Posted on 10 April 2014
| Hong Kong - The volume of shark fin products
imported into the city of Hong Kong in 2013
dropped by 34.7 percent, according to government
data analysed by WWF. Statistics show that
there was also a significant decline in
the number of shark fins re-exported from
Hong Kong to other locations.
Viet Nam overtook mainland
China as the top destination for fins leaving
Hong Kong, the city which accounts for over
half of the global trade volume. While it
is not illegal to consume shark fin in most
places, many shark species are being hunted
at highly unsustainable rates putting their
futures at risk.
Recent trends indicate
that shark fin, once perceived as a delicacy
or an essential part of dinner banquets,
may be no longer as socially acceptable
as it once was. WWF has made significant
progress in convincing caterers like hotel
chains, and transporters like airlines,
to stop carrying shark fins. Additionally,
the Chinese government has banned shark
fin at official state functions, which may
be impacting demand for fins.
Famous Hong Kong wedding
planner Tim Lau says, “Shark-free banquets
have become more popular over the past two
years. At least 20 per cent more wedding
couples now choose shark-free banquets.”
As of this month, 116
caterers have joined WWF’s Alternative Shark
Free Menu programme and168 corporations
have taken the No Shark Fin Corporate Pledge.
+ More
Transforming world’s
energy systems an urgent necessity
Posted on 13 April 2014
| Berlin – WWF supports a call in a major
UN scientific report released today that
the world should more than triple investments
in sustainable, safe low-carbon energy sources
as the main measure to mitigate climate
change.
The report, agreed by
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), says that the world should triple
or quadruple investments in clean energy
solutions. WWF goes further, saying that
the overwhelming majority of new investments
should be made in renewable energy and energy
efficiency.
The report finds that
mitigation of climate change will have limited
economic impact in the years ahead compared
to the very significant costs of inaction.
The report also finds that delaying actions
to mitigate climate change will substantially
increase the difficulty of the transition
to lower emissions levels in the future.
WWF echoes the IPCC
findings and renews its call for increased
investments in renewable sources of energy.
“The longer we delay
on tackling climate change, the harder the
challenge becomes,” said Samantha Smith,
leader of WWF’s Global Climate & Energy
Initiative. “Transforming the world’s energy
systems is now an urgent necessity if we
are to avoid the dangerous impacts of global
warming."
The IPCC report makes
clear that immediate action on emissions
is affordable and that delaying such action
only further increases the costs. The energy
sector is by far the largest emitter of
greenhouse gases and is the key battleground
for change.
“We know more effort
is needed, and quickly. Delaying new mitigation
efforts will make it much harder to transition
the world’s energy systems to a sustainable,
equitable and low-emissions future,” Smith
said.
WWF concludes that the
low-carbon emission scenarios proposed by
the IPCC require that fossil fuels be left
in the ground beginning now. This is both
an investment and political challenge that
must be met.
“Renewable energy can
no longer be considered a niche market.
Renewables must – and should – eventually
take the full share of the global energy
market within the next few decades,” said
Dr Stephan Singer, WWF director of global
energy policy.
WWF is currently running
a global campaign, Seize Your Power, that
is calling for investments to be pulled
out of fossil fuels and switched into renewable
energy. In light of the IPCC report, WWF
continues to believe that investments in
renewable energy must be scaled up rapidly.
