WWF - Copenhagen. The COP15 Media Center

They say it's over but it's not

2009-12-18

Looking at the text that 25 countries have agreed, Kim Carstensen, the leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative said:

"They tell us it's over but it's not. The latest Copenhagen Accord draft mainly reproduced what leaders already promised before they arrived here."

"The biggest challenge, turning the political will into a legally binding agreement has moved to Mexico."

"After years of negotiations we now have a declaration of will which does not bind anyone and therefore fails to guarantee a safer future for next generations."

"What was good about Copenhagen was the level of national pledges for climate action in most countries."

"Politically, we live in a world that agrees to stay below the danger zone of two degrees but practically what we have on the table adds up to 3 degrees or more."

"A gap between the rhetoric and reality could cost millions of lives, hundreds of billions of dollars and a wealth of lost opportunities."

"We are disappointed but remain hopeful. The civil society will continue watching every step of further negotiations. The leaders have to get back to work tomorrow."

"Getting a strong outcome of the follow-up process will take a lot of bridge-building between the rich and the poor countries. We expect that the Mexican hosts will be ideally placed to play that role."

For further information:
Natalia Reiter
nreiter@wwfint.org
+41 79 873 80 99

WWF statement on climate summit speech by President Obama

2009-12-18

As Talks Enter Critical Final Hour, WWF Stresses "Fierce Urgency of Now"

COPENHAGEN, December 18, 2009 – World Wildlife Fund today issued the following statement today from WWF President and CEO Carter Roberts in response to President Obama's speech before the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen:

"In coming to Copenhagen at the critical final stage of this two-year process, President Obama outlined the building blocks of a deal and expressed his conviction that work still needs to be done. He has put an emissions target on the table and pledged his commitment to long-term climate financing – both critical pieces of a final deal.‪

"But that's not enough to knit together the world community at this pivotal hour. As the President has said numerous times, all countries need to stand behind their commitments and agree to make those commitments transparent.

"That applies to the US as well. The only way the world can be sure the US is standing behind its commitments is for the President to clearly state that climate change will be his next top legislative priority.

The ultimate test of his leadership will be engaging the Senate and delivering action in Congress early next year.

"The world's future hangs in the balance. At this critical hour, the 'fierce urgency of now,' of which Dr. King spoke so about eloquently, is ringing loudly."‪

EDITORS NOTE: For live commentary visit: http://cop15.panda.org/

For further information:
Steve Ertel, WWF
+1 202-460-4641
steve.ertel@wwfus.org

Confidential analysis shows current emissions reductions add up to dangerous climate change

2009-12-17

Copenhagen, Denmark - A confidential UNFCCC secretariat analysis confirms that current emissions reductions pledges by developed and some emerging economies leaves the world on track to global warming of at best three degrees warming - and probably more.

"The stark message for world leaders at Copenhagen is that the proposals on the table - especially from industrialised countries - fall far short of what the world needs," said Keith Allott, head of climate change at WWF-UK.

""This assessment from just two days ago is based on a very optimistic view of emissions reductions pledges that assumes away the huge loopholes where emissions are hidden and assumes all voluntary emissions reductions commitments will be met."

"Urgent action is needed to put global emissions on a pathway that would keep warming well below the accepted two degree threshold for unacceptable risks of catastrophic climate change," Allott said..

"It is a case of simple maths - we need much ambitious targets for developed countries, new and additional financial support to help low-carbon growth in developing countries, and action to plug the many loopholes that make existing emission pledges even weaker than they seem at first glance."

For further information:
Jo Sargent, jsargent@wwf.org.uk +44 78676 97519

WWF Statement on Secretary Clinton speech at cop15

2009-12-17

COPENHAGEN, December 17, 2009 – World Wildlife Fund today issued the following statement today from WWF President and CEO Carter Roberts in response to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech before the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen:

"Secretary Clinton's 100 billion dollar surprise breathes new life into the sputtering negotiations. It bridges the needs of the developed and developing worlds and changes the game in these global talks. All that remains is an agreement between the US and China about how they will define transparency, and a commitment by President Obama to make climate legislation his top priority for the new year."

