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| GWEC says rich countries must act first As the first negotiations of 2009 on the road to Copenhagen drew to a close in Bonn, the Global Wind Energy Council called on industrialised countries to show leadership in the fight against climate change. "With each passing day, there is new evidence that climate change is happening faster than expected, and new science underlining the importance of urgent action to reduce emissions", said GWEC Secretary General Steve Sawyer. "Rich countries must act first, and the rest of the world will follow. The current game of 'chicken' between the north and the south is just not acceptable." Wind energy can and must play a key role in reaching the ambitious emissions reduction targets that are required. "The technologies are available to achieve serious cuts now, and the wind industry is ready and willing to play its part. But we need clear signals from governments and a global framework in order to realise the full potential of existing clean technologies to fight climate change now, " said Sawyer. Industrialised countries failed for the second meeting in a row to identify their emissions reductions objectives. Although the European Union and a few others have put numbers on the table, most of the rest of the industrialised countries have not. The highlight of the session was the introduction of the 'new look United States delegation', which began what will be a long process of re-integration into the international fight against climate change. GWEC welcomed the new approach by the US, but urged them to move as quickly as possible to develop their policies in order to be able to join a new agreement in Copenhagen in December. Also, an emerging coalition of small island states and least developed countries, all of whom face the worst threats in the near term from the impacts of climate change, introduced new language which takes into account the latest science. Keeping global mean temperature rise to less than 1.5C would be necessary to save these countries from either sinking beneath the waves or turning into deserts in the coming decades. This would require a robust agreement with very deep emissions reduction targets for industrialised countries, strong action by major emerging economies and a global carbon market to facilitate the finance for the rapid uptake of clean energy technologies and to incentivise energy efficiency. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Construction News :: home page |