Match or better Brown, WWF urges wealthy world

Gland, Switzerland: WWF has welcomed fresh financial commitments on climate change from UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown as “having the potential to get some movement back into the negotiations”.

Recent climate talks in Bonn, Germany made little progress over deep divisions on who would be cutting emissions and by how much and where the funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries would come from.

Announcements of inadequate carbon emissions cuts in Japan and proposals that would effectively see Russian emissions increase had also added to the gloom over the negotiations, which need to reach an adequate global agreement capable of avoiding unacceptable risks of catastrophic climate change at a UN conference in Copenhagen in December.

“WWF welcomes the UK’s manifesto for Copenhagen and in particular the significant boost to the level of actual finance being mentioned,” said Kim Carstensen, leader of the WWF global climate deal campaign. “We are getting towards the right magnitude of funds if not quite yet to the right amounts.

“It is especially good that a G8 nation is stepping up and trying to break the logjam on international finance. The challenge is now on other developed countries to step up at the forthcoming G8 meeting and show how they would match, or preferably better, Brown."

Carstensen said WWF was still waiting on the details but there was much to approve of in the Prime Minister’s speech, including the need for more developing country influence in governance structures and the inclusion of aviation and shipping.

“We do, however have some reservations on the extent of reliance on the carbon market as a source of funds, not least because this will only work with much, much tougher targets for emissions reductions for developed nations than are currently on the table,” Carstensen said.