As China and the G77 demand a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, the world’s only legally binding treaty on climate change, Action Aid’s International Climate Justice Coordinator Harjeet Singh says:
"The Kyoto Protocol is a 14 year old promise made by rich nations to slash their carbon emissions. If rich nations do not deliver on this promise, the death of the Kyoto Protocol could leave a wound so deep in the negotiations, it’s unlikely a climate agreement would be struck at all.
“Rich countries have purposefully kept expectations low for the climate summit. Yet poor nations, whose people are first and worst hit by climate change, have made clear the bar must remain high.
“Over one and a half billion people are on the verge of a climate-driven food crisis and unless tackled now, another 50 million people could be at risk of hunger by 2020. If rich countries don’t radically curb their carbon emissions by 2020, the climate crisis that ensues could dwarf our ability to respond.”
Notes to Editors: ActionAid is an international poverty organisation working with poor people and governments in over 50 countries to tackle the impacts of climate change and hunger.
The Kyoto Protocol: The ‘Kyoto Protocol’ is a UN pact aimed at fighting global warming, adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005. 193 states have signed and ratified the protocol. It ties 37 rich countries known as ‘Annex1’ countries to legally binding targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The cuts seek a 5% reduction from 1990 levels in Annex 1 countries before the end of the first commitment period in 2012. ActionAid believes the Kyoto Protocol is a solid base upon which to build a broader and more comprehensive agreement to deal with the climate crisis as the new science demands.
