Climate change talks must deliver following record year of extreme weather by WMO / Oxfam / The Guardian & agencies 4:26pm 29th Nov, 2010   Dec 12, 2010    The United Nations climate change talks in Cancún have concluded with a package of decisions to help countries advance towards a low-emissions future, delivering what the world body"s top officials have described as a step forward in the battle against one of today"s biggest challenges.    The outcome is an “important success for a world much in need of it,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement, following the conclusion of the two-week meeting. “Governments came together in common cause, for the common good, and agreed on a way forward to meet the defining challenge of our time.”    Dubbed the “Cancún Agreements,” the decisions include formalizing mitigation pledges and ensuring increased accountability for them, as well as taking action to protect the world"s forests, which account for nearly one-fifth of global carbon emissions.    Delegates also agreed to ensure no gap between the first and second commitment periods of the Kyoto Protocol, an addition to the Convention that contains legally binding measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and whose first commitment period is due to expire in 2012.    Agreement was also reached on establishing a fund for long-term climate financing to support developing countries, and bolstering technology cooperation and enhancing vulnerable populations ability to adapt to the changing climate.    “The outcomes in Cancun have given us important tools. Now we must use them, and strengthen our efforts in line with the scientific imperative for action,” stated Mr. Ban.    UN climate change chief Christiana Figueres said nations have shown that they can work together to reach consensus on a common cause. “Cancún has done its job. The beacon of hope has been reignited and faith in the multilateral climate change process to deliver results has been restored,” said Ms. Figueres, who is the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.    The next Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC is scheduled to be held in South Africa from 28 November to 9 December 2011.    December 11, 2010    The UN climate change talks have produced a modest deal that for the first time commits all the major economies to reducing emissions, but not enough to meet their promise of keeping the global temperature rise to 2C.    The agreement, which took four years to negotiate, aims to prevent deforestation, promote the transfer of low-carbon technologies to developing countries and, by 2020, establish a green fund, potentially worth $100bn a year, to shield the most vulnerable countries from climate change.    However, governments failed to reach agreement on how far overall global emissions should be cut, and there are many loopholes for countries to avoid making the deep reductions that scientists say are urgently needed.    Researchers from the Climate Action Tracker said the pledges would set the world on course for 3.2C warming – a catastrophe for many of the poorest countries.    The only resistance to a deal came from Bolivia, which said UN decisions had been taken without consensus. "This is a hollow and false victory that was imposed without consensus, and its cost will be measured in human lives," the country"s ambassador, Pablo Solon, said. This agreement won"t stop temperature from rising by 4C and we know that 4C is unsustainable."    Connie Hedegaard, the European Union"s climate commissioner, said there was a powerful motivation among countries to avoid a repeat of the much-hyped summit at Copenhagen, which failed to yield an agreement.    Todd Stern, the state department climate change envoy, said the deal at Cancún had given substance to the notion of an inspections regime, which were raised at Copenhagen. But by his own admission, and that of campaigners, Cancún represented only incremental progress.    Brazil"s environment minister, Izabella Texeira, said she was glad the talks had managed to find a compromise to maintain Kyoto beyond 2012. "We believe the protocol is the essential key to making a meaningful full impact on climate change," she said.    "Cancun may have saved the UN process but it did not yet save the climate," said Greenpeace International Climate Policy Director Wendel Trio. "With lives on the line, we must now build on this progress. Long term funding must be secured to help vulnerable countries protect themselves," said Oxfam director Jeremy Hobbs.    Friends of the Earth International warned that the agreement could still lead to a temperature rise of 5C. "In the end, all of us will be affected by the lack of ambition and political will," said Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth"s international director.    Other measures agreed in outline included the setting up next year of a major climate fund panel to administer and deliver the billions needed for the developing world to adapt to climate change.    The Cancun Deal:    All countries to cut emissions. Forest deal to provide finance for countries who avoid emissions from deforestation. Finance deal to potentially provide $30bn for developing countries to adapt to climate change now, and up to $100bn later. A new UN climate fund to be run largely by developing countries. Easier transfer of low carbon technology and expertise to poor countries. China, the US and all major emitters to have actions inspected. Scientific review of progress after five years.    Dec 2010    UN chief makes impassioned plea for global agreement on climate change.    