WWF - Climate change publications, factsheets & other resources

NGO Copenhagen Treaty support documents

2009-11-16

Some voices now say that we have run out of time for a comprehensive climate change deal in Copenhagen; that we should only focus on some of the early action and implementation issues and tackle the politically difficult issues later; that a scientifically-based, comprehensive and ratifiable outcome is not feasible at this point in time; or not necessary.

Our response is: we do not need more time, it is not impossible, what we need is the political will to take the hard, ambitious decisions to reach agreement on a comprehensive and legally binding deal in Copenhagen, in December 2009.

Biodiversity Briefing
In version 1.0 of the Copenhagen Climate Treaty consideration of biodiversity and ecosystems is implicit in the carbon budget and the related targets. More explicitly, biodiversity and ecosystems are referred to in the shared vision, adaptation and reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation sections.

Shipping and Aviation Briefing
This paper describes a change in the approach to international bunker emissions from that taken in Treaty Version 1.0.

ZCAPs Briefing
Version 1.0 of the Treaty proposed that all developed countries, including newly industrialized countries (NICs), submit a Zero Carbon Action Plan (ZCAP) for their country to the proposed Copenhagen Climate Facility.

The Real Deal
A climate deal at Copenhagen is not impossible: we do not need more time, what we need is the political will to take the hard, ambitious decisions to reach agreement on a comprehensive and legally binding deal in Copenhagen, in December 2009.

This document demonstrates that all the core elements are on the table: it is a compilation of text put forth by Parties themselves, taken from the most recent non-papers. Text has been adjusted and edited where it is not ambitious enough, or where linkages are missing, and sorted into a coherent legal framework. In a few cases, it has been supplemented by paragraphs to address gaps in the current non-papers.

Communication Solutions for Low Carbon Cities

2009-11-13

Low Carbon ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Solutions is an umbrella term for the information technology field that can contribute to reductions of CO2 emissions. It includes any communication device or application, encompassing: mobile phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and m-health.

ICT is often simply referred to as “IT” and solutions that focus on the communication aspect can be called “low carbon communication solutions”.

Climate Solutions 2009

2009-10-19

Gland, Switzerland - The world has just five years to initiate a low carbon industrial revolution before runaway climate change becomes almost inevitable. But the good news is that it can be done and that the long term benefits will be immense, according to a new analysis from WWF.

A timetable for energy transformation

Climate Solutions 2 (CS2) is the first analysis to put timetables to the industrial transformations needed to limit global carbon emissions to below the 2˚C level scientists identify as presenting unacceptable risks of runaway climate change. It was prepared for WWF by Climate Risk, a company known for its work on climate change for global insurers and infrastructure providers.

The report found that beyond 2014 the feasible upper limits of industrial growth rates will make it impossible for market economies to meet the carbon targets required to keep global warming below 2°C. The report also found that market measures alone will not be enough to deliver emissions reductions on the scale required and that delays will increase the levels of direct intervention needed in the economy.

"Climate Solutions 2 tells us that we need to start making the change to a low-carbon economy today,” said Kim Carstensen, who leads WWF’s Global Climate Initiative. “The transformation will require sustained growth in clean and efficient industry in excess of 20 per cent a year over a period of decades.

The fastest industrial revolution in history

“The report's modelling shows how we can sustain these growth rates but also makes it clear this will be the fastest industrial revolution witnessed in our history.

"The findings of this report offer a pragmatic, sobering and urgent warning to world leaders that the window of opportunity to act on climate change is rapidly closing. The time for playing politics with our future is long past."

Needs to happen across all sectors

The way forward, according to the report, is simultaneous action on all greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors, with market measures backed with a full range of other policies including energy efficiency standards, feed-in tariffs for renewable energy and an end to “perverse “ subsidies for fossil fuel use.

According to the report, countries not pursuing all carbon abatement options in all sectors will tend to develop least-cost industries first and only develop other low carbon industries as they become affordable.

Computer modelling and historical records agree that sequential development of industries, which would result from undue reliance on a single mechanism such as a rising carbon price, will make it impossible to meet emissions targets on time. Industries that come online later will have to grow considerably faster because of the delays in start-up and will be hit harder by constraints on available resources, labour and expertise.

