CANCUN, MEXICO (December 1, 2010) – The focus of discussion today will be on Japan. Yesterday, as the UNFCCC climate change negotiations began, Japan said that it does not want to support a second commitment period under the Kyoto protocol. The second commitment period is supposed to follow the ending first commitment period in 2012. “This is a bad start to the negotiations”, says Poul Eric Lauridsen, Climate Change Advocacy Coordinator for CARE International. “The danger is that other countries may want to follow Japan’s example and run away from binding commitments on emissions reductions.” Without a second commitment period there will be no clear plan to keep the world on a 2-degree emissions pathway.
”The Kyoto protocol is the only binding agreement that we have at the moment. If we do not have a second commitment period, the climate change agreement will be very weak”, Lauridsen says. CARE therefore calls for a continuation of the Kyoto protocol with a second commitment period. Parties should also agree to a complementary and legally binding agreement that includes pro-poor provisions on adaptation and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD,) USA emissions reduction commitments comparable to those agreed to by the Parties under the Kyoto protocol and emissions reductions by developing countries.
”Everything that has been achieved will be watered down on Cancun’s coastal shore if other countries follow Japan’s example”, Lauridsen says. “The EU really needs to show leadership now and champion a second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol." The Kyoto Protocol was agreed to in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. “Now it is up to Japan to uphold the historic achievement that was once reached in its country. Japan must not wipe Kyoto off its own map.”
Media contact in Cancun:
Sandra Bulling, Senior Media Officer CARE Germany-Luxemburg
Cell: (+251) 998 1972974 (Mexican mobile)
(+49) 151 126 27 123 (German mobile)
Email: [email protected]
About CARE: Founded in 1945, CARE is one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid agencies. Working side by side with poor people in 72 countries, CARE helps empower communities to address the greatest threats to their survival. Women are at the heart of CARE’s efforts to improve health, education and economic development because experience shows that a woman’s achievements yield dramatic benefits for her entire family. CARE is also committed to providing lifesaving assistance during times of crisis, and helping rebuild safer, stronger communities afterward.