For further information:
Joe Pouliot
+1-202-476-9919
joe.pouliot@wwfus.org

WWF Reaction on latest REDD Text to be tabled to Ministers 15 Tuesday, 2009

2009-12-16

Emily Brickell, REDD Policy advisor, WWF:

One of the major concerns related to REDD is situations where the overall rate of deforestation is not reduced because conserving one forest simply results in shifting the destruction to another. In order to avoid this, a global climate treaty must have strong provisions that prevent such "leakage." Over the last few days, several countries have pushed for a sub-national approach to setting REDD reference levels and monitoring, which would result in leakage.

"We are concerned that as we near the end of negotiations in Copenhagen, the current text could leave open the option for an agreement that allows sub-national REDD to be included in international offsets. This approach would create a "loophole" that would seriously undermine the effectiveness of REDD and the entire climate agreement."

"REDD activities will need to happen at all levels - national, provincial, and local. To have real environmental integrity, however, a national reference level must be in place to verify that real reductions are taking place."

"As this text goes to the ministerial level, WWF urges ministers to make decisions that eliminate this risk."

"This latest move is a shift away from the original REDD proposal made in 2005. This was designed to address deforestation at the national level to avoid leakage while tackling this critical source of emissions – the majority of which comes from developing countries"

For further information:
Ashwini Prabha
aprabha@wwfint.org
+41 79 873 80 99

Business – The Real Deal

2009-12-15

Powering economies into the low carbon future:
Business leaders claim that a strong deal in Copenhagen will be good for the economy, a weak deal will be bad.

What will world leaders produce at the end of the week? A political deal? A legally binding deal? No deal at all?

There are rumours floating in and around the Bella Center that big business would prefer caution and the status quo instead of a treaty that is bold and sets comprehensive reduction targets.

That perception is incorrect. More than 1,000 businesses from all continents, most of them global players, are advocating for a strong legally binding deal that reduces carbon pollution and accelerates clean energy innovation on a global scale. They want a clear signal that

- Allows businesses to make long term investment decisions in low carbon technologies
- Provides incentives to invest heavily in low carbon R&D
- Protects economies from dramatic impacts of climate change

The voice from progressive businesses represent over 11 Trillion US$ in market capitalization. These businesses provide over 20 million jobs in companies which are committed to turn the vision of a low carbon economy into reality, generating at least 2.6 trillion US$ in 2008 annual turnover.

One thing is for certain: today, there are many businesses delivering thereal deal. The companies participating in the initiatives described below show that taking climate action makes business sense!

The question is – if businesses can do it, why can't world leaders?

Business is showing the way, proving that cutting carbon is healthy for the economy.

WWF STATEMENT CONCERNING AFRICA`S DEMANDS TO CONTINUE TALKS ON THE KYOTO PROTOCOL

2009-12-14

Kim Carstensen, the leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative says:

"Current uncertainty about the future of the Kyoto Protocol is creating a lot of mistrust and resentment within these negotiations,"

"We believe a continuation of the Kyoto Protocol is a necessary part of the 2-protocol outcome of Copenhagen, and we support Africa's demands for this."

"It would be good to have ministerial consultation on Kyoto Protocol matters, and it would be good if developed countries expressed clearly that they accept the need for at next commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol."

"It's a package deal of the two tracks in the negotiations, so given the limited amount of time it would be good to have parallel consultations. In addition, there are some linked issues, where coordination needs to happen across the two tracks."

"The binding character of the Kyoto Protocol gives developing nations the confidence that these talks will not just end as an informal discussion. If we want a fair, ambitious and binding deal we need to keep working both on the Kyoto Protocol and a second protocol."

WWF REACTION STATEMENT TO KYOTO PROTOCOL TEXT

2009-12-14

Today, the Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex 1 Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) released a new draft text outlining progress to date. This joins two other texts released today, including from the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

Kim Carstensen, Leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative:

"The two-track approach to a global climate treaty is alive and well. The release of text today breathes new life into the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Combine this with the draft LCA text released today that stated that it assumes continuation of Kyoto, and it's clear that predictions of the death of Kyoto were premature.

