his
Durban outcome is a compromise which saves the climate talks but
endangers people living in poverty,' said Mohamed Adow, Christian Aid's
expert on the UN negotiations held this year in Durban, South Africa.
'It
is a disastrous, profoundly distressing outcome - the worst I have ever
seen from such a process. At a time when scientists are queuing up to
warn about terrifying consequences if emissions keep rising, what we
have here in Durban is a betrayal of people across the world.
'By
giving themselves until 2015 to agree a new deal which only takes
effect in 2020, governments are delaying desperately needed action and
condeming us all to dangerous warming of much more than 2 degrees.
'Action against climate change
in 2020 will come a decade too late for poor people on the frontline -
they urgently need it now. Their lives are already ravaged by floods,
droughts, failed rains, deadly storms, hunger and disease and we know
that these disasters will get worse and more frequent as climate change
bites.
'This Durban failure also perpetuates the hideous injustice of climate change, in which the poor people who bear least blame for it are the worst affected.
'This Durban failure also perpetuates the hideous injustice of climate change, in which the poor people who bear least blame for it are the worst affected.
'In these two tortuous weeks of negotiations, many of the poor, relatively powerless states - the Africa Group, AOSIS and the Least Developed Countries - have showed leadership and flexibility in the seach for a solution.
'But
they have been blocked by the governments of some traditional polluters
- America, Canada, Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, which seem
to want to forget their historical responsibility for climate change
and to retain their power.
'These
governments are protecting their own political interests and the
financial interests of big corporate polluters. But ordinary people will
pay the price - in money, suffering and lives.
'We will not see the full consequences of this appaling outcome until next year, when governments will have to take many of the decisions they have dodged here in South Africa.'
KYOTO
'We will not see the full consequences of this appaling outcome until next year, when governments will have to take many of the decisions they have dodged here in South Africa.'
KYOTO
'This
deal rips out the most important part of the Kyoto Protocol - its
requirement for emissions cuts to be informed by science, rather than
Governments' political convenience. It is this which makes it such a
powerful law to prevent climate disaster.
'But
in Durban, Governments have turned their backs on science, at a time
when we need more than ever to heed its warning - act now or pay a
terrible price later.
'They
are also turning away from the justice which the Convention itself
enshrines, with its recognition of rich countries' special
responsibility for climate change and their greater financial ability to
fight it.
'What
is left is Kyoto in name only. Governments are keeping it on
life-support for the sake of the carbon markets but once they have a new
deal they will kill it completely.'
FINANCE
FINANCE
'The
only notable achievement here in Durban is on the Green Climate Fund.
Governments have agreed that the Fund will soon have staff and an
office.
'But
the Fund remains empty and so countries must keep working to identify
new sources of the $100 billion a year which they have already agreed
must be available to poor countries by 2020, to help them cope with
climate change and pursue sustainable development.
'At
present, the Fund remains empty and so can do little to help developing
countries cope with the crippling costs of climate change and to
develop in cleaner ways which won't greatly exacerbate the crisis.
