two4 Aug 2007 - Background:
UN climate change talks will take place
at the Austrian Center, in Vienna, Austria,
from 27-31 August 2007. Representatives
from more than 100 countries will meet to
discuss new measures to reduce climate-damaging
emissions. Main topic on the agenda is the
range of total emission reductions required
beyond the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol
in order to keep global warming in check.
In addition, the meeting will consider exactly
how much individual countries will contribute
to these reductions. The results of the
Vienna meeting are to inform the start of
two years of negotiations of new binding
climate targets at a ministerial conference
this December in Bali, Indonesia.
Key Issues:
The first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends
in 2012, and the Vienna meeting prepares
the ground for talks on how to move on after
2012. Formal talks will commence in Bali
in December this year. Negotiators in Vienna
have the task to clear as much way as possible
to help make the UN climate conference in
Bali a success. Good preparation is important
for such a complex discussion," said
Hans Verolme, Director of the WWF Global
Climate Change Programme. "But what
is most needed is decisiveness and a sense
of urgency among world leaders to get those
emissions down."
The crunch point of the discussions in
Vienna is to identify the target range of
emission reductions required to keep the
climate safe. According to WWF, to avoid
catastrophic climate change, emissions in
industrialized countries should be reduced
by at least 30% by 2020 and 80% by 2050
compared to the 11000 UN baseline. Global
emissions will need to peak within the next
decade. "Ordinary people are now experiencing
first-hand the impacts of climate change
and are starting to appreciate that change
is required to avoid catastrophic damage.
We expect the countries represented here
to show they understand what it takes and
show some leadership by their support for
strong new reduction targets," said
Hans Verolme, Director of the WWF Global
Climate Change Programme.
In a special report to finance ministers,
to be discussed at the Vienna meeting, the
costs of a transition to a clean energy
future are laid out. "Without considerable
investment by banks and governments the
world's energy system will never be cleaned.
That finance ministers from all major economies
will meet and discuss how to clean the world's
energy systems shows that people are taking
the issue seriously," said Hans Verolme,
Director of the WWF Global Climate Change
Programme. "Financiers have finally
recognized that if left unchecked climate
change is bad for business; the cost of
doing nothing is much higher than taking
decisive climate action now."
Download materials during the conference
from http://www.panda.org/climate
WWF Climate Solutions report – download
from http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news/index.cfm?uNewsID=102400
Spokespeople:
Hans Verolme, Director WWF’s Global Climate
Change Programme
Martin Hiller, WWF Global Climate Change
Programme
Brian Thomson, WWF International
