11 December 2009
Copenhagen: As week one of the UN climate talks draws to a close, the Alliance of Small Island states (AOSIS), demand a two treaty approach to avert dangerous climate change.
Tearfund’s Director of Advocacy, Paul Cook said, 'The small island states have every right to throw down the gauntlet by laying out tough proposals. They are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and there is a genuine risk that some of them will go underwater if tough targets are not adopted.'
The group has outlined a need for 45 per cent cuts on 1990 levels by 2020 .They have also asked that all developed countries should pay between 0.5- 2 per cent of GNP to help poor countries adapt to climate change, additional to current aid commitments. Under a two protocol approach – amending the Kyoto Protocol and creating a new treaty to plug the gaps – these measures would be legally binding in international law.
'Far from cuts of 45 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020, at the moment some calculations put developed country pledges as low as a paltry 8-12 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020 and when you take into account all the potential loopholes that they could use to hide their emissions we could be looking at cuts of only -2 per cent or even increases in emissions of 4 per cent.
'It appears that powerful countries are ignoring the urgency that is needed by the small island states and tabling woefully inadequate figures that simply don't stack up. And on finance there is almost nothing on the table at all.'
Tearfund is also concerned that only short term finance will be agreed in Copenhagen and insists that while this is urgently needed, a fair agreement must include new -and additional to ODA targets – long-term public finance for developing countries to the tune of $200bn annually.
Yet today’s EU Summit ended with a promise to provide their fair share of 'fast-track' finance amounting to 2.4bn euros per year from 2010 to 2012.
'In reality this is nothing more than smoke and mirrors as it seems that the vast majority of this money is not additional rather repackaged aid,' said Paul Cook.
'We urgently need political will to be demonstrated and levels of ambition significantly raised by the most powerful countries. Otherwise it is unlikely that developing nations will agree a deal.'