"This analysis shows that we can win the fight against runaway climate change by transforming all sectors of our economies concurrently, by creating stable long-term investment environments that don't seek immediate returns and through focusing on key industry sectors,” said Dr Stephan Singer, who leads WWF’s Global Energy Initiative.

The green industrial revolution is already under way

The industries that will lead the transformation are renewable energy generation, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency, sustainable low-carbon agriculture and sustainable forestry. With the clean industrial revolution under way and sustained by a strong policy framework all renewable energies become competitive with fossil fuels between 2013 and 2025 – a highly conservative estimate based on just 2% annual rises in fossil fuel prices and no price on carbon.

"The wind, the sea and the sun will cost the same today, tomorrow and into the future, unlike coal,” said Singer. “They can be the basis for a cleaner world where energy supplies are more secure and where we have the best chance of preventing dramatic climate changes that could endanger our cities, our food supplies and the natural environment that we have always depended on."

Climate Solutions 2 calculates that the extra investment worldwide is expected to be US$17 trillion up to 2050 – or less than 15% of the funds currently managed by institutional investors. The returns on that investment are expected to flow back into investor’s pockets from 2027 and in some cases even earlier.

For renewable technologies, the cumulative investment to 2050 worldwide will total US$7 trillion, but it is expected generate returns to investors of around six times as much.

"Climate Solutions 2 draws a line in the sand that we cannot cross,” said Castensen. “It reinforces that we have reached a pivotal moment in our history where the window of opportunity which remains to prevent runaway climate change will soon disappear entirely.

“Most immediately and importantly, the basis for this transformation has to be laid in Copenhagen in December with a fair, binding and effective new global deal on climate change.”

Sharing the effort under a global carbon budget

2009-10-07

In order to avoid dangerous climate change there is a growing consensus among now more than 120 countries that average global temperatures should not increase by more than 2°C over pre-industrial levels. This was affirmed in July of this year by the G8+5 nations, a group of countries encompassing all major emitters from the developed and developing world. This is a giant leap forward and provides large hope for success of the ongoing negotiations for a post-2012 treaty to be agreed in Copenhagen at the Climate Summit in December this year.

How can this objective be met? WWF and other members of the Climate Action Network (CAN) are strongly promoting a legally binding mid-term target of at least 40% emissions reductions by 2020 below 1990 levels for developed countries as a group, under common but differentiated responsibilities that require nations that are rich and have high per capita emissions to ‘pay back’ their atmospheric debt. Globally, all countries need to have reduced their total greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 in order for the world to stay below 2°C of warming.

The emissions trajectory between now and 2050 needs to be distributed in an equitable way with the appropriate distinctions made between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ and between ‘high’ and ‘low’ per capita emitters. To inform the international debate, WWF asked the leading energy research consultancy ECOFYS to elaborate on the practicalities and implications of some suggested methodologies already under discussion and some that are promising and should receive consideration.

Unabated climate change will cost much more socially, economically and environmentally. It will wreak havoc on global food security and freshwater availability, and its impacts will be disproportionately felt by poor and vulnerable communities. What WWF seeks to do with this paper is to kick-start a debate on how to globally share the carbon budget consistent with a trajectory to keep global warming below 2°C. This is not about burden sharing – this is about benefit sharing. Compared to unabated climate change, perceived economic ‘hardship’ is a luxury problem.

The Greater Mekong & Climate Change Report

2009-10-02

Bangkok, Thailand - The Greater Mekong region is already strongly affected by climate change and a lack of immediate action will come at great cost to the region, states a new WWF report released during the UN climate change talks in Bangkok.

Average daily temperatures across Southeast Asia have already increased between 0.5 and 1.5ºC over the last 50 years, and temperatures are predicted to rise between 2ºC to 4ºC in the Greater Mekong region by the end of the century. These changes have negatively affected the area, which is one of the most biologically diverse in the world.

“Greater regional cooperation and coordination among Mekong nations is necessary to best cope with the impacts of climate change,” said Geoffrey Blate, Climate Change Coordinator for the WWF Greater Mekong Programme. “Maintaining ecosystem health across borders and over larger areas is likely the most cost efficient and effective long term adaptation strategy available.”

