C Furkumzuk | Climate Change LEADer, Nagaland.
Climate change is up-and-coming as a major challenge for present society. The world is warming, much of the warming is due to human emissions of greenhouse gases, and the changes are set to accelerate in the future, bringing diverse severe impacts around the world- that’s the basic mechanics of Climate Change we now well understand. World leaders are also well aware that urgent action is needed both to adapt to the climate change that is inevitable and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, to prevent further damage. Recent articles on Climate Change Corner have highlighted on the participation of the Heads of Nagaland State Government- a small state located in the far eastern corner of India, on the international call on climate change and environment concern like that of Earth Hour for instance, a very positive move indeed!. Its time for leaders, big and small to think climate and what it pays!
The fifteenth Conference of the Parties under the United Nations’ Climate Change Convention- The COP15 conference will take place in December 2009 at Copenhagen, Denmark. The willingness to reduce emission of greenhouse gases by the industrialized countries and the willingness to limit the growth of their emission by major developing countries like India and China, followed by adaptation and mitigation measures are something the world expects to be addressed through this conference.
Let’s go through some of what climate thinkers have to say about Cop15 and Climate change:
“The debate about the reality of climate change is over. Climate change is a fact, and it poses the greatest single global threat faced by humankind in our generation” - L. Craig Johnstone, Deputy High Commissioner, UNHCR “Today we are faced with several major global challenges which no single country can solve alone. Climate change and the economic crisis do not recognise national borders, so the only way the world can tackle them is by working together” -Hans-Gert Pöttering, MEP, President of the European Parliament “At the end of this year, representatives of the 170 nations that are signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet in Copenhagen for what they hope will be final negotiations on a new international response to global warming and climate change”- Jeremy Oppenheim, global director of McKinsey & Company’s Climate Change Special Initiative & Eric Beinhocker, senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute
“Many people ask how sure we are about the science of climate change. The most definitive examination of the scientific evidence is to be found in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its last major report published in 2007” -John Theodore Houghton, former co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) scientific assessment working group “Despite growing concerns over global warming, greenhouse gas emissions keep increasing. The good news is that we already know what to do to reduce emissions substantially from energy, transport, buildings and agriculture. Now it is a question of taking action” -Anders Eldrup, CEO, DONG Energy
“The energy industry finds itself at the intersection of the world’s most pressing dual challenge: to strike the balance between development and climate change” -Helge Lund, CEO, StatoilHydro “The agreement on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Copenhagen this December will be a pivotal decision determining global public health in the 21st century. Let us not forget that the ultimate impact of all climate change threats to environment, economy and security will be on human health” -Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO) “The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this year will be the moment in history when humanity can rise to the challenge and decisively deal with the issue. It is beyond the shadow of a doubt that greenhouse gas emissions must be radically reduced to prevent climate change from sliding into climate chaos” -Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
“By combining technology for CO2 capture and storage (CCS) with the use of biomass, future energy production can remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The latest observations of climate change tell us that carbon negative is not only an interesting idea, but a necessity if we are to avoid crossing dangerous climatic tipping point” -Frederic Hauge, President of The Bellona Foundation “Time passes by too quickly and the Report from Scientists members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) regarding the seriousness of this problem has much to say about it. The decisions to be taken in Copenhagen must be drastic and we must take them fast” -Ricardo Lagos, Former President of Chile and UN Special Envoy on Climate Change “The challenge of climate change is daunting and demands the participation of all sectors. Agriculture needs to be part and parcel of efforts to meet international and national climate change objectives” -Alexander Mueller, Assistant Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
“Climate Change brings remarkable modifications in weather events and climate, the last tending to a new climate geography. Should greenhouse emission rates continue to increase, society, which is already affected by climate change, will suffer these changes more severely” - Osvaldo F. Canziani, Doctor of Meteorology and former Co-Chairman of IPCC Working Group II “The financial and economic crisis continues to dominate the news, and understandably so. In the short term we all face a painful reduction in global prosperity. But in the long term perhaps the greatest threat of all – not only to our prosperity but also to the survival of millions of people in vulnerable areas of the globe – comes from climate change” - Stavros Dimas, European Commissioner for the Environment
“The seriousness of man-made climate change becomes increasingly clear. Climate change has entered the political agendas, but still we see little progress internationally: CO2 emissions are increasing, despite years of negotiations, target plans and political settlements. The UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen must lead to change. We need an ambitious, broad and binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol” -Roar Flåthen, President of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, LO Norway
“Most people today understand the urgency of climate change. But few are prepared to act” -Georg Kell, Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact “With unemployment soaring, bankruptcies climbing, and stock markets in free-fall, it may at first glance seem sensible to ditch the fight against climate change and put environmental investments on hold. But this would be a devastating mistake of immediate, as well as inter-generational, proportions” - Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General, Executive Director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) “We are at a critical time in the thinking about how we handle climate change and its consequences. Much work has been done – and much more remains to be done – on achieving a new climate agreement in Copenhagen later this year. There is an increasing acceptance that business needs to be part of the solution” -Björn Stigson, President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
“Climate change is one of the most serious challenges mankind has ever faced and has serious implications for the realization of human rights. A human rights analysis brings into focus how lives of individuals and communities are affected and why human rights safeguards must be integrated into policies and measures to address climate change” -Ms. Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
“We are all keenly aware that the scientific evidence that our climate is changing is overwhelming” - Kemal Derviş, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Leaders! Its time for you to think Climate too!
The Nagaland CCL’s invite you to respond to this article on-line at www.morungexpress.com or email ccl.nagaland@gmail.com
