WWF - WWF Russia office

G20 finance ministers fail to reach green on climate financing

2009-11-07

St Andrews, Scotland – Finance ministers of the world’s dominant economies failed to reach agreement on the financing required for a global agreement to stave off catastrophic climate change, WWF said today as the G20 finance ministers meeting here broke up with no resolution to issues dividing developed and emerging economies.

The lack of progress made by the G20 in St. Andrews, follows another week of inconclusive negotiations in UN climate talks in Barcelona as the world heads towards the crucial UN climate conference in Copenhagen in a month’s time.

With the G20 now having considered the climate financing issue three times without reaching common ground, WWF remains sceptical about today's promise to make further progress before Copenhagen.

“The G20 Finance Ministers meeting turned out to be a mostly irrelevant sideshow on the way to the talks in Copenhagen in a months’ time," said Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland.

"Failure to come to agreement here is a major disappointment.

“This is a group that can throw money at collapsing banks but cannot find adequate figures for the far worse challenge to the global economy of a collapsing climate system."

In detail, the G20 ministers acknowledged the need to increase significantly and urgently the scale of funding but failed to make any reference to the sums required, estimated to be around $160bn a year of public financing.

They also failed to agree on new sources of funding for a climate deal, such as auctioning emissions credits and levies on aviation and shipping.

"Talk of a financial transaction tax which has the potential to raise hundreds of billions in new funding every year turned out to be a red herring without solid political support," Dr Dixon said.

The G20 agreed some principals on a mechanism to administer and distribute these funds but failed to turn these into concrete proposals and - despite last week's pledges from Europe - no new money was put on the table to help the most vulnerable countries adapt to a changing climate.

It is estimated the immediate need for the most vulnerable nations is around $10bn a year.

WWF endorsed the G20s continuing professed interest in winding back fossil fuel use subsidies, but said the group needed to focus its main attention on getting an effective global deal on climate.

“If we are to keep the planet below the danger threshold of a 2ºC temperature rise, the rich nations of the world are going to have to help developing countries follow a low-carbon development path and help them cope with the impacts of current and future climate change," Dr Dixon said.

"We wanted to see solid proposals on how the money would be raised, managed and distributed and an indication of how soon the countries most vulnerable to climate change will receive assistance. The G20 has failed to deliver and the real work will now have to be done at Copenhagen.”

Forests fundamental to effective climate deal

2009-10-25

Buenos Aires, Argentina – The world’s ability to control climate change could be crippled if global leaders do not support clear and effective targets to arrest deforestation at climate talks in Copenhagen in December, WWF said at the conclusion of a key global foresty summit.

As the XIIIth World Forestry Congress finished Friday, WWF called for an ambitious and bold climate deal at Copenhagen to give clear guidance and incentives for the forestry sector to do its part in stopping catastrophic climate change and adapt to predicted changes.

“Setting immediate deforestation targets is a key component of any climate change agreement,” said Rodney Taylor, Director of WWF International’s Forest program.

“If the global deal on climate change ignores the dangers of unchecked deforestation, it will set the world on an accelerated path to savage climate change.”

Despite conservation efforts, global deforestation continues at an alarming rate – 13 million hectares per year, or 36 football fields a minute. It generates almost 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and halting forest loss has been identified as one of the most cost-effective ways to keep the world out of the danger zone of runaway climate change.

To this end, WWF during the Congress proposed a global target of zero net deforestation by 2020 to avoid runaway climate change and stop the current catastrophic trend of species loss.

“A zero net deforestation by 2020 target will set the scale and urgency needed to gather the political will to stop forest loss,” Taylor said.

WWF will continue to advocate for a strong deforestation target to be included in all other relevant international treaties and agreements, including in the Convention on Biological Diversity.

In Copenhagen, negotiators need to agree to strong financial and emissions reduction commitments to craft a climate deal that enables developing countries to halt forest loss.

“WWF received strong feedback at the Congress from various sectors, including governments, other NGOs, and the private sector to support our target on deforestation,” said Gerald Steindlegger, WWF International’s Forest Manager on Global Policy.

Many developing countries already are adopting major deforestation policies that mirror WWF’s call for zero net deforestation by 2020.

On Wednesday, government representatives from Argentina and Paraguay pledged during a special ceremony co-hosted by WWF and its partner organization Fundacion Vida Silvestre at the Congress to work towards zero net deforestation in the Atlantic Forest, and to implement a package of measures that include national legislation to enforce those commitments.

The Atlantic Forest initially spanned 500,000 square kms, shared between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. However, only 7.4 percent of the forest is left today – or about 35,000 square kilometers, making it one of the most threatened and fragmented subtropical forests in the world.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian government already has established a zero deforestation target by 2010 for the Atlantic Forest. Brazil also has pledged to establish protected areas covering at least 10 percent of the forest.

This year, the World Forestry Congress brought together more than 4,000 participants in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Land of Leopard in Flames

2009-10-12

Primorye, Russia - Satellite monitoring of the worst fire season since 1996 in key biodiversity areas of the southernmost part of the Russian Far East has pinpointed a need to make landholders and state authorities take greater responsibility for fires on their land.

The monitoring showed that in the autumn spring fire season of 2008-2009, one third of south-west Primorye – the maritime province bordering China and North Korea - was lost in fires. Among significant wildlife areas affected was the Leopardovyi federal wildlife refuge where 15 forest fires covering 11% of its entire area were registered.

The 169,000 hectare refuge created in 2008 is vital habitat for the Far Eastern leopard (also known as the Amur leopard) which has the dubious distinction of being the world’s most endangered large cat. The area is also home to Siberian tigers

“This year we decided to define not only borders of burnt plots but also exact location of fire sources,” said Denis Smirnov, head of the Forest Programme at WWF-Russia’s Amur branch.

“We then overlapped this data on land users’ map and indentified persons and organizations responsible either for fire ignition or for not taking appropriate actions to combat fires”.

Results have shown that fires did not only break out in vacant state reserve land or undistributed agricultural lands. More than half of monitored fires broke out on owned or leased land.

