23 September 2009
Rich nations have been taken to task by developing countries this week, as world leaders debate climate change at the United Nations in New York.
The high-level summit on climate change today heard a statement from China, pledging to reduce carbon emissions - a welcome pledge which builds political momentum towards December's UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
Tearfund, who support the world’s poorest communities to respond to climate change, calls for a greater recognition of the requests made by developing countries in recent years for rich countries to tackle climate change.
'We know from working with farmers in Niger, villages in Bangladesh and communities in Brazil that climate change is already happening and is hitting the poorest people first and worst,' says Paul Cook, Tearfund’s Advocacy Director.
'We heard this again on Monday as the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) made the case that their very survival depends on a strong and fair climate deal in Copenhagen.
'Today's announcement from China is a welcome step in the right direction, which should bring pressure to bear on developed countries to come forward with targets to reduce emissions by 2020. We welcome the signals of political will and political momentum from both developing and developed countries towards getting a strong and fair deal in Copenhagen. The speeches from the US and Japan were encouraging, but we need to see stronger commitments from developed countries on both finance and emissions reductions targets to get the deal that is needed to keep global temperature rise below two degrees.'