Already sea level rise is threatening the region’s coastal communities and changes to the climate are stressing ecosystems. Land is being lost in coastal zones, glacial melting in the Himalayas may impact the region’s major river flows, and wetlands will either dry up or flood out.

Such climate changes exacerbate current regional pressures such as habitat loss, poorly planned infrastructure and unsustainable natural resource extraction, further degrading the ecosystems upon which the region’s social and economic future depends.

In its report, WWF recommends three key climate change adaptation strategies to reduce vulnerability across the region, which comprises Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and southwest provinces of China. These strategies include the protection of regional ecosystems, a reduction in non-climate stresses such as unsustainable infrastructure and over extraction of natural resources, and the implementation of a regional climate change adaptation agreement.

“There is a leadership opportunity here to champion what would be Asia’s first regional climate change adaptation agreement to help Greater Mekong nations prepare for the inevitable impacts of climate change,” said Blate.

But the report stresses that without decisive action on a global scale it would be very hard to avoid the worst impacts. It urges politicians to strike an ambitious and fair agreement on a climate treaty at upcoming talks in Copenhagen.

“Rich and developed nations must make deep emission cuts and commit to significant financial help to assist vulnerable regions such as the Greater Mekong,” said Kim Carstensen, Leader, WWF Global Climate Initiative.

For further information contact:

Nicole Frisina, Communications Officer, Greater Mekong Programme
Email: nicole.frisina@wwfgreatermekong.org
Mobile: +66807806035

Natalia Reiter, Media Officer, WWF International
Email: nreiter@wwfint.org
Mob: +41 79 873 8099

Ashwini Prabha, (English, Hindi, Fijian)
aprabha@wwfint.org
Mob: +41 79 874 1682

Notes to the Editor

• To download the full report go to: http://www.divshare.com/folder/609576-f98

• WWF is working with governments and industry of the six Greater Mekong nations to conserve and sustainably manage 600,000 km2 of transboundary forest and freshwater habitats in this unique and rapidly changing land.

• The Greater Mekong grouping of countries is committed to increasing cooperation for accelerated economic development as facilitated by the Asian Development Bank. Economic activity and associated investments in infrastructure development is concentrated along three "economic corridors" that crisscross the region and have the potential both to lift the region's rural populations out of poverty but also to exacerbate existing threats, ultimately depleting the natural resource base upon which long-term development of the region depends.

• Sixteen of WWF’s Global 200 ecoregions, critical landscapes of international biological importance, are found in the Greater Mekong. These landscapes are home to rare Asian elephants and Indochinese tigers, and one of only two populations of Javan rhino in the world. In addition to rare populations of Irrawaddy dolphins, the Mekong River basin is estimated to house at least 1,300 species of fish, including the Mekong giant catfish, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. By length, the Mekong is the richest waterway for biodiversity on the planet, fostering more species per unit area than the Amazon. Many of the species are endemic to the region.

40 of world's leading scientists call for 40% emission cut

2009-09-17

Brussels, Belgium - Today, 40 of the world's leading climate change scientists united in a call to global leaders, demanding greater action on climate change.

The statement, instigated by WWF and endorsed by recognised climate luminaries such as Sir John Houghton, former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), calls for industrialised countries to make a commitment at the UN Climate summit in Copenhagen, to cut carbon emissions by at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, in order to keep temperatures below 2°C and avoid dangerous climate change.

"To live up to its strong commitment to keep below 2°C, the EU will have to turn words into action and double its current reduction commitment from 20 to 40%." said Jason Anderson, Head of European Climate and Energy Policy at WWF.

"Industrialised nations need to prove that their pledge to keep the world below 2°C is not mere grandstanding. They must commit to global emissions cuts of at least 40 per cent by 2020; anything less will lead to a weak global agreement and leave the world wide open to the worst impacts of climate change."

Saleem Huq, one of the signatories, IPCC author and Senior Fellow in Climate Change at the International Institute for Environment and Development, said: "The scientific evidence now indicates that even a rise in temperature of two degrees will entail considerable hardships for poor and vulnerable people around the world, especially those living on low lying islands and coasts. So a 40% reduction in emissions is the very least required to provide a better chance of avoiding devastation for these countries and communities."