For instance, In Leopardovyi refuge significant fires broke out in lands of Agro Khasan Ltd., the largest land owner across Khasanskii district, as well as on army forestry lands.

“To stop further degradation of vital leopard’s habitat we are suggesting some priority actions for the provincial and district administrations,” Smirnov said.

“First, they need to appoint responsible persons or bodies for fire prevention and suppression on state reserve lands and agricultural lands, and provide funding for these activities. Second, they need to rest responsibility on land owners and leaseholders for combating forest fires on their plots.”

The results of satellite monitoring conducted by WWF in cooperation with the non-profit partnership Transparent World were presented earlier this month to the Khasanskii district administration, at a preparatory consultation for the fire season this fall.

The research forms part of a broader WWF project on forest restoration in the leopard’s habitats.

Flying Turkmen leopards to bring species back to Caucasus

2009-09-23

Sochi, Russia: Two leopards from Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan are recovering after a long flight and car ride to their new homes in a Russian national park, as part of efforts to reintroduce the species into the Caucasus region.

The leopards were moved into spacious pens in Sochi National Park in southwestern Russia as part of a species reintroduction programme implemented by WWF and the Russian government.

They travelled more than 1,000 kilometers by plane and then by car, and are in good health despite the long trip and the effects of anaesthetic.

Upon arrival, the leopards were met by WWF, park staff and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Saturday and then released into large pens inside a special centre created for them in the park.

The big cats (Panthera pardus saxicolor) will take part in the Programme for Persian Leopard Reintroduction, developed by experts from WWF and the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and approved by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology.

“There are very few leopards in the whole of Caucasus, only a few dozen,” said Igor Chestin, WWF-Russia CEO. “They exist with the help of some inflow from Iran, which has several hundreds remaining. We want to create a new, Northern-based nucleus of the population, so that together with the Southern nucleus in Iran it can guarantee sustainability for the leopard population both in the Russian Caucasus and neighboring countries.”

The leopards are already actively moving around. They drink a lot of water, which is normal after anaesthesia, and on Sunday one of them ate a slab of meat given to him by veterinarians. Both leopards are males.

“They will have time to adapt to the new conditions and start to feel ownership of the territory by the time females arrive ”, said Umar Semyonov, deputy director of the Sochi national park. “And it will be easier for females to adapt with support from males.”

The leopards from Turkmenistan will live in the Centre for breeding and rehabilitation in the Sochi national park. Only their descendants will be released into the wild in the Caucasus strict nature reserve.

“Areas for future release were carefully chosen to resemble as much as possible leopards’ habitat in Turkmenistan, both in terms of relief and prey,” said Professor Anatoly Kudaktin, programme scientific supervisor. “Conditions in the Caucasus will be even more comfortable in some ways than in Turkmenistan, and ungulate density is higher here.”

These types of leopards are endangered because most of their habitat was lost in the last century due to transformation. Migration routes between remaining isolated populations are cut off due to infrastructure development, which has led to small fragmented populations that cannot easily breed.

Financially, the Programme is supported by WWF-Russia, “Rosa Khutor” Company, VympelCom Group, and Russian government.

First Russian fishery certified as Sustainable

2009-09-10

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced today that it has awarded certification to a pink and chum salmon fishery on the Kuril Island of Iturup managed by the Russian Government and Gidrostroy, a joint stock company which owns and manages the fishing, processing, and transport operations. The MSC certification program recognizes and rewards sustainable fishing and promotes the best environmental choices in seafood.

“Among major Russian fishing companies, Gidrostroy is the first and, to this day, the only company that has been awarded the Marine Stewardship Council certification,” says Sergei Didenko from the Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Center. “Gidrostroy’s commitment to sustainable fisheries is a turning point for the fisheries sector and a sign that sustainability has arrived in Russia.”

“Gidrostroy joins a growing list of seafood companies who understand that the long-term supply of salmon and other seafood depends on effective management and conservation,” said Brian Caouette of the Wild Salmon Center, whose mission is to conserve wild salmon across the Pacific Rim. “As demand for sustainable seafood increases, fishing companies that implement best practices stand to benefit economically. “

Like certain salmon fisheries in Alaska, the Iturup Island fishery has committed to implement a number of management changes as part of the MSC process. Changes include taking steps to minimize the potential impact of hatcheries on wild salmon populations— hatchery salmon can place wild salmon populations at risk in several ways including mixing of hatchery and wild stocks, ecosystem and genetic impacts, and disease transfer.

“We hope that the MSC certification will help companies continue to catch salmon successfully for many years and gain new markets, without undermining the stocks and minimizing damage to ecosystems,” said Konstantin Zgurovsky, Head of the WWF’s Marine Program.

A coalition of NGOs, including the Wild Salmon Center, WWF, Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Center, and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership hope that that certification of the first fishery in Russia will draw the government’s attention toward resolving some of the obstacles for effective management of salmon fisheries in Russia.

Exxon ignores calls from 50,000 people to stop threatening rare whales

2009-08-04

ExxonMobil has ignored a petition from more than 50,000 people demanding the oil and gas giant and several other companies suspend activities that harm the Western gray whale, one of the world’s most critically endangered whales.

The thousands of signatures from around the world were delivered on petitions to the CEO of ExxonMobil in Irving, Texas, and Exxon’s Moscow headquarters, just as the first whales arrived at their summer feeding grounds – the area of Exxon’s Sakhalin I oil and gas project – at northeast Sakhalin Island, in the Russian Far East.

Despite requests from Pacific Environment and WWF to deliver a response within a two week deadline, Exxon remained silent.

The petition urges Exxon, Rosneft, and other oil companies operating in the area to suspend all oil and gas development activities near the critically endangered Western gray whale’s annual feeding habitat off the coast of Sakhalin Island, and calls for the creation of the Sakhalin Marine Federal Wildlife Reserve.

“The Western gray whale population is at great risk of extinction,” said Aleksey Knizhnikov, Oil & Gas Environmental Policy Officer, WWF-Russia. “It is imperative that all oil companies operating in its feeding area acknowledge the effects of their operations on the whales, which have just arrived to feed for the summer, and immediately halt all damaging industrial activities until the whales have left.”

