For an Effective and Equitable Climate Agreement

Wuppertal Institute submits intensively-discussed proposal for the Copenhagen climate summit

  • Press Releases 30.10.2009

Based on an intensive process of research and discussions, the Wuppertal Institute now puts forward its proposal for the climate summit that takes place in Copenhagen in December. It comprises far-reaching pathways for an agreement that is effective as well as equitable, through enhanced action of both industrialised and the so-called developing countries. The cornerstones are:

 

  • The central goal should be to limit the increase of the global mean temperature to at maximum 2 °C - a goal the EU and many other countries have committed to. To preserve a high probability of reaching it, all countries should aim to lower global greenhouse gas emissions by 80 % by 2050 compared to 1990. Put into relation with the expected global population of 9 billion people, this translates to 1 tonne per person. This requirement should apply to all countries equally, irrespective of their partly much higher current emission levels. (For Germany, a comprehensive recent study by Prognos AG, Öko-Institut and Dr. Ziesing has shown that emission reductions of 95 %, to 0,9 tonnes per person, are feasible and affordable) To meet this long-term goal, industrialised countries should lower their emissions by at least 40 % by 2020. Three quarter of this commitment, that is at least 30 %, should be achieved domestically. If necessary, the remaining quarter could be achieved through the emission trading mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol.
  • In addition, Copenhagen should define accompanying targets for lowering global energy consumption and for expanding the use of renewable energy in order to ensure that the transformation process goes in the right direction.
  • A global investment programme should be established to allow the so-called developing countries to pursue a low-emission and climate-resilient development pathway. On the basis of their historical responsibility for the climate problem and their much higher economic capacity, industrialised countries should commit to financing obligations equivalent to the costs of a further 20 % reduction of their emissions by 2020. Preferably, these resources should be generated through the auctioning of emission allowances, either internationally or in domestic systems like the EU emission trading system.
  • The contribution especially or the larger so-called developing countries should be to elaborate and reliably implement comprehensive low-carbon development strategies. In addition, industrialised countries should prepare plans that elaborate how they intend to meet their national and international obligations.
  • Furthermore, all countries should develop measures for the adaptation to climate change. As compensation for the damages caused, here as well industrialised countries have the obligation to provide comprehensive support to so-called developing countries.

"The necessary financing is not about aid or alms, but about the equitable distribution of a common responsibility for a common problem", project co-ordinator Wolfgang Sterk emphasises. A key concern of him and his interdisciplinary research team is to make clear that achieving the ambitious targets will only be possible with a stable financing system and implementation steps that are made internationally transparent.

 

The team of authors had published a first draft of the proposal on the homepage of the Wuppertal Institute at the end of May and submitted it to a broad discussion process. For example through a workshop with journalists and during the climate negotiations in Bonn in June. The proposal was also at the center of a symposium with guests from politics, science and civil society, and Prof. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker and Prof. Klaus Töpfer as speakers. In addition, the text was submitted to external experts for review. The many suggestions that resulted from this intensive research and discussion process were synthesised in a paper the research team will bring with it to Copenhagen.

 

"With this paper, the Wuppertal Institute has formulated more than a vision", its acting head, vice-president Prof. Manfred Fischedick, notes. "We have actively accompanied the international climate negotiations ever since the institute was founded. However, in the face of new political constellations internationally and dire warnings from climate science, there is an enormous pressure on the international community to act. But we are convinced that it is still possible to change course and that this proposal is presenting a feasible, effective and equitable way forward."

 

 

Press release by Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy

Responsible: Prof. Dr. Manfred Fischedick, Vice President

Contact: Dorle Riechert, Public Relations

Tel. +49 (0)202 2492-180, Fax +49 (0)202 2492-108

E-mail: pr@wupperinst.org


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