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made an impassioned plea for agreement at the United Nations climate change conference in Cancún, telling delegates that further delay threatened the health of the planet, the global economy and the well-being of the human race.    “I am deeply concerned that our efforts have been insufficient … that despite the evidence … and many years of negotiation … we are still not rising to the challenge,” Mr. Ban told the high-level segment of the conference.    “We are here for a reason: to protect people and the planet from uncontrolled climate change. To do that, we need to make progress – in these global negotiations and through national actions each of you takes in your countries to curb emissions of harmful gases and increase resilience. “The longer we delay, the more we will pay – economically … environmentally … and in human lives,” Mr. Ban said.    He recalled that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that global emissions of greenhouse gases need to peak within the next decade, before decreasing substantially, if the goal of limiting the average temperature rise to two degrees above pre-industrial levels is to be achieved.    The Secretary-General pointed out that a final agreement on all issues may not be immediately possible, but stressed that there has to be progress on several fronts at the Cancún conference.    “You can take significant decisions here in Cancún on forests … on adaptation … on technology … and on the creation of a new fund for long-term climate financing. You also need to make progress on mitigation … on anchoring your national commitments … on accountability and transparency … and increasing clarity on the future of the Kyoto Protocol,” he said.    Under the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), industrialized countries committed themselves to a reduction of greenhouse gases. The Protocol expires in 2012 and a replacement arrangement is under negotiation.    Mr. Ban said that results can only be achieved through action by every country, emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change on the planet will not wait for negotiations to be concluded.    “Science warns that the window of opportunity to prevent uncontrolled climate change will soon close. The world – particularly the poor and vulnerable – cannot afford the luxury of waiting for the perfect agreement” said Mr. Ban.    He highlighted some of the initiatives that the UN had embarked on to address climate change. They include the REDD Plus scheme, which seeks to create incentives to reverse the trend of deforestation and conserve forests’ carbon stocks, and the coalition of UN entities working with the private sector and governments to achieve universal energy access and significant cuts in energy intensity in the next two decades.    “My High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Financing concluded that it is possible for developed countries to realize their goal of raising $100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries,” Mr. Ban said.    On climate change and the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mr. Ban said that extreme poverty cannot be eradicated without addressing the rising intensity and unpredictability of weather trends associated with climate change. “Now, more than ever, we need to connect the dots between climate, poverty, energy, food, water.. These issues cannot be addressed in isolation,” he said.    Nov 2010    A Billion People to lose homes due to Climate Change. (The Guardian)    Devastating changes to sea levels, rainfall, water supplies, weather systems and crop yields are increasingly likely before the end of the century, scientists warn.    A special report, released at the start of climate negotiations in Cancún, Mexico, reveals that up to a billion people face losing their homes over the next 90 years because of failures to agree curbs on carbon emissions.    Up to three billion people may lose access to clean water supplies because global temperatures cannot now be stopped from rising by 4C.    "The main message is that the closer we get to a four-degree rise, the harder it will be to deal with the consequences," said Dr Mark New, a climate expert at Oxford University, who organised a recent conference entitled "Four Degrees and Beyond" on behalf of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.    A key feature of the research is that they assume that even if global carbon emission curbs were to be agreed in the future, these would be insufficient to limit global temperature rises to 2C this century – the maximum temperature rise agreed by politicians as acceptable.    "To have a realistic chance of doing that, the world would have to get carbon emissions to peak within 15 years and then follow this up with a massive decarbonisation of society," said Dr Chris Huntingford, of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxfordshire.    Few experts believe this is a remotely practical proposition, particularly in the wake of the failure of the Copenhagen climate talks last December – a point stressed by Bob Watson, former head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and now chief scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As he put it: "Two degrees is now a wishful dream."    Researchers such as Richard Betts, head of climate impacts at the Met Office, calculate that a 4C rise could occur in less than 50 years, with melting of ice sheets and rising sea levels.    According to François Gemenne, of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations in Paris, this could lead to the creation of "ghost states" whose governments-in-exile would rule over scattered citizens and land lost to rising seas. Small island states such as Tuvalu and the Maldives are already threatened by inundation.    