There are only about 130 Western gray whales remaining, including just 25 breeding females. These whales feed only in the summer and autumn, and their primary feeding area lies in and adjacent to Exxon’s Sakhalin-1 project in the Piltun Bay area.

The Western gray whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), composed of 11 prominent international scientists, met in April with representatives from Shell and Sakhalin Energy, as well as WWF and Pacific Environment to discuss how oil and gas development is affecting the whales’ main annual feeding area off the Sakhalin Island. The WGWAP reiterated their urgent plea for a moratorium on industrial activities carried out by oil and gas companies that are expected to disturb Western gray whales in and near their primary summer/autumn feeding season (July through October).

Scientists on the panel have called for the moratorium following a large decrease in the number of whales in their annual feeding area near the shore during a period of loud industrial activity in the summer of 2008, including a seismic survey. This is significant because if the whales are displaced from this primary annual feeding area, they may have less success surviving and reproducing.

“Noise from oil and gas development is displacing the whales from their main annual feeding area,” said Leigh Henry, Program Officer, WWF. “Any disturbances or additional stresses on the Western Gray Whale could push the already critically endangered population closer toward extinction.”

Sakhalin II project sponsors, including Shell, Gazprom, and other companies heeded scientists’ warnings and postponed the seismic surveying they had planned for 2009. However, Exxon, Rosneft, and others have so far refused to amend their summer 2009 construction and extraction plans in and around Piltun Bay.

“Immediate action is needed,” says Doug Norlen, Policy Director for Pacific Environment. “Over 50,000 people have joined scientists in calling on these companies to stop their potentially destructive activities at Sakhalin Island and every single one of these people will be watching to see if these companies do the right thing for the Western Gray Whale.”

Baltic Sea ports overlook cruise ship waste

2009-07-16

Stockholm, Sweden – Large amounts of sewage from cruise ships likely are being dumped into the Baltic Sea because major ports in the region have failed to upgrade their facilities to dispose of the waste.

Only three of more than 20 cruise ship ports around the Baltic – Helsinki, Stockholm, and Visby – have adequate facilities to handle waste from cruise ships when they dock, even though they bring in millions of euros from tourism.

In a letter sent today, the WWF Baltic Ecoregion Action Programme urges those ports to take action and upgrade their facilities. The 12 most visited cruise ports in the Baltic region are: Gdynia, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Klaipeda, Kiel, Copenhagen, Riga, Rostock, Stockholm, Saint Petersburg, Tallinn and Visby.

“We find it unfair that so many ports are profiting from cruise line tourism but are not prepared to take care of their waste,” said Pauli Merriman, Director of the WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme. “We believe that some of these profits should be used to make needed upgrades to their facilities as it should be the responsibility of any country or city that wants to receive these ships, to offer adequate sewage reception facilities“,

WWF initially contacted ferry lines and cruise ship companies sailing in the Baltic Sea two years ago, asking for a voluntary ban on waste water discharge. That same year, most of the ferry lines responded positively.

In May, many cruise lines, through their umbrella organization, the European Cruise Council (ECC), made a voluntary commitment to stop dumping their waste water in the Baltic Sea “when certain conditions are met”. These conditions included “adequate port reception facilities which operate under a ‘no special fee’ agreement”.

“We are happy that the cruise lines have made this commitment and we believe it is now up to the ports to do their part,” said Anita Mäkinen, Head of Marine Program at WWF Finland. “It’s a scandal if we let this pollution continue.”

WWF also is working within the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to push for stronger regulations, which currently allow the discharge of ship waste to international waters. In a paper submitted this week to the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee, WWF urges the IMO to strengthen its regulations regarding the discharge of ship waste in eutrophied semi-closed or closed waters, such as the Baltic.

The Baltic Sea will receive more than 350 cruise ship visits with more than 2,100 port calls this year and the industry is growing by an estimated 13 percent per year.

The waste-water produced in these vessels is estimated to contain 74 tons of nitrogen and 18 tons of phosphorus, substances that add to eutrophication. In addition to excess nutrients, the waste water also contains bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, as well as heavy metals.

Kamchatka geyser’s sudden eruption a peculiar challenge for scientists

2009-07-07

Kamchatka, Russia – The sudden eruption of a new geyser in Russia’s Far East has taken scientists by surprise, underlining the distinctiveness of the remote but threatened Kamchatka peninsula.

The new geyser – dubbed “Prikolny” or “Peculiar” in English – has appeared in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, in Uzon Caldera, 14 kms away from the world-renowned Valley of Geysers.

A reserve ranger was the first person to see the geyser – a column of boiling liquid shooting three meters high. A short while later, one of the observers said “Prikolny!” leading to the geyser’s naming, which will now appear on maps of the region.

Research on the geyser’s sudden appearance is ongoing, although scientists already have presented theories on its origin, including that serious changes affecting the entire Uzon thermal field caused its appearance, or that it was created from rising water levels in the field’s spring.

“Some theorize that Prikolny Geyser evolved from a pulsating hot spring,” said Valery Droznin, a senior researcher in Kronotsky Nature Reserve. “The process of a spring transforming to a geyser is not unknown to science.”

Currently, scientists are measuring the temperature of the water, the periodicity of its cycle, its diameter, the depth of its underground structure and its exact geographical position to better understand the Prikolny Geyser.

“The new geyser functions near one of the reserve’s ranger stations and can be easily viewed from a tourist boardwalk,” said Tikhon Shpilenok, Director of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve. “The geyser erupts every 6 to 20 minutes, so is very convenient for observations.”

A geyser is a hot spring characterized by intermittent discharges of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapor phase (steam), and are generally found in volcanic areas. Geyser activity is marked by periodical repetitions of phases of rest, water ejection, erupting of a water-steam mixture, and ending in calm exhalation until ceasing entirely.

The Prikolny Geyser is unique because it uses the same water over and over again. Water from the five meter fountain gets back into the funnel and then it "spits out" the same water again.

In Kamchatka, a large geyser field – the only in Eurasia – was discovered in 1941 in the Geyser River valley (Valley of the Geysers) near Kikhpinich volcano. Altogether Kamchatka had 100 geysers (20 of them of significant size) before a mudslide covered them in June 2007.

