GREENPEACE HAS marked the opening of this year’s United Nations’ climate change conference in Cancún, Mexico, by flying a hot air balloon over the nearby remnants of ancient Mayan city Chichén Itzá, to highlight the need for international action on the issue.
The environmental organisation’s climate policy director, Wendel Trio, said one of the biggest questions faced by government delegates gathering in Cancún was what do about the US and whether they could forge an agreement without its participation.
“Cancún presents both an opportunity and a choice for governments. It is an opportunity for them to park the US question for now – and move forward to reap the benefits of clean development, creating a future that is safe from the ravages of climate change.”
Security was reported to be tight. Mexican police and army personnel, supported by navy patrol boats, guarded the conference venue, where the opening ceremony included an address by President Felipe Calderón, who is “at war” with Mexico’s drug cartels.
Oxfam called on negotiators to begin the latest climate talks – this the 16th such conference held by the UN since 1995 – “with far more urgency and resolve following a year of weather-related disasters, record temperatures, flooding and rising sea levels.” A new Oxfam report entitled More Than Ever: Climate Talks That Work For Those That Need Them Most pointed out that 21,000 people died due to weather-related disasters in the first nine months of 2010, more than twice the number for the whole of 2009.
Despite the current cold snap in Ireland, Britain and northern Europe, it has also been one of the hottest years on record, with Pakistan logging 53.7 degrees, the highest ever in Asia, as well as record monsoon floods that claimed 2,000 lives.
Summer temperatures in Russia exceeded the long-term average by 7.8 degrees, doubling the daily death rate in Moscow and causing fires that destroyed 26 per cent of the country’s wheat crop; this led to a ban on grain exports that drove up world grain prices.
In Cancún, Oxfam is calling for a fair Climate Fund to help poorer countries adapt to climate change “so that money can get to those who need it most and can use it best”. It estimated that every dollar spent on adaptation could save $60 in damages.
“Cancún will not deliver everything that a global response to climate change should be”, report author Tim Gore said. “One of the most important achievements would be a fair Climate Fund because this would also help to rebuild trust and put the talks back on track.” The US Environmental Defence Fund said policies to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, have a good chance of advancing at Cancún, although it wants to see stronger protection for indigenous peoples in forest areas.
At home, the Stop Climate Chaos coalition called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to deliver the Government’s promised climate Bill before leaving office. If he did not, spokesman Gavin Harte said, the Green Party’s legacy will be “bailing out the banks”.
Meanwhile, Greenpeace hailed an initiative by the Consumer Goods Forum, representing over 400 companies, to stop using hydrofuorocarbons (HFCs), which are potent greenhouse gases, for refrigeration from 2015 and use natural refrigerants instead.
