12/01/2006 - Sydney, Australia – WWF has grave concerns
following an announcement by the Asia-Pacific Partnership
on Clean Development and Climate that some of the participating
countries are willing to accept "runaway" climate
change. The Australian Prime Minister’s office said that
the Asia-Pacific Partnership would lead to 20 per cent less
greenhouse gas emissions than would otherwise be the case
by 2050.
“In my entire career I have never seen a more misleading
public statement as that made by Prime Minister John Howard,”
said WWF-Australia CEO Greg Bourne.
“If the statements made today become a reality, this will
lock us in to a 4°C rise in global average temperatures,
when scientists confirm that the world needs to stay below
a 2°C warming to avoid dangerous climate change. There
couldn’t be anything more irresponsible than to knowingly
embark on a path towards massive increases in emissions
and runaway global warming.”
The Australian government figures are said to be based on
an analysis by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and
Resource Economics (ABARE). What is not being said is that
the ABARE report shows global emissions will in fact increase
by 100 per cent by 2050 under the Partnership plan. Climate
scientists are calling for emissions to at least be halved
by that time to keep the world below dangerous climate change.
A 100 per cent increase in global greenhouse gas emissions,
as allowed under the new Partnership plan, would lock the
world into a 4°C rise in average global surface temperatures.
Such a rise in temperatures would wreak havoc on infrastructure
and the natural environment. Weather-related catastrophes
such as storms, floods and droughts would surge in frequency
and intensity.
In Australia, for instance, this rise of global average
temperature would result in the certain destruction of natural
icons such as the Great Barrier Reef. Global warming of
this magnitude would also place untenable pressure on the
country’s healthcare and emergency response systems as more
people are affected by heat-related diseases, cyclones,
bushfires, and other freak weather patterns.
The Australian Medical Association said that by the year
2100 up to 15,000 Australians could die every year from
heat-related illnesses and the dengue transmission zone
could reach as far south as Brisbane and Sydney if emissions
continue to increase.
The only way to avoid dangerous climate change is for the
world to agree on a plan with binding targets to reduce
emissions. The Kyoto Protocol is the only global treaty
to do this.
“The Kyoto Protocol is up and running, and this is where
countries need to put their efforts to reduce their emissions,”
said Jennifer Morgan, Director of WWF's Global Climate Change
Programme.
WWF urges the United States and Australia to join the 157
countries that are working on effective emissions reductions
under the Kyoto Protocol.
END NOTES:
• Studies by WWF show at least 90 Australian species are
at risk from climate change, including koalas, wombats,
birds, reptiles, frogs and fish. According to the Australian
Department of Environment and Heritage, most highland fauna
species will disappear if average temperatures increase
by 1-5°C.
• The scientific journal Nature has revealed that between
15 and 37 per cent of terrestrial species worldwide could
become extinct by 2050 if estimated levels of climate change
are not reduced.
• In the Arctic, an expected temperature increase of 2º
C could result in the extinction of such iconic species
as polar bears, seals and walruses.
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