There are four large geysers fields in the world: in Iceland, New Zealand, the US and Kamchatka. The last time a new geyser appeared on Kamchatka was in the 1960s, and in the United States’ Yellowstone National Park in the early 20th century.

WWF has worked in Kamchatka for years in efforts to preserve the region’s unique volcanoes and thermal springs, which also houses a large population of polar bears. Kamchatka’s rich natural resources face threats from poaching, destructive tourism, and potential oil developments.

“In June 2007, a mudslide wiped out half of Russia’s geysers in the Valley of the Geysers, but in June of this year a new miracle has appeared in another part of the reserve,” said WWF’s Alexandra Filatkina. “We have the rare opportunity to witness these natural processes as they become history.

Melting arctic sea ice makes treacherous North-East Passage transit a breeze

2009-06-26

In an attempt to highlight rapidly melting summer sea-ice in the Arctic, an expedition will attempt to sail through the Northeast Passage of the Russian Arctic in a single summer, a trip that took over two years to complete when first attempted in 1839.

The expedition, led by the Swedish/Norwegian polar explorer Ola Skinnarmo will receive assistance from WWF in documenting the incredible pace of change in the region.

“The Arctic is melting fast. The summer sea ice extent has decreased by 40 percent since the 70s and may be completely gone within a generation,” says Neil Hamilton, director for the WWF International’s Arctic Programme.

“WWF supports the expedition to document the state of the environment and highlight impacts of climate change on the arctic ecosystems, and importantly to communicate the need for urgent action to address greenhouse gas emissions at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.”

Hamilton will join the first half of the expedition, while WWF’s polar bear coordinator Geoff York will participate in the latter half.

The famous Swedish/Finnish explorer Nordenskiöld first completed the voyage some 130 years ago, as he voyaged from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through the North-East Passage.

At that time his ship was stuck in the ice for 10 months, but due to climate change, it is now possible to challenge the passage in one summer in a sailboat, without the support of an icebreaker.

“The arctic marine ecosystem depends on the ice for its survival. Polar bears need the ice to be able to hunt their primary food, seals. The seals in turn need the ice to give birth to their pups and the ice supports their primary prey - Arctic cod,” says York.

“Decreasing sea ice in the Arctic will cause hardship throughout the arctic food web - including impacts to arctic peoples, destabilizing a system that is already sensitive due to the comparatively low number of species.”

Both Neil Hamilton and Geoff York will be blogging and documenting the trip through photos and film.

The sights of this little-visited part of the world will be made accessible through photographs and blogs sent directly from the boat.

Russia is the weakest link of climate change talks - WWF

2009-06-25

Russia’s announcement to reduce its emissions by 10 to 15 percent by 2020 is disappointing and sets a bad example for other countries who are trying to negotiate a global deal to save the world from dangerous climate change.

On June 19, President Dmitry Medvedev announced a 10 to 15 percent emissions reduction by 2020. With a base year of 1990, where emissions were much higher than today, this really means that the country’s emissions can actually increase by 2 to 2.5 percent per year between now and 2020.

“Russia’s announcement is very disappointing. Today we can officially say that Russia is the weakest link of climate change negotiations,” said Kim Carstensen, the leader of WWF’s Global Climate Initiative.

Russian greenhouse gas emissions have been decreasing constantly since the early 90s, reaching a minimum in 1998 (60 percent from 1990 level).

From 1999 to 2008 – with economic growth of 6 to 7 percent a year – emissions increased by about 1 percent a year. In 2007, they made up 66 percent of what Russia emitted in 1990. Going up to 85 to 90 percent of 1990 levels by 2020 – where Russia would get with a target as announced by President Medvedev – means an annual increase in emissions by 2 to 2.5 percent between now and 2020 – a significant acceleration in emission growth at a time when the world ought to talk about emission reductions.

“What Russia has announced means that it does not have to do anything about climate change between now and 2020. That’s worse than anyone else,” Carstensen said.

Russia has been delaying the announcement of its mid-term emissions target and was the last of the developed countries’ bloc to declare how much it wanted to reduce.

Scientists say that preventing the world from dangerous levels of overheating and the consequent catastrophic impacts, industrialized countries as a whole need to reduce the emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020 compared with levels in 1990.

Scientists find whales more endangered in Exxon, BP and Rosneft oil areas

2009-06-11

Gland, Switzerland – Oil and gas exploration by energy giants Exxon, BP and Rosneft is seriously threatening one of the world’s most critically endangered whales, according to a panel of top scientists in a new report.

The Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), composed of 11 scientists and representatives from Shell and Sakahlin Energy, met in April to discuss how oil and gas development affect the whales’ main annual feeding area off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia.

The scientists found that in 2008 there was a large decrease in the number of whales in their annual feeding area near the shore during a period of loud industrial activity, including a seismic survey. This is significant because if the whales are displaced from this primary annual feeding area, they will have less success reproducing.

“Western gray whale cows with their calves feed near the shore, but the industrial noise resulting from oil and gas development activities is pushing them out of the area,” Doug Norlen from Pacific Environment. “Any disturbance of these critically endangered whales’ behavior is particularly concerning as there are only 130 of them left."

However, Exxon, BP and Rosneft have refused to address their threats to the Western Gray Whale and these oil giants plan to carry out further activities in 2009 including seismic testing, construction and other loud activities that could displace whales from their annual feeding area.

“The new information presented at this meeting has heightened rather than diminished the Panel’s concern that whale distribution and behaviour may have been seriously affected by industrial activities – on land and offshore - in 2008,” according to the panel’s report.

Meanwhile, 35,000 people from across the world have signed on to a petition calling on five major oil companies including Exxon, BP and Rosneft to postpone any new development work in the vicinity of the Western Gray Whale feeding area this summer, and to work with experts find adequate measures to protect the critically endangered population.

WWF is sending the petitions to oil companies this week, urging them to act immediately as the gray whales will start to arrive at their summer feeding area near Sakhalin in a couple of weeks.

