01 Nov
2006 - Gland, Switzerland — A UK government report
on the economics of climate change presented today
by UK Treasury Minister Gordon Brown and Sir Nicholas
Stern, the lead author and a former World Bank
chief economist, shows the enormous cost the world
is facing if action against climate change doesn‘t
speed up.
"The Stern Review is a
wake up call to the world,” says Hans Verolme,
Director of WWF’s Global Climate Change Programme.
“Failing to take action now will devastate our
living planet. It’s the world's poor that will
suffer most from droughts and other natural disasters
exacerbated by climate change.”
“Now we learn the world's economy
too will receive a serious blow if we do not act
soon," Verolme added. "There are simply
no excuses left to further delay strong action
on climate change. This must translate in to practical
actions that countries need to take right now.”
WWF is urging the 189 governments
meeting next week in Nairobi, Kenya, to produce
a clear plan for the Kyoto Protocol's post-2012
emission reduction targets. Ministers attending
the international meeting also need to ensure
that the least developed countries can access
financial sources which have already been guaranteed
to fund defense mechanisms against the impacts
of climate change.
“The EU must show that its self-proclaimed
leadership on climate change isn’t just hot air,”
said Verolme. “The European Commission must ensure
that the EU emission trading system finally starts
to reduce emissions.”
“We need to keep global warming
below 2°C because beyond that the changes
of climate and weather will spin out of control,"
he stressed.
"The world can still prevent
dangerous climate change but the window of opportunity
is rapidly closing. With political leadership
and joint action we can make global emissions
peak within 10 to 15 years. It is not a lack of
solutions that is holding us back.”
END NOTES:
• The danger threshold above which climate change
is going to spin out of control has been set at
2°C warming of global average temperatures
above pre-industrial levels (circa 1800). This
value is based on the best available scientific
research but is essentially a political decision.
Among the countries who have accepted that threshold
is the European Union at its Summit in spring
2005.
• Based on research such as the one presented
to the UK’s Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change
conference in 2005, the estimate is that CO2 emissions
have to peak in 10 to 15 years from now to remain
below the 2°C threshold.
• The 12th Conference of the
Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change takes place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 6 to
17 November 2006. Included in this meeting is
also the 2nd Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol.
Brian Thomson, Press Officer
WWF International
Martin Hiller, Communications
Manager
WWF Global Climate Change Programme
