Archived press release

Kyoto treaty comes into force

15 February 2005

The UN Kyoto climate treaty, which comes into force on Wednesday (16 February) is only a modest first step towards tackling climate change, warns Friends of the Earth [1].

Although the treaty coming into force is cause for celebration [2], more drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are desperately needed to combat global warming. Friends of the Earth is calling for:

• Tony Blair to ensure international action on climate change through his Presidency of the G8 and of the EU in the second-half of 2005;

• Lead by example by taking decisive action at home to ensure a year-on-year reduction in UK carbon dioxide emissions [3];

• The European Union to earmark targets for future gas emission cuts after the first commitment period of Kyoto ends in 2012. Unfortunately the EU refused to commit itself to further action on 9 February [4];

• The United States, the worlds biggest polluter, and Australia to join the international community in the fight against global warming;

Friends of the Earth International's climate campaigner, Catherine Pearce, said

"Kyoto is an important first step, but tougher international action is crucial to combat climate change. The world around us is changing in dramatic and life threatening ways. It's time to wake up to the threat before it's too late."

"Tony Blair wants the world to tackle global warming, but UK emissions have not fallen since Labour came to power. The Prime Minister must lead by example and take action to ensure Britain's emissions fall each year.

"The EU has a crucial role to play too and must pledge to go beyond its Kyoto commitments. with further action . With concerted action, industrialised nations should cut their emissions by 80% by 2050. And of course the United States, the world's biggest polluter, must also part its part too."

Past emissions of greenhouse gases, largely from industrialised countries, mean that the world cannot avoid an increase of average global temperature to 1.3C above pre-industrial levels. If the average temperature rises beyond 2C, the impacts of climate change, which we are already suffering, will become catastrophic. [5]

The evidence that climate change is proceeding apace is piling up and weather extremes across the planet are increasing, both in frequency and intensity. A recent high-level international taskforce "Meeting the Climate Challenge" has revealed that global emissions have to peak by as early as 2015 in order to avoid uncontrollable climate change.

Official negotiations in November this year will begin to discuss commitments post 2012 when the first Kyoto commitment period is due to end. One key question will be how to tackle fast growing emissions from emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil and introduce policies that decouple economic growth from emissions.

Friends of the Earth believes that Western countries which have enjoyed economic growth through the burning of fossil fuels, (and have therefore contributed most to climate change) must help finance low carbon development in the developing world, and phase out public financing of fossil fuels and into cleaner energies.

Notes

[1] 141 countries have to date ratified the Kyoto Protocol. See http://unfccc.int/2860.php for background information on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change website.

[2] On 16 February, the European Union's executive Commission is inviting the 141 countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol to a Cocktail Party to celebrate. Climate Outlaws United States and Australia are not invited. For more details on international events marking Kyoto's entry into force: http://unfccc.int/meetings/kyoto_eif/items/3363.php and
www.climatenetwork.org/kyotoevents.htm

[3] Tony Blair has previously described the threat of climate change as "so far-reaching in its impact and irreversible in its destructive power, that it alters radically human existence" [1]. He has promised to put it at the top of the international agenda this year during the UK Chairing of the G8 and Presidency of the EU. Despite the UK Government's promise to make significant cuts in carbon dioxide levels, emissions have not declined since Labour came to power in 1997.

[4] The new proposed strategy recommends to EU leaders not to agree on emission cuts after 2012 until the level of participation from other countries becomes clear. The document calls on increased participation by Europe's international partners, but fails to deliver a real plan how this could be realised, in particular regarding the United States.

[5] Two degrees centigrade global average warming would threaten many tens of millions of people with increased risk of hunger, hundreds of millions with increased malaria risk, millions with increased flooding and billions with increased risk of water shortage.(Ref: Hare, B (2003) "Assessment of Knowledge on Impacts of Climate Change - Contribution to the Specification of Art. 2 of the UNFCCC: Impacts on Ecosystems, Food Production, Water and Socioeconomic System" online at www.wbgu.de/wbgu_sn2003_ex01.pdf (PDF) and M Parry, N Arnell, T McMichael, R Nicholls, P Martens, S Kovats, M Livermore, C Rosenzweig,A)

Scientific knowledge is increasing constantly and improving our understanding of the likely changes that will come from rising global temperatures and the assessment keeps getting worse.

Some of the most important new reports and findings of the last twelve months include:

• A multi-year international study published in Nature (Thomas, et. al, "Extinction risk from climate change", NATURE |VOL 427 | 8 JANUARY 2004 pp. 146 - 148) predicts that mid-range climate change scenarios will doom a million species to extinction by mid-century;

• The Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment , commissioned by the Arctic Council, confirmed that the Arctic is warming much faster than the rest of the globe. At least half of the summer sea ice will disappear by the end of this century, along with significant melting of the Greenland ice sheet, with devastating consequences for seals, bears, local communities, and with global consequences including (but not limited to) sea level rise;

• A study of the European heat wave in the summer of 2003, published in December 2004 (Ref: Stott, et. al., "Human contribution to the European heatwave of 2003", NATURE |VOL 432 | 2 DECEMBER 2004 pp. 610-614), concluded that there was a clear global warming fingerprint on the killer heat wave, and that by mid-century, such a summer would be cooler than average;

Further reports on climate impacts:

IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR) Climate Change 2001
www.ipcc.ch/activity/tar.htm

International Symposium on the Stabilisation of Greenhouse Gases, 1-3 Feb, Hadley Centre, Steering Committee Report
www.stabilisation2005.com/Steering_Commitee_Report.pdf (PDF)

Impacts of Europe's changing climate, 2004
http://reports.eea.eu.int/climate_report_2_2004/en/tab_content_RLR

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, November 2004
www.acia.uaf.edu/PDFs/Testimony.pdf(PDF)

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust