Composite image of 3 pictures showing glacier retreat from 1948 to 2006.From left to right: 1948, 2002, 2006
"Small steps forward have been taken here in Nairobi to ensure
that there is no gap between the first and second phases of Kyoto,"
said Steve Sawyer, Climate Policy Advisor for Greenpeace
International, "but we need to pick up the pace in order to start
the formal negotiations next year."
"For the first time in this process, Governments have finally
acknowledged the need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by
more than half, but much more must be done to fill the gap between
the stark reality of climate change and the slow incremental
progress of these talks," said Sawyer.
This Climate Conference, the first to be held in sub-Saharan
Africa, achieved some progress for developing countries with the
agreement of the principles for the Adaptation Fund, a unique
financial instrument, which uses a levy on the carbon market
transactions to generate money to help the world's poorest and most
vulnerable people adapt to the reality of climate change they are
facing today.
It is the poor, least-developed countries, which are being hit
first and hardest by the devastating effects of climate change; a
legacy from the developed world.
Mind the gap
While progress was made in Nairobi, there is still a disconnect
between the urgent calls from around the world for action on
climate change, and the level of ambition demonstrated by many
governments at global climate negotiations.
From the avalanche of press reports on the changing climate and
the rising tide of public concern, pressure for hard action is
growing by the day. Many of the tough measures required to stop
dangerous climate change were pushed to next year or not even on
the table for discussion at all.
While some governments, who favour polluting industry over
protecting the planet, will never like taking tough decisions, they
still need to be taken if there is to be any chance of global
action to stop climate change. Ministers meet only once a year for
one week at the UN climate negotiations but carbon emission are
increasing everyday and the climate is changing faster than
ever.
Something has to change - for the sake of the planet it must be
the level of urgency that all governments give to tackling climate
change.
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