Climate change puts us all in the same boat. One hole will sink us
Climate change puts us all in the same boat. One hole will sink us all
Global warming does not respect borders. A mindset shift is required if world leaders are to save us from ourselves.
-
- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 December 2009 13.05 GMT
- Article history
The UN climate change conference in Copenhagen offers the prospect of a robust political deal, endorsed by the world’s leaders and witnessed by the world’s people, that sets out clear targets and a timeline for translating it into law. To be a truly historic achievement, such a deal must do two things.
First, it must lay the basis for a global regime and subsequent agreements that limit global temperature rise in accordance with the scientific evidence. Second, it must provide clarity on the mobilisation and volume of financial resources to support developing countries to adapt to climate change.
The stakes are enormous. Economic growth has been achieved at great environmental and social cost, aggravating inequality and human vulnerability. The irreparable damage that is being inflicted on ecosystems, agricultural productivity, forests and water systems is accelerating. Threats to health, life and livelihoods are growing. Disasters are also increasing in scale and frequency.