Key meetings that will shape the global climate deal take place in coming weeks, including the UN General Assembly in New York and the G20 Heads of State meeting in Pittsburgh. It is vital that the politicians attending take note of such timely advice from the world's scientific community.

For further information:
Jason Anderson, Head of European Climate Change and Energy Policy
Tel: +32 474 837 603
E-mail: janderson@wwfepo.org

Alexandra Bennett, Communications Director at WWF European Policy Office
Tel: +32 477 393 400
E-mail: abennett@wwfepo.org

Warming Arctic's global impacts outstrip predictions

2009-09-02

Warming in the Arctic could lead to flooding affecting one quarter of the world’s population, substantial increases in greenhouse gas emissions from massive carbon pools, and extreme global weather changes, according to a new WWF report.

The Arctic Climate Feedbacks: Global Implications report, released today, outlines dire global consequences of a warming Arctic that are far worse than previous projections. The unprecedented peer-reviewed report brings together top climate scientists who have assessed the current science on arctic warming.

"What they found was a truly sobering picture,' said Dr Martin Sommerkorn, senior climate change advisor for WWF’s Arctic programme. 'What this report says is that a warming Arctic is much more than a local problem, it’s a global problem.

"Simply put, if we do not keep the Arctic cold enough, people across the world will suffer the effects."

The report shows that numerous arctic climate feedbacks – negative effects prompted by the impacts of warming -- will make global climate change more severe than indicated by other recent projections, including those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2007 assessment.

The dramatic loss of sea ice resulting from the Arctic warming at about twice the rate of the rest of the world will influence atmospheric circulation and weather in the Arctic and beyond. This is projected to change temperature and precipitation patterns in Europe and North America, affecting agriculture, forestry and water supplies.

In addition, the Arctic’s frozen soils and wetlands store twice as much carbon as is held in the atmosphere. As warming in the Arctic continues, soils will increasingly thaw and release carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane, at significantly increased rates. Levels of atmospheric methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas, have been increasing for the past two years, and it is suggested that the increase comes from warming arctic tundra.

In a first-of-its kind assessment incorporating the fate of the ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica into global sea level projections, the WWF report concludes that sea- levels will very likely rise by more than one meter by 2100 -- more than twice the amount given in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2007 assessment that had excluded the contribution of ice sheets from their projection. The associated flooding of coastal regions will affect more than a quarter of the world’s population.

"This report shows that it is urgently necessary to rein in greenhouse gas emissions while we still can," Sommerkorn said. "If we allow the Arctic to get too warm, it is doubtful whether we will be able to keep these feedbacks under control.

WWF has joined with other NGOs to produce a model climate treaty for Copenhagen that gives the world a blueprint for achieving the kind of emissions cuts needed to likely avoid arctic feedbacks.

"We need to listen now to these signals from the Arctic, and take the necessary action in Copenhagen this December to get a deal that quickly and effectively limits greenhouse gas emissions,” said James Leape, director general of WWF International.

In December 2009, the governments of 191 countries will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the final round of negotiations for a new global agreement on climate change. The first period of the current agreement, called the 'Kyoto Protocol', will end in three years, in December 2012. The negotiations in Copenhagen are supposed to approve a new legal framework for global climate action from 2013 onwards.

According to WWF, this framework must guarantee much deeper and more rapid emission cuts from industrialized countries, and financing to developing countries to enable them also to take climate action.

For more information, contact:

Dr Martin Sommerkorn - The Arctic Climate Feedbacks Report +47 926 06 995, msommerkorn@wwf.no

Kim Carstensen - Director, WWF Global Climate Initiative+45 40 34 36 35, k.carstensen@wwf.dk

Ian Morrison, Media Officer, WWF International (Switzerland): +41 79 874 6853, imorrison@wwfint.org

Clive Tesar, Head of Communications, WWF International Arctic Programme (Canada): (+1) 613 232 2535, ctesar@wwf.no

WWF position on forests and climate change mitigation

2009-09-01

Forests have a vital role to play in the fght against global warming, being the largest terrestrial store of carbon and the third largest source of carbon emissions after coal and oil.

