Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

Government urged to advocate equity for poor countries

Operation Noah, the churches' climate change campaign, has welcomed the agreement reached at last week's climate summit to discuss long-term global climate strategy beyond 2012, and challenged the UK Government to declare the hand it will play.

The talks in Montreal were called to open discussion on a long term strategy to safeguard climatic stability. Currently the Kyoto Protocol only limits the greenhouse gas emissions of 36 rich countries by about five per cent. These commitments expire in 2012, by which time the world must be on course for far deeper cuts in order to avoid potentially catastrophic impacts.

The summit agreed to launch formal, though non-binding, talks on targets to be set from 2012, as well as a further round of targets for nations already in the Kyoto protocol.

Revd Dr David Pickering, Moderator of Operation Noah, said, 'At Montreal the world reached a long-awaited global coming of age. Time is running out to "cut the carbon" and turn the conference's hopes into reality. We in the West have to accept the lion's share of cuts, including in our homes and churches.'

The UK, as EU president, played a considerable part in the outcome of Montreal. Dr Pickering challenged the government to declare what position it will be taking in future negotiations. 'Operation Noah supporters want them to get global emissions cut to a safe level in a way that is fair for all the world's people. We will be among the first to cry foul if rich countries attempt "climate piracy" against the poor.'

For further information:

Revd Dr David Pickering Moderator of Operation Noah 0113 269 7002
Paul Bodenham Co-ordinator of Operation Noah 07747 638772
Laura Deacon Christian Ecology Link 01524 33859
Anne van Staveren CTBI Communications Officer 020 7654 7220, 07939 139881

Notes for Editors

The Operation Noah is a project of the environmental issues network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) and Christian Ecology Link (CEL).
CTBI is the umbrella body for all the major Christian Churches in Britain and Ireland bringing together Roman Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Reformed, and Pentecostal traditions.
CEL campaigns for a greener church and a greener world.

Weblinks:
Operation Noah: www.christian-ecology.org.uk/noah
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland: www.ctbi.org.uk
Christian Ecology Link: www.christian-ecology.org.uk

For details of the 11th session of the Conference of Parties to the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change, which took place from 29 November to 9 December in Montreal, see www.unfccc.int Email secretariat@unfccc.int

Background:

Until the eleventh hour the United States stuck doggedly to a refusal to negotiate, despite a powerful coalition of US multinationals pressing for clear targets so that they can plan their own investment. A day before the conference was due to end, the UK Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett, who represented the EU, spoke of the 'despair' which the US negotiators' position cast over the conference.

However it became clear that a consensus was growing on the benefits of carbon trading, from which the US risked excluding itself. The trading of unused carbon allowances to countries which exceed their own is widely seen as an effective mechanism to secure compliance. It received a cautious welcome from Operation Noah.

Commenting on the prospects of a global carbon market, Dr Pickering said, 'In principle it could be good news for the poor, because they will be able sell spare quota and invest in clean energy. So poor countries will be able to create wealth without making the same environmental mistakes we made. We will be watching negotiations very closely to see if it works out that way. Christians will be among the first to cry foul if rich countries, with their well-resourced negotiating teams, attempt 'climate piracy' against the poor.'

The Global Commons Institute's 'Contraction and Convergence' is a scheme which expresses Operation Noah's principles of cutting emissions to a safe level in a way that is fair for all the world's people, 'C&C' has been advocated for many years by churches and environmentalists.