In this statement we are trying to advance the plight of the developing, least developed and low-lying states, and we are calling for reallocating the global military budget. It is absurd that citizens are asked to change light bulbs and the military contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is ignored.

The time for procrastination about climate change has long since passed; the world is in a state of emergency and inaction is negligence.  Solutions for the state of emergency depend upon the political will to address climate change within the complexity and interdependence of guaranteeing human rights, ensuring social justice, protecting and conserving the environment and ecosystems, reducing the ecological footprint and moving away from the current over-consumptive model of development, and preventing war and conflict.

While the threat of climate change has been obvious to most scientists for five decades, the industrialised world, which is the major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, has refused to acknowledge, let alone address the urgency of the crisis. Heavily influenced by developed-world financial, media and industrial corporations, corporate front groups, and industry-funded academics, corporate controlled states have failed not only to address the urgency of the crisis by enacting effective legislation, but also to even seriously considering - let alone investing in - the resources needed to protect both the poor and most vulnerable and also their own coasts and citizens from the current and future impacts of climate change.

In addition, they have failed to consider the need to assist low-lying states and small island developing states that have already been impacted by climate change, and to take responsibility and compensate for the widespread displacement of people resulting from climate change. These impacts are all considered externalities by policy-makers who continue to subsidize fossil fuels while ignoring the burgeoning economic and social costs of climate change.

 

 

In Copenhagen, rather than adopting a minimalist lowest common denominator approach to setting climate targets and time frames, member states of the United Nations must acknowledge the science of dwindling glaciers, increasing atmospheric turbulence, ocean warming and acidification and rising sea levels, and adopt strong, effective, and mandatory targets and time frames to address the urgency.

The UNFCCC stated: “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere must be at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. This level equates to a target of below 1°C, which is the point at which global systems on land, water and air will be so affected as to create vicious feedback cycles and destabilise many ecosystems and human societies.

Because of the global urgency, there must be the political will to strive to contain the rise in temperatures to less than 1°C above pre-industrial levels. and strict time frames must be imposed, so that overall global emissions will begin to be reversed as of 2010. There must be a target of 30% below 1990 levels by 2015, 50% below by 2020, 75% by 2030, 85% by 2040 and 100% below by 2050, while adhering to the precautionary principle, the differentiated responsibility principle, and the fair and just transition principle. During the period before and after 2050 CO2 must be eliminated from the atmosphere. Post 2050 there must be the elimination of at least 9 billion tonnes per year of CO2 for more than 200 years (Bill Hare).  

Carbon elimination must not be used to offset reduction targets, and it must done through socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound methods. Deforestation must be halted by the latest in 2020 and the rate of deforestation reduced drastically by between 2010 and 2020.

The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of developing countries and of present and future generations. All states must embark immediately on time-bound phasing out of fossil fuels and of subsidies for fossil fuel. The unconventional extraction of oil from Bitumen, such as in the process in the tar/oil sands, is a major contribution to greenhouse gas and must be prohibited.

In addition there must be a phase-out of biofuel and nuclear energy and an end to the subsidizing of biofuel and of nuclear energy, and a time-bound commitment to conservation, and to subsidizing and investing in socially equitable and environmentally safe and sound renewable energy, transportation, agriculture, forestry etc. options, that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.