In an open letter to Environment Minister John Baird released today, leading humanitarian, development and environmental organizations called on Canada's government to change its policies on global warming to do its fair share in preventing dangerous climate change. The call came as critical UN climate negotiations opened in Bali, Indonesia.
Last week, a report from the UN Development Program called climate change the "defining human development challenge of the 21st century." This reflects what many humanitarian organizations are already seeing - that climate change is happening now, it's hitting developing countries hardest and urgent assistance is needed to support adaptation.
Governments are meeting in Bali for the next two weeks to launch negotiations on a global agreement to take over after the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. Adequate funding for adaptation will be one of the key issues at stake in the negotiations.
"As the negotiations continue in Bali, we are once again calling on the Government of Canada to take decisive action." said Faris Ahmed of USC Canada. "Canada must advocate the 2°C limit, and strongly support adaptation measures in the global south. Canadians have a long and proud tradition of good global citizenship that they do not wish to see compromised in Bali."
"This year we have seen floods across South Asia, Africa and Mexico that have affected more than 250 million people. Women and girls are most affected by climate change," says Robert Fox, Executive Director of Oxfam Canada. "Action is needed now to prepare for more disasters, otherwise humanitarian assistance will be overwhelmed and recent advances in human development will go into reverse."
But adaptation is not limited to emergency response. Reducing vulnerability to climate change is critical. "In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, our government must also take policy measures that will support small scale farmers," said Stuart Clark, chair of the Canadian Food Security Policy Group. "Many of these farmers are already coping successfully with the early effects climate change, but more lies ahead and justice demands that we help through fair global trade, debt and aid policies as well as more and better international aid for small farmers."
The signatory organizations are calling on the Government of Canada, in Bali, to:
- advocate the objective of limiting global average temperature increases to 2°C above pre-industrial levels,
- treat adaptation as a priority in the negotiations by supporting the efficient, fair, and accessible operationalization of the Adaptation Fund,
- support a mandate for negotiating a post-2012 international regime that includes adequate funding for adaptation as a priority, as well as deeper cuts in absolute emissions for industrialized nations, and
- announce a substantial strengthening of Canada's domestic emission reduction targets and policies.
"The Government must recognize that developed countries such as Canada, with far higher per capita emissions and wealth, and with a greater share of historical responsibility for climate change than the largest emitters among developing countries, must take the lead in emission reductions," says Matthew Bramley, Director of the Pembina Institute's climate change program.
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For more information, contact:
Alexandra Lopoukhine, Oxfam Canada.
alexandral@oxfam.ca
Cell: (613) 850-9723
Matthew Bramley (at UN Negotiations in Bali)
matthewb@pembina.org
+62-81-338-969113
The signatories to the letter are listed below.
Gerry Barr, President-CEO, Canadian Council for International Co-operation
Stuart Clark, Senior Policy Advisor, Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Kevin McCort, Interim CEO, CARE Canada
Karl Nerenberg, Communication Director, CUSO
Kevin Perkins, Executive Director, Developing Countries Farm Radio Network
Robert Fox, Executive Director, Oxfam Canada
Pierre Veronneau, Executive Director, Oxfam-Quebec
Matthew Bramley, Director, Climate Change, The Pembina Institute
Omega Bula, Executive Minister, Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations, The United Church of Canada
Faris Ahmed, Director Canadian Programs, USC Canada
Mara Kerry, Director of Conservation, Nature Canada