"The very existence of today's text, which has captured important progress from parties and is more manageable as a basis for negotiating, provides a sign of hope. That said, there is work to be done as important elements are missing and the text contains some provisions and loopholes that could effectively undermine a treaty.

"When it rains, it pours. We have long been asking for solid texts that would allow for real negotiations and now we're getting them in droves. This momentum is critical and puts us on a path to make serious progress on the issue we're all here to solve—dangerous climate change."

WWF reaction to EU Council

2009-12-14

In reaction to the European Council meeting, held today in Brussels, Jason Anderson, Head of EU Climate and Energy Policy at WWF-EPO said:

"The European Council has missed a great opportunity to move forward on emissions reductions targets, and inspire real progress in the final, crucial week of negotiations in Copenhagen. This is extremely disappointing. The EU has always tried to position itself as a leader in the global climate change debate - but that claim is looking increasingly threadbare. The science makes it abundantly clear that developed countries must cut emissions by 40 per cent by 2020 in order to keep warming below the critical 2 degree threshold. Yet the EU has again failed to move beyond its offer to reduce emissions by 20 per cent - even though this can be achieved without any further domestic effort.

"It also seems that the EU has failed to make any progress in closing two key loopholes that will further undermine its already weak emission targets. Until the EU makes progress in tackling so-called "hot air" - the surplus emission allowances held by several Eastern EU Member States - and the accounting tricks associated with land use and forestry emissions, the ambition of any EU emission target will be very much less than it seems. The land use loophole could allow countries to set their own levels of projected deforestation, which they will use as a baseline from which to assess how much carbon they have saved by not reaching that level. As they can set the bar as high as they want to, it could allow a handful of Member States to predict doom, only deliver disaster, and then claim credit for the difference."

WWF reaction to the Chair's draft text, a central draft text of the overall Copenhagen agreement.

2009-12-14

Kim Carstensen, leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative:

"The text provides a basis to make the right political decisions. It contains many gaps, exposes rifts but also clearly shows that an agreement is possible."

"The gaps are now visible and need to be filled by political will and concrete financial commitments. We still don't know how much money there will be and where it will come from."

"Countries need to fill these gaps as soon as possible, select the most ambitious options proposed in the text and give them a binding nature."

"Copenhagen can only come to an agreement if negotiations will be fair, open and transparent. While we understand that a large number of parties were not happy with the way this text has been proposed. We believe it is important that the text is now there and that its content has the potential to unlock the stalled talks."

WWF REACTION STATEMENT TO A TEXT PROPOSED BY AOSIS

2009-12-14

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) has put forward legal text as a proposal for the formal negotiations outlining what the outcome of Copenhagen should be. The text reflects the high level of ambition the group believes is needed to keep temperatures below 1.5oC global warming.

It also promotes the constructive two-protocol approach, under which the Copenhagen climate summit could end with an ambitious, legally binding agreement that secures the survival of the Kyoto Protocol and establishes a new Copenhagen Protocol.

Kim Carstensen, Leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative:

"WWF welcomes the initiative shown by the AOSIS legal text. It is constructive, ambitious and fair, and we are calling on other countries to listen to the voice of those with most at stake – namely their very survival."

"This proposal has come from people who are in Copenhagen to save their homes from devastating effects of climate change. Many of their countries already have to deal with the impacts of climate change on a daily basis."

"The proposal offers an opportunity to go back to reality and provide a real boost to the formal negotiations to address the real threats of climate change and not just particular interests of individual countries."

MAJOR LAND USE LOOPHOLE COULD LEAVE OUT UP TO A BILLION TONS OF EMISSIONS ANNUALLY

2009-12-09

Copenhagen, Denmark – As negotiators get to work today in Copenhagen, an alarming loophole in how emissions from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) would be accounted for in a global climate agreement remains a major obstacle. The loophole could result in up to one billion tons of CO2 annually, roughly the equivalent of Japan's annual emissions, being ignored by industrialized countries. One of the core issues is whether or not countries will account for the full amount of emissions from the forestry sector, as they are required to do for every other sector.

