02 Feb 2007 - Paris, France – Governments must negotiate
deeper emission cuts for CO2 and other greenhouse gases,
says WWF following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change’s (IPCC) report on the urgency to slow climate change
and keep increases in global temperatures as low as possible.
“The report embodies an extraordinary scientific consensus
that climate change is already upon us, and that human activities
are the cause,” says James P. Leape, Director General of
WWF International. “It is a clarion call to governments
to act urgently to slash emissions.”
The report from the IPPC’s first Working Group, released
in Paris today, shows that the world has already warmed
by over 0.7°C and is locked into at least another 0.5°C
warming. WWF stresses the need for countries to keep global
average temperatures below the dangerous 2°C rise compared
to pre-industrial times.
“Governments must ensure that the next UN Climate Conference
in Bali is successful in setting a tight time frame for
negotiating new cuts in emissions within a next Kyoto Agreement,
that will also promote clean investments,” says Hans Verolme,
Director of WWF’s Global Climate Change Programme.
WWF wants the EU, as a self-proclaimed leader on climate
issues, to use its upcoming council meeting in March to
unilaterally commit to a goal of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions by 30 per cent by 2020. By the same time, it should
also set a binding 20 per cent target for renewable energy
sources, and a strict energy efficiency plan to reduce absolute
energy consumption in the EU by 1 per cent annually.
In the US, Congress should set deep mandatory cuts for
CO2 emissions and engage again with the international community
in constructive talks about a longer-term emission reduction
scheme.
“The fourth assessment report documents that climate change
is happening now and the IPCC is unequivocal about the fact
that it is caused by people,” says Verolme. “This sense
of urgency must be transmitted to governments for us to
stop the effects of dangerous climate change.”
Brian Thomson, Press Officer
WWF International
Martin Hiller, Communications Manager
WWF Global Climate Change Programme
