Climate change
In this page :
- How is climate change jeopardizing achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?
- How are we doing?
- What do we expect from the G8 and the G20 in June 2010?
How is climate change jeopardizing achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?
The impact of climate change threatens the progress achieved so far in combating poverty.
- Every year 262 million people are affected by climate-related disasters, and 98% of those people live in developing countries.
- In Africa, the scarcity of arable land, the shrinking of the harvest season and declining crop yields are making malnutrition worse.
- It is estimated that an additional 50 million people could be suffering from hunger by 2050.
- Climate change is making floods and droughts more intense and more frequent, helping to spark bouts of diarrhoea and cholera.
- In Asia, reduced water flows from mountain glaciers could be affecting 1 billion people by 2050.
Urgent action is needed to limit the impacts of climate change in the South.
How are we doing?
In December 2009, the United Nations held a summit meeting in Copenhagen to reach a post-Kyoto agreement on climate change. That agreement was supposed to contain clear and differentiated targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, based on countries’ historic responsibility and their capacity to take action. It was also expected to institute a financing and technology transfer mechanism that would help people in the South cope with the impacts of climate change.
The results of the Copenhagen Conference are a disappointment for the millions of people who stood up to demand a fair, ambitious and binding agreement on climate change. While governments agreed on the need to limit global warming to less than 2°C, there were no new, specific commitments for reducing GHGs.
There were some commitments taken on financial help for people in the South to combat climate change:
- The Summit promised $10 billion a year until 2013 ($30 billion in total).
- It also recognized that $100 billion a year would be needed by 2020 to address the challenges of climate change.
Yet these amounts are still insufficient. Oxfam estimates that $100 billion a year is needed right now, and $200 billion a year by 2020.
At L’Aquila in 2009, the G8 recognized the importance of limiting temperature increases to less than 2°C. It also undertook to provide adequate funding to countries of the South for combating climate change. The G20 promised to do its part to contain the impacts.
The G8 and G20 summits will be the first international meetings since the Copenhagen Summit of last December. To respond to growing public concerns and assist the victims of climate change, the G8 and G20 leaders must honour their commitments.
What do we expect from the G8 and the G20 in June 2010?
The G8 and G20 leaders must:
- Undertake to pay the money promised to countries of the South for combating climate change, and make this additional to official development assistance (ODA).
- Boost the promised financing for combating climate change in order to meet the real needs of people in the South.
- Undertake to pursue negotiations toward a climate change agreement that will be fair for developing countries.
The money promised can make a real difference in the lives of people facing climate crises. Take your place At the Table with the G8 and G20 leaders and insist that they keep their promises!
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