“Tens of thousands of people are calling on Exxon, BP and Rosneft to immediately halt their potentially destructive activities at Sakhalin Island this summer, and these companies can either choose to act responsibly or stay their course and help push the western gray whale further toward extinction,” said Aleksey Knizhnikov, WWF Russia.

The panel reiterated it call for a moratorium on all development activities in the area this summer. Because of those concerns, Sakhalin Energy - a partnership between Shell, Gasprom and other sharholders – agreed in April to cancel their proposed 2009 seismic activities in the whales’ feeding area.

The Western Gray Whale is one of the world’s most endangered whales, with only 25-30 breeding females remaining.

Oil and gas consortium will suspend seismic activities to protect gray whales

2009-04-24

Geneva, Switzerland – A major oil and gas consortium has agreed to suspend planned seismic testing off Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, a crucial feeding area for the critically endangered Western Gray whale.

The decision followed a recommendation today by a major international scientific panel to halt further oil and gas development in and around the feeding area of the Western Gray Whale.

During a meeting of the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), Sakhalin Energy - a partnership between Shell, Gasprom and other shareholders - agreed to cancel its proposed 2009 seismic activities, despite having already put plans in place for the work.

The WGWAP, convened by the IUCN and comprising 11 eminent scientists, met this week with representatives of Shell, Sakhalin Energy, Russian government officials, project lenders and environmental NGOs to review the most recent science on the whales.

The Western Gray Whale is one of the world’s most endangered whales, with only 25 breeding females remaining. The whale feeds only in the summer, and its crucial primary feeding area is offshore Piltun Bay at the north eastern part of Sakhalin shelf.

New science presented during this week’s meeting revealed a significant decline in sightings and behaviour changes of the whales in their primary feeding area near Piltun Bay. Oil and gas exploration activities in the area appear to have displaced the whales to deeper areas offshore, making it more difficult for whale calves to feed.

Since the Western Gray Whale only feeds in the summertime, such displacement could be devastating.

However, BP, Exxon, Rosneft have ignored repeated calls to cooperate with the panel, which again today called on those companies to urgently follow the example of Sakhalin Energy.

“WWF lauds the responsible and forward looking approach taken by Sakhalin Energy in heeding this call from the panel,” said Aleksey Knizhnikov from WWF-Russia. “The results seen today demonstrate that collaborative science based initiatives like this panel process can succeed – even on issues as complex as oil and gas development”.

“However other major operators in the area – including major international giants BP and Exxon - have completely ignored pleas to join the panel, disregarded advice on how to mitigate the impacts of their activities, and refused to provide even basic information on what their activities are in the region.”

“Today’s decision is a victory for the Western Gray Whales, but the struggle continues. BP, Exxon and Rosneft must abandon their reckless plans that threaten the western gray whales with extinction” said Doug Norlen, from Pacific Environment, an international NGO that has monitored Sakhalin oil and gas projects for over a decade.

Amur tigers threatened by economic crisis

2009-04-24

Primorye, Russia – Loggers in Russia’s Far East increasingly are cutting down Korean cedar pine, raising concerns that the endangered Amur tiger could lose critical habitat and its prey could lose a major food source.

Under pressure from the ongoing economic crisis, loggers are turning to the more lucrative Korean cedar pine (Pinus korajensis) as commodity prices for other types of wood fall, which in turn has led to large-scale illegal logging operations in the Ussuriiskaya taiga in Primorye, according to WWF-Russia.

“Chinese importers of the Far Eastern wood have sharply dropped prices and demand for oak and ash wood as an answer to the world crisis,” said Denis Smirnov, head of the forest program at WWF-Russia’s Amur branch. “These species were the most desired ones for poachers before, but the demand was reduced after export customs duties for these species of timber had been increased from Feb. 1.”

“At the same time, Korean pine wood is still highly demanded both in domestic and international markets and is sold at rather high prices,” Smirnov said.

Russia’s Far East Korean cedar pine forests were heavily logged during the second half of the 20th century, particularly in the late 1990s, which resulted in a 50 percent reduction and left only around 2.88 million hectares of the forests today.

Although P. koraiensis is not nationally protected in Russia, its logging is either prohibited or regulated in certain provinces of Russia and China. However, loggers typically exploit loopholes in regional regulations to launder illegally logged wood, often taking advantage of lax customs controls or by under-declaring the volume of legal exports.

“This rampant and mindless logging is shocking and disturbs the habitat and prey base of some of the rarest animals in the world including the Amur tiger and Amur leopard,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, Director of the Species Programme for WWF-International.

In the Amur region, tiger conservation hinges on protecting the Korean cedar pine. Pine nuts from the tree represent an integral food source for the Amur tiger’s prey, such as wild boars. Korean pine-broadleaved forests also provide habitats for the Far Eastern leopard, Asiatic and brown bears, sika deers and many other species. These pine nuts are also sold internationally, benefiting local communities as well.

Awareness of the recently increased demand for Korean cedar pine surfaced after WWF staff, with members of Russia’s Internal Affairs Department, the Primorskii Province Forestry Department and Rosselkhoznadzor -- the Federal Service of Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Supervision – raided a wood exporter platform in January in the city of Dalnerechensk.

They found about 10 to 15,000 cubic meters of Korean cedar pine originating from illegal logging sites in Dalnerechenskii, Krasnoarmeiskii and Lesozavodskii districts in central and northern Primorye.

Two largest of logging sites, with total volume exceeding 3,000 cubic meters, were found close to the village of Malinovo in an area leased by one of the biggest logging companies in Primorye – JSC “Dalnerechenskles,” which is part of the “Dallesprom” group.

Before enforcement of a new Russian Forest Code in 2007, Korean pine held a special status as a species protected from commercial use, which contributed to its conservation. Korean pine has now lost its protective status and increased demand for Korean pine timber along with the complete inaction of regulators and forest control services to address the need for a new special status for the Korean pine have made it an easy target for illegal logging.

The only way to stop the complete destruction of the Far Eastern Korean pine forests is to impose a moratorium on its harvesting, according to WWF. The conservation organization asks that provincial and federal authorities come up with a proposal to urgently add Korean pine into the list of species forbidden to harvest, and to inform importing countries accordingly.