Deforestation is estimated to be responsible for 18% of current greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, forests have signifcant economic and ecological value as a provider of ecosystem services, being home to much of the world’s biodiversity and supporting the livelihoods of over 1 billion of the world’s poorest people.

A strong post-2012 climate regime is essential to keep the rise in global temperature well below 2 degrees Celsius. Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD) is a critical component of the overall greenhouse gas emission reductions required to achieve this climate goal. The strategies in this paper are needed to ensure REDD supports a successful global climate regime.

Although their importance in addressing climate change is clear, forests have had a complex history in the international climate negotiations. The UNFCCC calls on all nations to protect and enhance the reservoirs of carbon, including forests.

Advanced river flow management vital to facing climate challenge

2009-08-16

Stockholm, Sweden: Improved river flow management will be vital to protecting communities from the worst impacts of climate change and to achieving international goals on poverty reduction, according to a new report issued on the eve of World Water Week.

Securing Water for Ecosystems and Human Well-being: The Importance of Environmental Flows also finds that river flow management to meet diverse environmental and human needs should be funded through appropriate valuation of the ecosystem services provided by healthy rivers. These include maintenance of groundwater levels, flood and drought mitigation, and contributions to human livelihoods, nutrition and health.

The report, developed in collaboration between major global institutions including Water Week organizer the Stockholm International Water Institute, Swedish Water House, UNESCO-IHE, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), UNEP- DHI, Deltares and NGOs such as WWF, Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy, draws on the latest research and practices on environmental flows and their significance.

“Initially the emphasis in environmental flows was on the amount of water released down rivers,” said one of the report’s lead authors, Dr Birgitta Malm Renöfält, Cluster group leader at Swedish Water House.

“Now we recognize the importance of different flow levels and the timing of flows to different river functions and understand that maintaining a healthy functioning ecosystem requires much more sophisticated river management.

“For example, base flows are vital to surrounding water table levels and soil moisture levels, pulse flows shape the character or river channels and large floods replenish nutrients and recharge aquifers over wider areas.”

The report documents sensitive infrastructure development and operation and appropriate environmental flow management benefits for health and earnings in Kenya and Tanzania, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Iran and the Sudan.

With water availability expected to be one of the major and most severe impacts of climate change in many areas of the world, sufficient and equitable allocation of water will become more and more vital for both people and nature.

“The environmental community has critical tools to offer for climate change adaptation, and environmental flow regulation is an important part of the climate adaptation toolbox,” said Dr Mark Smith, Head, IUCN Water Programme.

Note: Further information on this report will be available at the Swedish Water House Cluster group booth at World Water Week, at EH 0310, Stockholm International Fairs on 17.45 CET on 16 August 2009.

For further information contact:

SIWI/SWH: Josh Paglia, josh.paglia@siwi.org, +4673914 39 96
WWF: Phil Dickie, pdickie@wwfint.org, +41797031952
UNESCO-IHE: Lara Kwak, l.kwak@unesco-ihe.org +31152151710
UNEP-DHI: Louise Korsgaard, lok@dhigroup.com, +4540544774,
Deltares: Karen Meijer, Karen.Meijer@deltares.nl, +31 15 2858537
The Nature Conservancy: Cristina Mestre, cmestre@tnc.org mobile: +1703 841-8779 work: +17036785639
Conservation International (CI): Rob McNeil, rmcneil@conservation.org mobile: +1571 232 0455 work+1703 341 2561
IUCN: Claire Warmenbol claire.warmenbol@iucn.org mobile: +41 79 404 1973

The New Climate Deal - A Pocket Guide

2009-06-27

The world is running up huge ecological debts, just as it has run up huge financial debts. Neither is sustainable. Our leaders cannot successfully put capitalism back together again without at the same time fixing the greatest single consequence of unsustainability – climate change.

2009 needs to be remembered as the year the world found an answer to climate change, the year it found the political will to meet the challenge and found hope and opportunity in doing so.

Click to download a pocket guide to The New Climate Deal.

U.S. Climate Change Impacts

2009-06-23

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (GCRP) has released a new report “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States " that finds climate impacts are being felt from coast to coast.

New Scientist used the report to create a Google map tracking the changes. WWF-US has also developed an interactive map, which you can view here.

View Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States in a larger map

A Copenhagen Climate Treaty - NGO Proposal

2009-06-08

Climate change experts from leading non-governmental organisations have written their blueprint for a legally binding Copenhagen agreement.

This now serves as the benchmark for governments negotiating a new climate deal this year and shows how major differences between rich and poor nations can be overcome.

The 160-page “Copenhagen Climate Treaty”, which has been distributed to negotiators from 192 states, took some of the world’s most experienced climate NGO’s almost a year to write and contains a full legal text covering all the main elements needed to provide the world with a fair and ambitious agreement that keeps climate change impacts below the unacceptable risk levels identified by most scientists.

Expert for interviews:

Kim Carstensen Leader, WWF Global Climate Initiative E: k.carstensen@wwf.dk M: +45-40-343635	Kathrin Gutmann Head of Policy, WWF Global Climate Initiative E: kathrin.gutmann @wwf.de M: +49-162-2914428
Wael Hmaidan IndyACT– the League of Independent Activists E:whmaidan@indyact.org Tel/Fax: +961-1-447192	Christopher Bals Executive Director Policy, Germanwatch E: bals@germanwatch.org T: +49 174 3275669
Martin Kaiser Climate Political Coordinator, Greenpeace International E: martin.kaier@greenpeace.org T: +49 171 8780817	David Marshall David Suzuki Foundation E: dmarshall@davidsuzuki.org
Irina Stavchuk National Ecological Centre of Ukraine E: irina.stavchuk@necu.org.ua T: +38(044)238-62-60

For more information or interview arrangements contact:

Ashwini Prabha
E: aprabha@wwfint.org
M: +41-79-8741682

Stephanie Tunmore
E: Stephanie.Tunmore@uk.greenpeace.org
M: +44 7796947451

NGO’s write benchmark Copenhagen climate treaty

2009-06-08

The 160-page “Copenhagen Climate Treaty”, which will be distributed to negotiators from 192 states, took some of the world’s most experienced climate NGO’s almost a year to write and contains a full legal text covering all the main elements needed to provide the world with a fair and ambitious agreement that keeps climate change impacts below the unacceptable risk levels identified by most scientists.

“This is the first time in history that a coalition of civil society groups has taken such a step. Together we have produced the most coherent legal document to date showing balanced and credible climate solutions based on equity and science” said Kim Carstensen of WWF International.

The document describes the path the world must be on to avoid catastrophic climate change, recognising that global temperature increase must be kept well below 2 degrees Celsius. It sets a global cap on emissions – a carbon budget – and explains in detail how both industrialised and developing countries can contribute to the safety of the planet and its people, according to their means and responsibilities and shows how the poorest and most vulnerable on the planet can be protected and compensated.

“We have put protection of the climate and therefore the planet and its people at the heart of this Treaty and we should expect and demand no less of our governments” said Martin Kaiser of Greenpeace International. “All that is needed now is political will and the ‘cut and paste’ feature to produce the agreement the world is waiting for,” he added.

Adaptation is another key component of the Treaty outlining an Adaptation Action Framework which includes grants, insurance and compensation for the most vulnerable countries.

“Help for the poor and vulnerable to deal with the climate impacts that are unavoidable is crucial. Without a strong, effective deal in Copenhagen we could also be looking at more resource wars, disruption, refugees and natural catastrophes in the very near future,” said Wael Hmaidan, IndyACT.

The Treaty calls for a legally binding agreement consisting of three parts; the Kyoto Protocol updated to strengthen industrialised country obligations; a new Copenhagen Protocol that has legally binding commitments for the USA and sets out low carbon pathways for developing countries, supported by the industrialised world; a set of decisions that lays the groundwork for the next three years.

The ‘Copenhagen Climate Treaty’, was drafted by Greenpeace, WWF, IndyACT – the League of Independent Activists, Germanwatch, David Suzuki Foundation, National Ecological Centre of Ukraine and expert individuals from around the world.

