UN climate talks require business unusual
GENEVA, Switzerland (5 February, 2015) – Negotiators meeting at an upcoming round of climate talks need to adopt a business unusual approach in order to deliver the draft of a new global climate deal. The talks will take place in Geneva, Switzerland and are scheduled to run from 8 February through 13 February.
The Geneva talks will be the first formal meetings since a conference in Lima, Peru late last year. The talks are also the only scheduled negotiations before a May deadline that requires the draft text to be finalized for the last round of talks in Paris later this year.
“Many issues that could have been resolved in Lima were pushed into this year’s negotiations instead. That business-as-usual approach now puts a heavy burden on negotiators. They should draw on the momentum we saw before Lima, where people around the world mobilized for climate action and countries stepped forward with new climate commitments. That was business unusual, and that’s the same approach negotiators will need to agree on an ambitious, science-based climate deal,” said Samantha Smith, leader of WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Initiative.
Negotiators in Geneva must address three critical areas in order to keep global warming from reaching dangerous levels: A long-awaited global climate agreement with science and equity-based commitments that enters into force in 2020; urgent, collaborative national efforts to build up renewable energy and reduce climate pollution before the 2020 deal takes hold; and building trust between governments participating in the negotiating process.
“We are now at the end of the line if we are to get a global agreement on climate change that is strong enough to change the current path. Scientists tell us global emissions need to peak and decline well within the decade to avoid runaway climate change. None of us, including negotiators, can afford to continue with business-as-usual,” said Smith.
Research from every corner of the globe proves that climate change is occurring, human activities are causing it, and its devastating impacts are hitting ecosystems and affecting the lives and livelihoods of people around the world. After 20 years of negotiations and ever-increasing emissions, it is time to act.
For further information:
Mandy Jean Woods mwoods@wwf.org.za / @MandyJeanWoods / +27 72 393 0027
Sam Smith ssmith@wwf.no / @pandaclimate / +47 450 22 149
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
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