Effects of climate change in Alaska are apparent
Greenpeace today welcomed the long awaited, binding decision of
the EU Environment Ministers to move ahead with the ratification of
the Kyoto Protocol.
Ten years after the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change in 1992 at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,
and more than four years after the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol
on climate change, the EU Environment Ministers have decided to
officially ratify the Protocol.
"The EU decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol is an historic
moment, and we now look forward to the other ratifications
necessary to bring the Protocol into force by the time of the next
Earth Summit in Johannesburg, in August," said Michel Raquet,
Greenpeace climate advisor. This act sends a clear and definitive
signal to all countries around the world that the EU is serious
about Kyoto, and serious about protecting the climate.
The Johannesburg Earth Summit begins on August 26, less than six
months from now, and has for years been the target date for the
ratification and entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol. There is
now less than three months left to act if the Protocol is to be
brought into force prior to the Summit, as the entry into force
only takes place 90 days after the submission of the final
ratification which puts it 'over the top'. The Kyoto Protocol
requires that at least 55 countries accounting for 55 per cent of
industrialised country emissions ratify in order for it to enter
into force. Ratification by Russia and Japan are key for the entry
into force of the Kyoto Protocol; but Greenpeace will also continue
to push the United States, accounting for 25 per cent of global
greenhouse gas emissions, to come back into the Protocol.
"After President Bush slammed the door on the Kyoto Protocol in
March 2001, and the very bad joke of the launch of the Bush-Exxon
climate plan last month, it is now time for the USA to come back to
the Kyoto Protocol framework," said Raquet.
This decision by the EU is not the end of the ratification game,
even within the EU, since it is necessary for both the EU and all
of its 15 Member States to ratify .
Greenpeace will be pushing the 11 EU Member States which are not
yet ready to ratify to do so by the end of May, at the latest, said
Raquet. "We should all remember that the Kyoto targets is a very
small but crucial first step towards protecting the Earth's
climate. Industrialised countries must actually reduce their
emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 if Ministers really want to be
serious about protecting the life of our children and
grand-children. There is no time to waste," said Raquet.