World leaders gather in Paris next week for the start of crucial climate talks which aim to secure a new global deal on tackling climate change. “We should all be very proud that Boulder’s voice garners global attention”.
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The ACP said that adapting to climate change is therefore a high priority for all its members, “and especially those which are particularly vulnerable, including the small island developing states (SIDS), the less developed countries (LDCs)”.
“This is a chance for the world to take a big step forward” toward a “global solution” to climate change and to limit the threat to economic and national security, Paul Bodnar, senior director for energy and climate change at the National Security Council, said in a conference call with reporters. “India is a country which wants to make Paris a success”.
China has curbed its emissions of carbon dioxide amidst the efforts to forestall climate change. These Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or INDCs, are the key to keeping the planet’s temperature from rising above the 3.6 degree threshold that many climate scientists believe we can not pass if we hope to avoid the most damaging consequences of global warming.
However, Xie said that the country would meet its target in 2030 for emissions peak.
“We have been engaging with India throughout the year in determining how they can contribute constructively to a successful outcome in Paris”, Rhodes said. This according to them was absolutely fair on the part of developing nations to expect and demand in the climate summit.
With 2015 right on track to become the hottest year on record, and a plethora of reports warning of increase in poverty and deaths caused by climate change-induced events, world leaders are now waking up to the severity of the crisis.
The UK has already reduced emissions by 36 per cent on 1990 levels, but data from the Department of Energy and Climate Change shows that the country is unlikely to meet the 52 per cent cut put in law for the fourth carbon budget, unless further cuts are made.
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The UK has faced fierce criticism at home, however, for cuts to renewable and energy efficiency support and most recently for axing a £1 billion competition to develop technology to capture and store carbon emissions from power stations and industry. Such market-based policies give industry a powerful incentive to reduce emissions. There has been movement, however, from both sides since the last major worldwide meeting on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009. While the developed countries have pledged $100 billion for climate funding, the official said, the actual committed amount is only $10 billion, but the “on-table” funding is only $168 million.