The Amur tiger, which can weigh up to 300 kg and measure around three metres from its nose to the tip of its tail, has come back from the brink of extinction to its highest population for at least 100 years. Only about 40 were alive in 1950 but nowadays there are around 450, one of the strongest tiger populations in the world.

Oil majors ignore pleas to help protect most endangered whales

2009-04-20

Gland, Switzerland - BP and Exxon continue to ignore requests to join consultations with an international scientific panel to work to protect the world’s most endangered whales, threatened by oil and gas development around Sakhalin island in Far East Russia.

The Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), along with 11 prominent international scientists, has been in consultation with Shell and Gazprom subsidiary Sakhalin Energy over developments that may impact upon gray whales.

However, BP, Exxon and Rosneft, another Russian petroleum giant, did not respond to requests to participate.

“The continuing refusal of BP, Exxon and Rosneft to even consider joining other parties on the gray whale advisory panel is hampering conservation efforts and the flow of information--with potentially disastrous consequences for the whales,” said Dr Susan Lieberman, WWF International Species Director.

“On the one hand, we have Shell and Gazprom at least looking at their plans to see if impacts on whales can be reduced and on the other hand we have BP, Exxon and Rosneft not even telling scientists what their plans are.”

The panel, convened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in February called for a moratorium on oil and gas development after “exceptionally low” counts for North Western Pacific (Russian) gray whales in a crucial feeding zone.

Even before the latest counts raised alarm bells, a total of only about 130 Russian gray whales and just 25 breeding females were thought to remain, with the species listed as critically endangered both in Russia and on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.

The listing in Russia imposes obligations for the special protection of such species and their habitats by minimizing activities that could lead to population decline or habitat destruction.

The WGWAP said in its report published in February that “This scarcity (of gray whales) may have been related to underwater noise produced during onshore pile driving activities undertaken by Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL) on the northern Piltun barrier split adjacent to the Odoptu block”.

The Panel had previously noted in a letter to Prime Minister Putin that they “have been hampered by the unwillingness of ENL to allow open consideration of gray whale data collected under its partnership arrangement with Sakhalin Energy.”
Last year also saw the Elvary joint venture between Rosneft & BP conducting seismic surveys immediately to the north of the whale feeding area. The company chose to ignore recommendations from the panel, failing to conduct any real "noise monitoring" of their activities.

Yet another call for BP, Exxon and Rosneft to cooperate with the advisory panel is expected tomorrow, when the panel meets in Geneva to review the latest data on the whales.

A proposal to create a Sakhalin Marine Federal Wildlife Reserve for key gray whale habitat along the Piltun Spit is currently under review by Russian authorities, with WWF-Russia last year lodging the required environmental and economic justifications, and this year conducting public consultations.

The reserve would also protect Piltun Bay’s shallow waters critical not just to the nutrition of gray whales but also to sustaining rich fishing grounds. Adjacent coastal areas are important for migratory birds and are in the “shadow list” of the Ramsar international convention on wetlands.

However, oil and gas development and associated shipping and pipeline infrastructure is already threatening to fragment the proposed reserve. The environmental policies proposed by Sakhalin project development partners have been judged inadequate by the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

A number of NGOs including WWF-Russia last month wrote to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, requesting a moratorium on all oil and gas project construction and surveying activities in the area that may negatively impact the dwindling gray whale population until a committee has investigated the scale of the impacts on the whales.

Polar bears and penguins 'just tip of climate change iceberg'

2009-04-06

New evidence from the North and South Poles indicates that time is running out for the world’s leaders to respond to climate change.

As ministers from Arctic Council and Antarctic Treaty states hold their first ever joint meeting in Washington on April 6 celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, WWF is challenging the ministers to mark the occasion by affirming their commitment to climate change action.

The conservation organisation provided the ministers with compelling recent evidence from both the north and south poles that clearly demonstrates global temperature increases must be kept well under two degrees Celsius.

“A global average temperature rise of 2 degrees is clearly too much for the poles,” says Rob Nicoll, Manager of WWF’s Antarctic and Southern Oceans Initiative.

“Scientists are already unpleasantly surprised at how quickly the impacts of warming such as sea ice loss are showing up in the polar regions, exceeding recent predictions.”

Global average warming due to climate change since the late 1800s is showing severe impacts at less than one degree, as the Arctic is warming at about twice the global average and parts of the Antarctic are also outstripping the global average.

The polar regions themselves have profound and not yet fully understood impacts on climate globally, and there are fears that polar tipping points could trigger abrupt change around the world.

A forthcoming report on Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is expected to up previous estimates on Antarctica’s expected substantial contributions to sea level rises.

Marine food chains of global significance are also under threat from warming in the Antarctic. “Ice shelves the size of small countries are crumbling away and the latest evidence from the Antarctic is showing that the effects of global warming there are increasing in magnitude,” said Mr Nicoll.

“The penguins may feel it first, but the rest of us won’t be far behind.”

The warming of the Antarctic is not yet as acute as the Arctic, but it is yet a further indication that the meltdown of our polar caps continues apace. If world leaders fail to act on this information the effects will be calamitous.

“The world is caught in a polar pincer movement,” said Neil Hamilton, Director of WWF International’s Arctic Programme.

“What is happening at the poles will control the world’s climate. If we do not stop the poles from melting, the whole world will feel it, in the form of runaway warming and rising waters.”

Right now the Catlin Arctic Survey expedition is sampling the thickness of Arctic sea ice. The expedition, partly sponsored by WWF, is likely to confirm scientists’ fears that the older, thicker ice is disappearing. This has led them to predict that the summer sea ice could disappear within a generation, leading to catastrophic consequences for the entire ecosystem, everything from single celled animals to whales.

“The Ministers meeting today in Washington have a special responsibility to the world,” said Mr Hamilton.

“They are the custodians of the poles, and this would be an opportunity for them to show the world that they are ready to step up and shoulder their responsibility to keep the poles frozen, by committing to taking urgent and effective action at the Copenhagen climate meeting this December.”

