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Getting a global deal

Portrait of a Kenyan worker at Golini Community Nursery, Kenya

Getting a global agreement – the 'Global Deal'

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak within a decade and then fall by 80% by 2050.

To secure this, a robust and equitable UN agreement the - ‘Global Deal’ - must be reached at the Copenhagen climate summit in December 2009 and then ratified so that it comes into force by the end of 2012 when the commitments under the current international agreement – the UN’s Kyoto Protocol – come to an end.

The scale of this task is daunting – achieving such reductions will require radical changes in the way in which the world sources and uses energy. However, several analyses – including WWF’s 2007 Climate Solutions report – show that it is still possible to avoid the worst impacts of climate change by rapid deployment of clean energy solutions (addressing some 65% of global emissions) and stopping tropical deforestation (some 20% of emissions).

The WWF network is well-placed to work on this agenda with climate teams working in many of the key countries such as the EU, China, India, Japan, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia and the US. WWF also has a good record as one of the main NGOs working on the UN climate negotiations for nearly 15 years.

Iceberg in Antarctic

Poznan climate change conference

The UN climate change talks in Poznan, Poland (1-12 December 2008) represent one of the last credible opportunities to forge a global deal – where nations agree to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in time to prevent the most dangerous effects of climate change taking hold.

Melting ice in the Antarctic

Kyoto

WWF-UK works to ensure that the UK government continues to play a leading role on the global stage by driving forward an effective international climate change agreement to follow the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012.

Europe

Europe

A sustainable EU energy policy is key to reducing emissions and combating climate change.

Delegates at the Bali Conference

Bali summit 2007

WWF and other NGOs were instrumental in convincing governments at last December's UN meeting in Bali to create a roadmap to address the threat of climate change.