UN issues 'state of climate' report in advance of crucial Bali meeting
Wed 28 November 2007
View all news
The World could cut climate change emissions to a sustainable level by 2030 if it invested less than two-thirds of global military spending, or the equivalent of 1.6 percent of GDP. This is one of the conclusions of a 400-page report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) issued a week in advance of the major international conference on climate change to be held in Bali.
In order to mitigate climate change, the report's authors call on developed countries to demonstrate leadership by cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. The report advocates a mix of carbon taxation, more stringent cap-and-trade programmes, energy regulation, and international cooperation on financing for low-carbon technology transfer.
In terms of adaptation, the report warns that inequalities in ability to cope with climate change are emerging as an increasingly powerful driver of wider inequalities between and within countries. It calls on rich countries to put climate change adaptation at the centre of international partnerships on poverty reduction.
“We are issuing a call to action, not providing a counsel of despair,” commented lead author Kevin Watkins. “Working together with resolve, we can win the battle against climate change. Allowing the window of opportunity to close would represent a moral and political failure without precedent in human history.”
Mr Watkins described the Bali talks as a unique opportunity to put the interests of the world’s poor at theheart of climate change negotiations.
The 400-page report comments on the progress of different countries around the world.
While praising the UK Government for a "bold and innovative" climate change bill that would legally bind ministers to mandatory cuts in emissions, the UN said "radical new policies" such as carbon taxes, tougher regulations to phase out coal-fired power stations and higher vehicle excise duty for gas-guzzling cars would be needed if Britain was to have any chance of hitting its target of cutting CO2 emissions by 26%-32% by 2020. The report noted "serious questions about the level of ambition, and about the UK's capacity to meet its own carbon reduction targets".
Related Links
< Back to news list