Please note: WWF will hold a briefing for Washington reporters immediately outside the State Department once the ministerial is over. There will also be two teleconference briefings for reporters outside Washington, details of these are on a separate media advisory. Reporters who have not received the advisory can contact the people listed below.

For further information:

Joe Pouliot, Director of Climate and Policy Communications, WWF US
Cell: 202-476-9919
Email: joe.pouliot@wwfus.org

Clive Tesar, Head of Communications, WWF International Arctic Programme
Tel: (+1) 613-232-2535
Mobile: (+1) 613-883-3110
Email: ctesar@wwf.no

Dr. Neil T. M. Hamilton, Director, WWF International Arctic Programme.
Mobile +47 9300 5660
Email: Nhamilton@wwf.no

Rob Nicoll, Manager, WWF Antarctic and Southern Oceans Initiative
Mobile: +61438938764
Email: rnicoll@wwf.org.au

More background is available at panda.org/arctic.

Tracking the elusive Amur tiger by foot, ski, and snowmobile

2009-03-09

Researchers in the Russian Far East are tracking the elusive Amur tiger by foot, ski, and snowmobile this month to better understand the endangered species.

WWF-Russia, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Science are monitoring the rare Amur tiger in its habitats in Russia, in the remote Primorskii and Khabarovskii Provinces.

The Amur tiger, which can weigh up to 300 kg and measure around three metres from its nose to the tip of its tail, has come back from the brink of extinction to its highest population for at least 100 years. Only about 40 were alive in 1950 but nowadays there are around 450, one of the strongest tiger populations in the world.

This year’s monitoring area will cover 23,500 square kms with 16 search plots -- that cover one tenth part of tiger’s habitat -- in the Khabarovskii and Primorskii Provinces. A total of 6,000 km of transects also will be covered, where researchers will map all animal tracks registered on the plots.

For each search plot, researchers will coordinate experienced wildlife managers and trappers from local hunting clubs, who will conduct three to four day overnight searches of each plot, spending their evenings in small wooden hunting lodges in the forest. They will use snowmobiles to cross transects along river valleys in the region, and don specially-designed wide hunting skis to climb through hills and passes during the searches.

As part of the monitoring, scientists will follow the tigers to collect information on the sex and age characteristics of tiger populations, as well as behavioural habits, tiger mortality, and a range of other scientific data.

“Monitoring has been conducted for 12 years already and has provided information for analysis of tiger number dynamics and characteristics of its distribution and reproduction from year to year. Another important goal of the research program is controlling large wild ungulates’ status as well as changes in tiger habitats quality and its food sources,” said Pavel Fomenko, biodiversity conservation coordinator at WWF-Russia, Amur branch, and one of the initiators and participants of the annual tiger monitoring.

WWF Russia has funded monitoring activities to the tune of 12,000 euros on six plots located in WWF’s model areas with two of them located in Ussuriiskii and Lazovskii Nature Reserves. The Russian Academy of Science has provided 22,000 euros, or more than half of the funds needed for this month’s monitoring.

“For the first time this year, monitoring of the Amur tiger number has been covered largely by the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Science. This is a good sign but it would be better to receive funding from Russian Ministry of Nature and Ecology and Federal Service of Natural Recourses Exploitation that are both responsible for tiger in Russia,” Pomenko said.

“Funds needed for tiger research should be allocated in the budget of a special Program on tiger conservation in Russia,” Pomenko added.

Results of the field research will be completed in April and a special report will be prepared and forwarded to the governmental agencies responsible for tiger conservation in Russia. WWF-Russia, active in efforts to protect the Amur tiger for many years, awaits elaboration of a new strategy for tiger conservation in Russia and hopes that this rare predator will receive not only governmental status of protection but also funding for its conservation.

Outrage as protected forests go under the hammer in Russia

2009-02-25

Vladivostok, Russia - Protected forest in Russia including a “maternity hospital” for the Amur tiger and unique Korean pine stands have been sold for logging in controversial circumstances and in the face of protests by WWF-Russia and the local population.

Last week the Forestry Agency of Primorskii Province in south-eastern Russia auctioned off more than 400 forest plots, covering four wildlife refuges and five Korean pine nut harvesting zones.

The auction, which for unknown reasons was held two days before the scheduled date, ignored new regulations on three regional and one federal wildlife refuge.

Also ignored were long standing appeals by local people asking to lease two of the pine nut harvesting zones to collect nuts, medical and edible plants and conduct responsible hunting, appeals which had the support of WWF and Ministry of Naturу Resources and Ecology of Russia.

“Unfortunately we cannot prevent tending cutting in protective forests by simply pointing to the the breaches of the law,” said Denis Smirnov, forest program coordinator, WWF Russia Amur branch. “Tending of forest in Primorye has been long a loophole for conducting large-scale illegal cutting.”

Pavel Sulyandziga, first vice-president of the Association of Indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of Russia, said: “In the village of Krasnyi Yar local aboriginal tribes cannot get permission to cut trees for construction of houses or for firewood.

“This is at a time when the Korean pine nut harvesting zone is being prescribed for logging. This zone belongs to us but over 15 years we have not been able to get approval to establish the territory for traditional nature use. The auction demonstrates a cynical attitude of authorities to the issues of aboriginal people.”

The areas sold include areas in the Chyornye Skaly refuge that are habitat for goral – small hoofed animals with a goat-like appearance that are enlisted in the Russian Red data book. The Amur “maternity hospital” is in the Tayozhnyi refuge, the Korean pine stands in five Korean pine nut harvesting zones including one in the Bikin River.

The federal wildlife refuge Leopardovyi – a key habitat for the Amur leopard - just established in October 2008, was withdrawn from sale following an official demand from Yurii Trutnev, Russia’s Minister of Nature Resources and Ecology, to Sergei Darkin, Governor of Primorskii Province.

As in 2008, a contract for forest protection, maintenance, restoration and tending cutting in 12 Primorye forestries will be signed in 2009, with the only claimant being the governmental organization Primorskii Forestry Enterprise. WWF-Russia alleges that the enterprise and its contractors have conducted illegal logging disguised as tending cutting.

