December 14, 2010

• Decisions taken at the UN Climate Conference at Cancun (COP16) are inadequate to deal with the full scope of the humanitarian consequences of climate change

• Agreements arrived at COP16 nevertheless demonstrate that global cooperation on all main areas of the climate challenge are feasible

CANCUN, Mexico, Saturday 11 December 2010 – The widespread humanitarian consequences of climate change will not be resolved by the nevertheless important agreements reached today at the UN climate conference in Cancun (COP16). The significant accomplishments of COP16 are initial steps only still to be built upon with full urgency since negative impacts on communities and further global warming are left largely unresolved.

DARA Trustees José María Figueres and Jan Eliasson and Director General, Ross Mountain, commented: “The agreements reached at the Cancun climate summit are a major step forward, but many more steps are still required. The conclusions are not yet sufficient to bring climate change under control, nor are they adequate to limit the negative impacts it is having around the world.”

International agreement to limit warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) is significant, but not backed by greenhouse gas emission reductions able to achieve that. Current levels of national emission reduction targets are unchanged from the Copenhagen process set in action following last year’s UN climate conference there (COP15). While not far off what is necessary, the Copenhagen targets still put the world on track for around 4 degrees Celisus (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) or more of warming above pre-industrial levels of temperatures. Such levels of warming would have devastating humanitarian consequences far beyond the nearly 1 million deaths projected by the DARA-Climate Vulnerable Forum “Climate Vulnerability Monitor” report by 2030 if proper measures are not taken.

Reconfirmation of pledges of 30 billion dollars of financing from industrialized nations to support adaptation and low-carbon growth in developing countries through to 2012 are an important step forward, but will be grossly inadequate for limiting the humanitarian and other economic and environmental impacts especially on the world’s most vulnerable communities. Even 100 billion dollars of regular financing from 2020 promised by COP16 is likely to be severely inadequate for preventing widespread and irreversible damages, particularly to vulnerable ecosystems, such as coral reefs. If financing is strategically focused on addressing key vulnerabilities in human health however, such as programmes fighting malnutrition, diarrheal infections and malaria, the hundreds of thousands of deaths already estimated to be caused by climate change every single year could be mostly averted.