Notes to Editors:

The Copenhagen Climate Treaty includes:

The annual global carbon budget in 2020 from all sources of greenhouse gases (not counting those controlled by the Montréal Protocol) would be no higher than 36.1 Gt CO2e, bringing emissions down to roughly1990 levels and would need to be reduced to 7.2 Gt CO2e in 2050, in other words by 80 % below 1990 levels.
A design proposal for a new institution – the Copenhagen Climate Facility - to manage the processes for emissions cuts, adaptation and forest protection under the new global treaty.
A recipe for long-term action plans for both developed countries (Zero Carbon Action Plans, ZCAPs) and developing countries (Low Carbon Action Plans, LCAPs).
Binding targets for Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) like Singapore, South Korea and Saudi Arabia in line with the Convention principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

Expert for interviews:

Kim Carstensen Leader, WWF Global Climate Initiative E: k.carstensen@wwf.dk M: +45-40-343635	Kathrin Gutmann Head of Policy, WWF Global Climate Initiative E: kathrin.gutmann @wwf.de M: +49-162-2914428
Wael Hmaidan IndyACT– the League of Independent Activists E:whmaidan@indyact.org Tel/Fax: +961-1-447192	Christopher Bals Executive Director Policy, Germanwatch E: bals@germanwatch.org T: +49 174 3275669
Martin Kaiser Climate Political Coordinator, Greenpeace International E: martin.kaier@greenpeace.org T: +49 171 8780817	David Marshall David Suzuki Foundation E: dmarshall@davidsuzuki.org
Irina Stavchuk National Ecological Centre of Ukraine E: irina.stavchuk@necu.org.ua T: +38(044)238-62-60

For more information or interview arrangements contact:

Ashwini Prabha
E: aprabha@wwfint.org
M: +41-79-8741682

Stephanie Tunmore
E: Stephanie.Tunmore@uk.greenpeace.org
M: +44 7796947451

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn

2009-06-01

1 June - 12 June 2009

The year 2009 is all about the credit crunch, but it will also decide the future of our planet. The world must agree to a new global climate treaty and low carbon economy by December.

Green energy solutions are increasingly seen as one important way to solve our economic and climate crisis together.

Mapping the way forward, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) holds its second inter-sessional meeting of government delegates and technical experts this year in Bonn, Germany from 1 June - 12 June, 2009.

Economic/climate recovery score cards

2009-04-03

The economic recovery packages put forward by many countries amount in total to a large amount of money, some of which may have a beneficial impact on greening the global economy. But many packages are woefully small, few contain adequate detail for full assessment and some indeed are actually counterproductive if the aim is to move rapidly to a low carbon economy in the face of the climate crisis.

The long term impact of these packages on greenhouse gas emissions can be beneficial where governments set clear policy goals and back them with smart investment in key sectors such as buildings, transport networks, energy grids and clean energy supply. Governments must seize this opportunity.

There is a growing recognition of the need to put climate and energy security at the core of the economic recovery, truly integrating economic and environmental issues. By responding to this need with packages that are well designed and rapidly implemented governments can accelerate the global transition to a low carbon economy and reduce the risk of another oil price spike when the recovery begins. This will also strengthen the prospects for a global climate deal in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Recent publications have compared the climate friendliness of the economic stimulus packages in various countries by calculating the low carbon share of the total package as a proportion of national GDP (reports by HSBC, 2009 and Edenhofer and Stern, 2009). In these publications fiscal measures are judged to be either climate friendly or not, solely on the basis of the area of investment such as energy efficiency or renewables.

This is useful but not adequate. It considers a dollar spent on renewable energy to be on a par with one spent on energy-efficient cars without taking into account the impact on emissions of each dollar spent. It also does not consider whether the money is invested directly or indirectly through instruments such as tax incentives or research and development.

Likewise it does not take into account the potential negative impact of the recovery packages from investments that raise greenhouse gas emissions such as new fossil-fuelled power stations or building new roads.

WWF and E3G asked Ecofys and Germanwatch to develop a methodology that takes into account these considerations to give a more sophisticated picture of the climate impact of the various economic recovery packages. This has been used to evaluate the packages so far put forward by a number of countries, assessing the share and impact of the climate-friendly stimulus as well as that of new measures that will drive emissions in the wrong direction.

The result is a very mixed picture.

