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The New Clima= te Deal: Pocket Guide of WWF

The guide released by the World Wide Fund provides a broad over= view of the problem with climate change, the steps, which have been made to= wards its solution and what still remains to be done urgently in the near f= uture. It makes parallel with the economic crisis, stressing on the fact th= at “the world’s financial and climate crises have a common caus= e: living beyond our means.” The guide explains briefly and in unders= tandable manner the key mechanisms, trends and positions of different count= ries in regard to applying the Kyoto protocol and the preparation of the ne= w climate agreement. The views of WWF are expressed as well such as the key= message of the guide, which is: “2009 needs to be remembered as the = year the world found an answer to climate change”.

The first part of the guide introduces the reader to key facts = related to climate change, its causes and its consequences, along with some= scientifically based figures characterizing the global climate system and = its change.

According to WWF and the text = of the guide, there are six key tasks that have to be agreed upon at the Co= penhagen meeting:

• Rich countries, as a g= roup, should set strong binding emissions reduction targets of 40 per cent = below 1990 levels by 2020. Most of those reductions should be undertaken do= mestically.

• Funds and technology c= ooperation must be established to support the implementation of low-carbon = economies in the developing world.

• With the appropriate n= eeds-based support, developing countries should commit to emissions 30 per = cent lower by 2020 than those they are currently projecting.

• Actions by developing = countries should include the halting of forest destruction and its concomit= ant emissions.

• Rich nations need to l= everage support to help the most vulnerable countries, communities and ecos= ystems, which are hardest hit by climate change, and finance their adaptati= on work.

• All countries need to = agree that global greenhouse gas emissions must be at least 80 per cent bel= ow 1990 levels by 2050.

The guide includes also a shor= t historic overview of climate change, along with introduction to the peopl= e having key roles in the process of preparing the new climate agreement. I= ssues such as stopping deforestation and reforestation, sea and ocean prote= ction, CO2 capture and storage, and new technologies to reduce atmospheric = CO2 concentrations are described as vitally important for green house gas r= eduction.

The second part of the guide o= ffers a brief explanation of the Kyoto Protocol – its historic role, = commitments of its signatories, and its mechanisms. Then introduction to th= e new Copenhagen Agreement follows, which stresses on its important role to= provide 80% reduction of green house gases on the planet by 2050. The resp= onsibilities of industrialized and industrializing countries are described = along with important clauses to be incorporated. Funding of adaptation to c= limate change in developing countries and the necessary technologies are pr= esented further in the text. The technology issues such as renewable energy= , energy efficiency, transfer of emissions-reducing technologie= s are also discussed. The questions of how and who should fund the fight wi= th climate change are investigated, too.

The guide concludes with a vis= ion for the new “green” agreement and the benefits it will brin= g not only to the planet’s climate but also to the global economy and= its recovery. At the end a “Jargon buster and acronym decoder&= #8221; explains the specific terms used to describe the problem and the sol= utions related to climate change and legislative texts.

The New Climate Deal: a Pocket Guide (PDF)

Source: World Wide Fund