Climate Betrayal in Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN – “The political statement agreed to with much fanfare in Copenhagen at the 15th Conference of the Parties is not what was needed,” says Elizabeth May, the Green Party of Canada Leader.  “With clear warnings from science that greenhouse gas emissions must halt their global rise and begin a steep decline no later than 2015, the leaders gathered in Copenhagen have issued a compromise statement that should never have been written.”

"This is the deal the politicians needed to save face. It is not the deal the world needed to save lives," said Elizabeth May. "The worst part of this may be the review in 2016. Earlier today a draft text called for work to continue on what is needed in 6-12 months. Eliminating this timeline is a huge and unacceptable compromise. This so-called 'success' could risk survival for millions at risk."

The UN reviewed the cumulative impacts of existing commitments made at COP15 and found they would allow global average temperature to grow well past the danger point.

"It appears this paper success is contrived to help President Obama with his national political problems. Let's hope that once the health care and Waxman-Markey bills are passed, the negotiations for a real deal will resume.  Greens around the world, whether in parliaments and governments or not, will continue to press for a real deal."

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Debra Eindiguer
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