Unfortunately, recent coverage (Washington Post and Reuters) reveals that the Bush Administration, which refuses to accept the reality of climate change, has so far successfully weakened key sections of a proposal for joint action by the eight major industrialized nations.
Unless Prime Minister Paul Martin and other Heads of State committed to Kyoto resist the US policy of blocking all progress to effectively tackle climate change, George Bush will have hijacked the G8 agenda. With Canada poised to take over the Presidency of the Kyoto Protocol process, starting at the November Meeting of Parties in Montreal, the G8 Summit represents an opportunity for the Government of Canada to solidify global resolve and leadership in tackling this serious problem.
WWF is calling on the G8 nations to:
* Recognise the need and urgency of keeping average temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius in comparison to pre-industrial levels. Average temperatures have increased by 0.7 degrees Celsius, and scientific assessments show that unless the global temperatures stay well below this danger threshold, climate change will bring more frequent and extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and floods which will have devastating impacts on people and wildlife.
* Commit to reducing C02 emissions, including aggressive targets and milestones. C02 emissions from industrialised countries as a whole have increased by 8.4 percent since 1990, with the power sector accounting for 40 percent of total emissions. A commitment to a clear and ambitious policy framework that reaffirms Kyoto countries will meet their own targets, that much deeper cuts in CO2 emissions are necessary in the future.
* Signal that carbon emission trading systems have a long-term future. Canada’s ‘cap & trade’ system, which sets unambitious targets on relatively few major greenhouse gas emitters, would have to be bolstered to allow companies the advantage of trading in the European system.
* Launch a Clean Energy Initiative. Renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures are the most effective way of cutting C02 emissions and keeping the global temperature rise below 2 degrees C. With a focus on both the G8 nations and the so-called Outreach Countries — China, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa – that do not have Kyoto obligations but represent 1/3 of global CO2 emissions, such an initiative will address the energy security needs of all countries and could provide up to 2 billion people access to electricity.
WWF is hosting and/or participating in several events/activities leading up to and at the Summit.
http://www.wwfcanada.org
@ June 20, 2005