Press Releases

[Bangkok – Thailand] At a press conference on the last day of UN climate talks in Bangkok, Thailand, international experts from NGOs organized in the Climate Action Network (CAN) assessed the Bangkok outcome, discussed the role of different countries in the talks, and gave an outlook for COP18 in Doha at the end of the year.

An archived video footage from the press conference can be found at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/25196443

Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists, said:

"The world has warmed less than 1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, yet we are already starting to experience the devastating impacts of human-induced climate change. Meanwhile, the collective low level of ambition on emissions reductions will soon foreclose our ability to stay below the 2 degrees increase in global temperatures that world leaders have committed to avoid. The time for finger-pointing, blame-casting, and hiding behind the inaction of others is over. What we demand from all countries in Doha is three things: action, ambition, and accountability."

Tove Ryding, Climate Policy Coordinator, Greenpeace International, said:

“While people around the world are fighting life or death struggles against extreme storms and droughts, the EU, US and the emerging economies have not made any progress to resolving political barriers to tackling the climate crisis. So far, the governments have managed to resolve some technical issues and admitted that we have a very serious problem but completely failed to take the necessary action.”

Tasneem Essop, Head of the WWF Delegation, said:

“Some parties need to get a reality check and get out of the negotiation “bubble” - they need to look the vulnerable in the eye - so we suggest that they use the time between now and Doha to do a field trip to witness first hand the impacts of climate change already being felt in many places such as the drought-ridden Horn of Africa and central US, Tuvalu with sea-level rise, Philippines, India and Thailand with frequent flooding, Brazil with land-slides due to heavy rainfalls and the Arctic where in this week we are bearing witness to the highest recorded levels of sea-ice melting! Maybe this is what we need to give those who lack a sense of urgency a wake up call.”

Wael Hmaidan, Director of CAN International, said:

“We welcome the openness towards civil society input that Qatar is showing, but they need to step up their leadership role if they want to achieve a successful outcome at COP18 in Doha. In the very short time remaining before the start of the conference, Qatar must reach out to a wider group of countries to understand their priorities for COP18, especially small island states and least developed countries, who are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Qatar should also submit an emission limitation pledge to the international community. Although it is a relatively easy step, given the capabilities Qatar has, such a pledge will send a strong political signal that Qatar is serious about climate change.”

Contacts

Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 700 NGOs working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels.

For more information, please go to www.climatenetwork.org and contact CAN International Director Wael Hmaidan, email: whmaidan@climatenetwork.org, local mobile: +66 08 9210 4796

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"Saturday's 1st Place and only Fossil was awarded to the European Commission for attempting to show leadership in the wrong direction, away from the Durban decision to increase ambition - a decision which the EU actually claims to be champions of.

Keeping in mind that EU, if they implement the plans they already have on the table, will end up reducing around 24% of their 1990 emissions by 2020, it seems absurd that the European Commission suddenly argues that even an EU target of 25% is 'wishful thinking' and 'not reality'. Dear EU, 25% IS reality. Our wishful thinking is that you would get yourself together and increase you target to 40%, of which 30% should be domestic reductions."

And ECO wonders if the mere rumour that the EC had been awarded a fossil was behind the EU showing slightly better behaviour in the developed countries workshop. So maybe the fossil itself will have an even bigger impact - or is that more wishful thinking?

In an unprecedented move, the Fossil of the Day award 
was today given to ALL governments attending the Rio+20 summit. NGOs 
reacted to the adoption of a shockingly weak outcome text applauded by 
all governments in the plenary this morning, pointing out that - 
contrary to the document's title - the agreement did NOT reflect the 
future they want.

The text of today's Fossil award reads as follows:

"For the first time ever, yesterday, we awarded Big Oil a Fossil of the 
day - and the Fossil itself became the target of a protest by some angry 
billionaire CEO’s.

Today, we faced a monumental task deciding just who to award the fossil 
to. Obviously the perpetual podium contenders came up, Canada for 
tarring Rio+20 by cutting out funding, commitments and so much more. The 
United States and Japan, for weilding the literal and metaphorical 
delete button, cutting up the text like a ribbon, and the other Big Oil 
states for weakening language on subsidies and trying their best to cut 
the climate out of Rio. But for some reason we just didn’t feel like 
that was doing it justice, too many people were getting off the hook.

The outcome so far in Rio is an epic failure. Yet all governments have 
applauded it, as if selling out the planet and people were a grand 
success.

This is NOT the future we want, if anything this is the future that big 
polluters have bought.

With this text Rio+20 is turning back the clock on sustainable 
development. As nations hide behind economic uncertainty, they continue 
to give upwards of trillion dollars a year to the fossil fuel industry - 
yet here in Rio they’ve all come up with empty pockets. The first step 
is to turn that trillion green and make it work for the people and the 
planet, and like I said, that's just the first step. There is still 
miles to go on oceans, the sustainable development goals, or even having 
the ambition to build a pathway to just, sustainable future.

Because every country has applauded this document, and no country has 
had the guts to step up and be a champion for the people and the planet, 
this fossil is for every single nation here, and for all the world 
leaders beginning to arrive for what has become a glorified photo op to 
sign a declaration of destruction and a plan for pollution.

There are 3 days left here in Rio, and without a change this summit 
will go down in history as more than simply a failure, and those leaders 
who sign off on its demise will be known as the architects of 
destruction. So as we hand out this, the biggest fossil yet, Heads of 
State and their representatives need to remember one thing: the whole 
world is watching, the planet is burning, and they are holding matches."