International climate change report rings the alarm bell
The IPPC report shows that the world has already warmed by over 0.7°C.
“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.”
The IPPC report shows that the world has already warmed by over 0.7°C.