“Having taken the decision to sell plots of protected forest to the Primorskii Forestry Enterprise, the Forestry Agency of Primorskii Province has turned a blind eye to the enterprise’s participation in illegal logging,” said Smirnov. “Probably the Forestry Agency has weighty reasons to once again give a green light to dishonest forest users.”

WWF-Russia is asking law enforcement bodies to recognize as invalid the decision of the Forestry Agency to place orders for forest protection, maintenance, restoration and tending cutting with the Primorskii Forestry Enterprise in 2009.

“We predict this sale will precipitate a new round of illegal logging in Primorye and devastate areas important to wildlife and local indigenous people,” said Smirnov.

Putin puts writing on 'walls of death' in Russia

2009-02-17

Moscow, Russia - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed outlawing fishing with drift nets, otherwise known as “walls of death”, following a lengthy campaign by fishermen and politicians in Kamchatka as well as local organizations including WWF-Russia.

Drift nets are used to catch fish migrating in open sea. Each net can be several kilometres long and their use results in a large bycatch of sharks, turtles, seabirds and marine mammals which are usually thrown back dead into the ocean.

Large-scale ocean drift netting was banned by the UN in international waters in 2002 and near-shore drift netting is carefully regulated in US and EU waters. In the Russian Far East two kinds of ocean drift net fishing exist: Japanese, in accordance with the bilateral agreement with Russia, and the so-called “scientific” drift netting. Both are principally aimed at the highly prized sockeye salmon and it is estimated that 60,000 tons of other less valuable salmon are discarded annually.

Over the past three months WWF-Russia, together with the Kamchatka coalition “Save the Salmon Together”, has collected signatures in support of a ban on drift net fishing. The coalition, supported by WWF, unites local NGOs, fishermen and representatives of the Kamchatka legislative and executive authorities.

The Kamchatka coastal fishermen, including indigenous people, have been fighting for several years for a ban on drift net fishing. Now, according to the press service of the Kamchatka Parliament (Duma), Prime Minister Putin has given orders for documents to be prepared on the complete ban of drift nets in Russian waters.

“We welcome this proposal because we consider ocean drift netting to be environmentally dangerous and there are better ways of catching fish,” said Konstantin Zgurovsky, Head of WWF-Russia Marine Programme.

It is not for nothing that drift nets are called walls of death. Pacific salmon and marine mammals including whales, dolphins, seabirds and even threatened species such as the Short-tailed Albatross get caught in the nets.

Another consequence of drift net fishing is that the nets become a barrier for fish on their way from the ocean to the rivers to spawn, thus depriving local fishermen of their potential catch.

“This month in Kamchatka there will be a public hearing on the drift net ban and there are some commercial interests of people who want to continue using the drift net, so the struggle is not over,” said Zgurovsky.

Putin petitioned over Siberian power station

2009-02-11

Moscow, Russia - A petition jointly organised by WWF-Russia and signed by more than 8,000 people was handed in to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin this week against the construction of a hydro-electric power station in Siberia that would threaten the indigenous population as well as the local ecosystem.

The construction project, in the Evenk municipal district, could drive as many as 2,000 Evenki out of their homes and deer-herding pasture lands and, according to the evaluation data, one million hectares of unique larch forest would be flooded.

These forests are almost unaffected by human agricultural activity and so are very important for biological diversity conservation and ecological balance maintenance, not only in Russia but for the whole planet. They play a crucial role in carbon balance maintenance and global climate change control.

The petition was handed in by WWF-Russia, Greenpeace-Russia, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North as well as other non-governmental organizations. In 1988 the Soviet Union cancelled plans to construct a giant dam at the same site after Mikhail Gorbachev questioned the policy of building giant hydro-power stations.

“The building of the Turukhansk (now Evenk) Hydropower Station was rejected at the end of the 80s because of the results of serious environmental and economic examinations,” said Mikhail Kreindlin of Greenpeace-Russia. “The revival of this project will mean a return to the most dreadful times in the ex-USSR administrative command system.”

Such a large hydro-technical construction could cause irreversible changes to the environment of an area much greater than the construction zone itself. One of the three radioactive underground nuclear explosion areas in the flood plain of Tunguska would certainly be flooded as a result of the construction.

Earth Hour 2009 setting new records in climate concern

2009-02-05

Already twice the participating countries of Earth Hour 2008
Archbishop Desmond Tutu leads call for action on climate change
Obama artist Shepard Fairey likens flicking switch to climate vote

With eight weeks still to go, citizens, businesses and public authorities in 375 cities across 74 countries have already committed to turning off their lights for one hour at 8.30pm on 28 March in a graphic show of support for decisive action on climate change.

The list of cities confirming their participation in Earth Hour 2009 includes 37 national capitals and some of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki.

The WWF-sponsored event continues to show amazing momentum, from being a Sydney, Australia awareness-raising event in 2007, to the astounding 371 cities across 35 countries total last year. As participation for Earth Hour 2009 storms past this level of municipal involvement in more than twice the number of countries, discussions are under way or nearing completion in hundreds of other cities.

WWF Director General, Mr James Leape, said he is optimistic about the campaign’s potential to drive key decision making on the issue of climate change.

“With hundreds more cities expected to sign up to switch off in the coming months, Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change,” he said.

Along with the great metropolises of the world, Earth Hour 2009 will also see the lights go out on some of the most recognised landmarks on the planet, including Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, Sydney Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the world’s tallest constructed building Taipei 101.

A host of high profile ambassadors across the world have also lent their support to the campaign, most notably Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett.

Shepard Fairey, the artist noted for his graphic portrayals of Barack Obama during the recent US Presidential Election, has likened flicking the switch to casting a vote on climate change in artwork for the Earth Hour campaign.

Earth Hour Executive Director, Mr Andy Ridley, said the 2009 campaign as an opportunity for the people of the world to cast their vote on this important global issue.

"Earth Hour by its very nature is the essence of grassroots action. This is the opportunity for individuals, from all corners of the globe to unite in a single voice and demand action on climate change”, said Mr Ridley.

2009 is a critical year for action on climate change, with the world’s leaders due to meet at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal to supersede the Kyoto Protocol.