New scientific paper reveals the impact of climate change on whales dolphins and porpoises

2009-04-02

In the week when 4000 towns and cities across 88 countries turned off their lights to call for stronger action to combat climate change, a new scientific paper published in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK takes a collective look at what is currently known about how climate change may affect or is already affecting whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively know as cetaceans) and how this issue may be best addressed. The paper was written by WWF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).

There is unequivocal evidence that climate change is affecting the oceans but just how it impacts cetaceans and what conservationists, scientists and governments should do about it remain critical questions.

What we know
Climate change could have an impact on several factors that cetaceans depend upon for survival including:

• Ocean temperature
• Habitat availability
• Changes in sea-ice distribution
• Prey availability

These factors in turn can be expected to impact feeding and breeding and survivorship.

Some cetacean species and populations are likely to be especially vulnerable to these predicted climate related changes, including those with a limited habitat range, or those for which sea ice provides an important habitat for the cetacean and/or that of their prey.

Other factors impacting cetaceans such as bycatch, unsustainable hunting, chemical and noise pollution and oil and gas development are even further compounded by the different threats posed by climate change, which adds undue pressure to already vulnerable species. At least a quarter of the world’s cetaceans were recently confirmed as endangered and the situation may be worse as the status of many others remains unclear.

What can be done?
If conservation programs for cetaceans are to succeed in the face of climate change, decision makers must be swift to react to emerging developments that are a result of climate change; focus on reducing other pressures on populations where possible; and, be more responsive as new information becomes available. For example, if cetaceans change their distributions and establish new critical habitat areas, conservation and management efforts will have to move with them.

Conservation programs should also shift to not only focus all work on critically endangered species, but also pay attention to ensuring that other species and populations remain robust and resilient to the changes that are predicted.

There is a need for large scale and long-term work to better understand the impending risks posed to cetaceans by climate change and leadership from appropriate international bodies will be crucial. However, such bodies will need to prioritize these endeavors and allocate adequate funding.

The paper was written by WWF and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).

For the full paper click here: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=MBI&volumeId=89&issueId=01&iid=4249964

Expectations for the Copenhagen Climate Deal 2009

2009-03-26

How important is climate protection these days? The world economy is in recession. Some countries are on the verge of national insolvency. Thousands of factories are closing and jobs disappearing. For some, the pending climate disaster now seems a less immediate threat; the policies needed to reduce emissions seem a harsh demand in light of people losing their homes and their income.

At the same time, the disasters that loom in the wake of full blown climate change mean that the current recession, when over, will literally only fill a few pages of history books, while the devastating effects of climate change will fill volumes. They will need to detail the countries lost, massive extinctions, plagues, droughts and floods, and the loss of lives and cultures. Climate security must be a continued priority since science tells us we only have until 2020 to put ship “earth” on a new course. There is no alternative to an ambitious outcome at the Copenhagen COP in December 2009.

In 2009, we have already seen some countries invest smartly to create jobs, foster innovation and help their economies go green. However, the nightmare scenario still exists of the next stimulus and recovery packages locking us into the root causes of climate change and throwing us back by twenty years.

The reforms to deal with the root causes of the economic recession present a huge opportunity, which must not be lost. In this context of a “green economy”, international commitment to climate change is more important than ever. We must show that we are serious about pursuing a sustainable, low-carbon, climate resilient future.

WWF would like to emphasize the view that mitigation as part of low-carbon development is not just a burden we want to minimize, but ultimately is an opportunity for job creation and a healthy society, setting the world on a development path that we can sustain over long periods.

Turtle troubles

2008-12-04

Marine turtles in the Caribbean and off the shores of Latin America are under threat. Carlos Drews, from the WWF Regional Marine Programme, explains how fishing hooks and climate change spell double trouble. He explains why marine turtles are a flagship species for WWF and how the world can save them with simple methods such as using different fishing hooks and planting trees on nesting beaches to cool the temperature by two degrees.

A blueprint for a climate friendly cement industry

2008-12-02

A Closing Window of Opportunity - Global Greenhouse Reality 2008

2008-11-25

Scientific evidence accumulating since the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report reveals that global warming is accelerating, at times far beyond projections outlined in earlier studies, including the latest IPCC Report. New modelling studies are providing updated and more detailed indications of the impacts of continued warming.