The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the World Meteorological Organisation and UNEP to assess scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. It is currently finalising its Fourth Assessment Report "Climate Change 2007". The release on Friday 4 May 2007 of the Summary for Policy Makers on “Mitigation of Climate Change” makes public the third technical report to be published this year. A copy of the Summary is available on the IPCC’s website (http://www.ipcc.ch)
STATEMENT BY THE OFFICE OF MARTHINUS VAN SCHALKWYK, MINISTER OF ENVRIONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM, FRIDAY 3 MAY 2007
CLIMATE REPORT WILL GIVE POLITICAL PUSH TO GLOBAL NEGOTIATIONS
The Summary for Policymakers (SPM) of the IPCC Working Group III report entitled “Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change” has a number of key messages for the world’s policy makers. It will provide a major push to global negotiations on the future climate regime. The overall message to policy makers is one of urgency, leadership and ambition. We need to act quickly, we need to make decisive policy shifts, and we need to be ambitious in our embracement of a basket of technological options.
This will be my key message when I address the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in New York, next week. The theme of the CSD is Energy, Climate Change, Industrial Development and Air Pollution. This meeting in New York will be a important platform to send a strong political signal to countries like the USA that are not acting on their moral responsibility to take the lead in combating climate change. The IPCC report builds this case and reconfirms the historical contribution to climate change of large developed countries like the USA.
Firstly, the report confirms that emissions of harmful greenhouse gasses are growing rapidly and are likely to continue. The emissions of greenhouse gases have risen 70 percent since 1970 and could rise an additional 90 percent by 2030 if no action is taken.
Secondly, it underscores that delaying climate action will have devastating impacts. GHG emissions need to be dramatically decreased in the short term (1 to 3 decades) if we want to avert the worst consequences. Global emissions must peak and decline if we wish to avoid potentially catastrophic climate change impacts and, further, the peak must happen sooner rather than later if we wish to stabilise GHG concentrations at levels that would have less than catastrophic impacts.
Thirdly, all is not lost. Many of the technologies that can help us to achieve the kind of emission reductions that would avoid severe climate change and that would keep temperature increases manageable already exist or are in advanced stages of development. What is needed are decisive policy shifts to cut emissions and significantly beefed up investment in climate friendly technologies, in particular in the energy sector. World leaders that until recently denied the problem no longer have to wait for more science, and they no longer have the excuse that we need to wait for more technology options before doing something. This reality should, however, not prevent us all from investing more in research and development of even more effective and affordable technologies that can help us to achieve our objectives.
Fourthly, the report confirms that climate change is not only an environmental problem, it is fundamentally an economic and social one. Sustainable development will benefit from and will benefit GHG mitigation. On the one hand, inaction on climate change will undermine sustainable development and our best efforts at reducing poverty and growing our economies. On the other hand, taking action on reducing GHG emissions also has co-benefits in other sectors, for example the significant air quality benefits for human health. The report also confirms that moving toward a more sustainable development path can make a meaningful contribution to climate action.
Fifthly, the report underscores that lifestyle and behavioral changes would have a positive impact. This new section in the report supports action ‘on the ground’ by everyone - i.e. we all have a role to play.
Emissions are rising rapidly and there is only a short time-frame to turn these trends around. What is needed is clear climate policy and greater investment in climate-friendly technology. We need to act urgently, together.
Enquiries: Riaan Aucamp - 083 778 9923
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