Peter Stott of the Met Office said the most severe effect of all these changes is likely to involve changes to the planet"s ability to soak up carbon dioxide. At present, around 50% of man-made carbon emissions are absorbed by the sea and by plants on land.    "However, the amount of carbon dioxide that can be absorbed decreases as temperatures rise. We will reach a tipping point from which temperatures will go up even faster. The world will look very different."    Nov 2010    Climate change talks must deliver following record year of extreme weather. (Oxfam)    Negotiators should begin UN climate talks with far more urgency and resolve following a year of weather-related disasters, record temperatures, flooding and rising sea levels, international agency Oxfam said today.    Weather-related disasters have devastated the lives and livelihoods of poor people during 2010. The UN climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, begin on Nov 29 to Dec 10.    A new Oxfam report "More than ever: climate talks that work for those that need them most", says that 21,000 people died due to weather-related disasters in the first nine months of 2010 – more than twice the number for the whole of 2009. This year is on course to experience more extreme-weather events than the ten-year average of 770. It is one of the hottest years ever recorded with Pakistan logging 53.7°C – the highest ever in Asia.    Report author Tim Gore of Oxfam said: "This year has seen massive suffering and loss due to extreme weather disasters. This is likely to get worse as climate change tightens its grip. The human impacts of climate change in 2010 send a powerful reminder why progress in Cancun is more urgent than ever."    While climate change cannot be held responsible for a specific weather-related disaster, climate models indicate that the weather extremes of this year are likely to get worse due to climate change. Therefore people who are already vulnerable are likely to be at even greater risk.    The Pakistan floods affected more than 20 million people, submerging about a fifth of the country, claiming 2,000 lives and causing $9.7bn in damage. Summer temperatures in Russia exceeded the long-term average by 7.8°C, doubling the daily death rate in Moscow to 700 and causing fires that destroyed 26 per cent of the country"s wheat crop. Russia banned grain exports as a result and soon after world grain prices increased, affecting poor people particularly.    In Cancun, Oxfam is calling for a fair Climate Fund so that money can get to those who need it most and can use it best. This fund should prioritize women because they are vital in helping communities to adapt successfully to climate impacts.    Rich countries must find new ways to raise the billions of dollars needed for developing countries adaption and mitigation efforts, such as putting fair levies on unregulated international aviation and shipping emissions and agreeing a Robin Hood Tax on banks. The sooner the money is delivered, the cheaper it will be to tackle climate change. Estimates suggest that every dollar spent on adaptation could save $60 in damages.    It is crucial that countries make their informal pledges to cut or control emissions part of the formal negotiations. They should agree to increase these pledges enough so that global warming is kept below 1.5-2°C. They must use the Cancun talks to clear the path toward a comprehensive, fair and legally binding global deal.    Gore said: "Now is not the time to walk away from the UN. It is the only forum where the world can decide on an effective global response to an unfolding global crisis. The UN process has helped to generate international pressure in the past few years. This has pushed countries to initiate their own domestic policy, set targets they otherwise would not have done, and start to address the adaptation needs of poor and vulnerable communities.    "Cancun will not deliver everything that a global response to climate change should be. But it can deliver outcomes that will benefit poor people. One of the most important achievements would be a fair climate fund because this would also help to re-build trust and put the talks back on track."    Nov.2010    Greenhouse gases reach record levels, could rise further, warns UN agency. (WMO)    The main greenhouse gases have reached their highest concentration levels since pre-industrial times, a United Nations climate research body said today.    The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) 2009 Greenhouse Gas Bulletin warns that carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have all increased their presence, increasing their burden on the earth’s atmosphere.    “Greenhouse gas concentrations have reached record levels despite the economic slowdown. They would have been even higher without the international action taken to reduce them,” said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud.    According to the Bulletin, the prevalence of all major greenhouse gases increased by 27.5 per cent from 1990 to 2009 and by a further 1.0 per cent from 2008 to 2009.    Since 1750, carbon dioxide’s presence in the atmosphere has increased by 38 per cent, primarily because of emissions from fossil fuels combustion, deforestation and changes in land-use. Methane’s prevalence has increased over the same period by 158 per cent. Sixty per cent of methane emissions are caused by human activity.    The report highlights concerns that global warming may lead to even greater natural emissions of methane from Arctic areas.    “Potential methane release from northern permafrost, and wetlands, under future climate change is of great concern and is becoming a focus of intensive research and observations,” Mr. Jarraud said. Visit the related web page
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