negotiations
4 May 2007
The Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) Working Group III report entitled "Climate Change 2007:
Mitigation of Climate Change" has a number of key messages for the world's
policy makers. It will provide a major push to global negotiations on the
future climate regime. The overall message to policy makers is one of urgency,
leadership and ambition. We need to act quickly, we need to make decisive
policy shifts, and we need to be ambitious in our embracement of a basket of
technological options.
This will be my key message when I address the United Nations (UN)
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in New York, next week. The theme
of the CSD is Energy, Climate Change, Industrial Development and Air Pollution.
This meeting in New York will be a important platform to send a strong
political signal to countries like the USA that are not acting on their moral
responsibility to take the lead in combating climate change. The IPCC report
builds this case and reconfirms the historical contribution to climate change
of large developed countries like the USA.
Firstly, the report confirms that emissions of harmful greenhouse gasses are
growing rapidly and are likely to continue. The emissions of greenhouse gases
have risen 70 percent since 1970 and could rise an additional 90 percent by
2030 if no action is taken.
Secondly, it underscores that delaying climate action will have devastating
impacts. Green house gas (GHG) emissions need to be dramatically decreased in
the short term (1 to 3 decades) if we want to avert the worst consequences.
Global emissions must peak and decline if we wish to avoid potentially
catastrophic climate change impacts and, further, the peak must happen sooner
rather than later if we wish to stabilise GHG concentrations at levels that
would have less than catastrophic impacts.
Thirdly, all is not lost. Many of the technologies that can help us to
achieve the kind of emission reductions that would avoid severe climate change
and that would keep temperature increases manageable already exist or are in
advanced stages of development. What is needed are decisive policy shifts to
cut emissions and significantly beefed up investment in climate friendly
technologies, in particular in the energy sector. World leaders that until
recently denied the problem no longer have to wait for more science, and they
no longer have the excuse that we need to wait for more technology options
before doing something. This reality should, however, not prevent us all from
investing more in research and development of even more effective and
affordable technologies that can help us to achieve our objectives.
Fourthly, the report confirms that climate change is not only an
environmental problem, it is fundamentally an economic and social one.
Sustainable development will benefit from and will benefit GHG mitigation. On
the one hand, inaction on climate change will undermine sustainable development
and our best efforts at reducing poverty and growing our economies. On the
other hand, taking action on reducing GHG emissions also has co-benefits in
other sectors, for example the significant air quality benefits for human
health. The report also confirms that moving toward a more sustainable
development path can make a meaningful contribution to climate action.
Fifthly, the report underscores that lifestyle and behavioural changes would
have a positive impact. This new section in the report supports action 'on the
ground' by everyone - i.e. we all have a role to play.
Emissions are rising rapidly and there is only a short timeframe to turn
these trends around. What is needed is clear climate policy and greater
investment in climate-friendly technology. We need to act urgently,
together.
Note to editors
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the
World Meteorological Organisation and United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socioeconomic information relevant
for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for
adaptation and mitigation. It is currently finalising its Fourth Assessment
Report "Climate Change 2007." The release on Friday, 4 May 2007 of the Summary
for Policy Makers on "Mitigation of Climate Change" makes public the third
technical report to be published this year. A copy of the Summary is available
on the IPCC's website (http://www.ipcc.ch).
Enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
4 May 2007