Austria, Finland and Sweden, some of the European Union's most forested countries, are promoting alternative accounting systems where countries will not account for emission increases from forestry as long as they are planned. The rest of the European Union and most other industrialized countries have followed and supported this position.

"A global agreement to address dangerous climate change cannot work without trust between nations and this loophole provides a great opportunity for developed countries to manipulate the system and erode that trust," said Kim Carstensen, leader of the Global Climate Initiative at WWF. "It is the essence of hypocrisy that developed countries would propose such weak rules for themselves while requiring the necessary rigor from the developing world on emissions reductions from deforestation and forest degradation under the REDD provisions of a global agreement."

As trees grow, they bind CO2 from the atmosphere in their plant mass. Cutting trees leads to decay and changes in the soil which emits CO2 and other greenhouse gases. LULUCF was created to take account of these substantial emissions and provide incentives for mitigation action in the land-use sector.

The lack of credible accounting rules would mean that a country could increase emissions dramatically without this showing up in its carbon accounts.

"This is like saying that we won't count emissions from new power plants as long as they are planned. A loophole like this could completely undermine the entire accounting system," added Carstensen. "They are jumping at the opportunity to hide a billion tons of emission reductions through a simple accounting trick. This is not the kind of leadership the world has been looking for."

WWF Reaction to Danish draft proposal

2009-12-08

Kim Carstensen, leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative

"The behind the scenes negotiations tactics under the Danish Presidency, have been focusing on pleasing the rich and powerful countries rather than serving the majority of states who are demanding a fair and ambitious solution."

"The Danish Prime Minister´s proposed text is weak and reflects a too elitist, selective and non-transparent approach by the Danish presidency."

"We understand and share the frustration of the poor and vulnerable countries. We urge the Danish presidency to change its style and move to a cooperative and listening mode. We also believe this was one of the political signals sent by COP President Connie Hedegaard in her opening statement yesterday"

"Focus on the Danish text right now is a distraction from the negotiations that have just come underway in Copenhagen. Talks must focus on the text that has so far been negotiated and not on new texts that are being negotiated in small groups."

WWF statement on EPA endangerment finding

2009-12-07

COPENHAGEN, December 7, 2009 – The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare, setting the stage for regulation of global warming pollution under the Clean Air Act.

Keya Chatterjee, Director of WWF's Climate Change Program, US:
"This is great news and shows that the Administration is committed to enforcing the Clean Air Act and addressing dangerous climate change. The finding recognizes the clear scientific basis for regulating carbon pollution as a threat to public health and welfare.

"The Clean Air Act is now and must remain an important tool for helping to fight dangerous climate change. But the most effective approach to addressing the climate crisis both at home and as part of a global partnership is through comprehensive climate legislation.

"In the context of the Copenhagen climate talks, this finding underscores the Administration's seriousness about climate change, but we still have one missing element: the trust of the international community that the US will follow through on the medium and long term targets announced by President Obama last week. For that, we also need US legislation. When President Obama comes to Copenhagen next week, the world will be listening intently for assurance that he will make climate change his next legislative priority after healthcare."

Reaction to a draft text of the Copenhagen agreement proposed by the Chair of the LCA track

2009-12-07

Below is WWF reaction to the Chair's draft text, a central draft text of the overall Copenhagen agreement.

Kim Carstensen, leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative:

"The text provides a basis to make the right political decisions. It contains many gaps, exposes rifts but also clearly shows that an agreement is possible."

"The gaps are now visible and need to be filled by political will and concrete financial commitments. We still don't know how much money there will be and where it will come from."

"Countries need to fill these gaps as soon as possible, select the most ambitious options proposed in the text and give them a binding nature."

"Copenhagen can only come to an agreement if negotiations will be fair, open and transparent. While we understand that a large number of parties were not happy with the way this text has been proposed. We believe it is important that the text is now there and that its content has the potential to unlock the stalled talks."