Friday 11 February 2005

WWF wants all Kyoto parties to commit to keeping the rise in the average global temperature to well below 2°C (above pre-industrial levels). This is the crucial 'tipping point' for the environment which would have devastating impacts on people and wildlife such as an increase in extreme and frequent weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods and putting many thousands of species at risk of extinction.

This means that industrialised countries must slash CO₂ emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, with global emissions cut by 50 per cent over the same period. Currently the Kyoto Protocol asks industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least 5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.

"The entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol is the first step in containing the threat of climate change," said Dr Catarina Cardoso, Head of Climate Change at WWF-UK.

"The UK government has an important role to play in bringing the rest of the world on board but we must tackle our own emissions first, starting with the power sector - the biggest emitter of CO₂ in this country, added Dr Cardoso.

WWF believes that the Kyoto Protocol must provide the basis for agreements beyond 2012, the end of the agreement's current period.

"During the next commitment period beginning in 2012 the Kyoto Club must be the driving force and set even more ambitious targets," said Dr Cardoso. "This generation of politicians is the last generation who have it in their power to secure the future of our planet, to safeguard the health and livelihoods of millions of people and the habitats that sustain their lives. History will not forgive them if they fail to act."