FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3 December 2007
CONTACT: Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384
Sierra Club Outlines Hopes for Bali Climate Conference
Organization says U.S. and Canada have isolated themselves on the world
stage
Washington, D.C. & Ottawa, ON-- The Sierra Club (U.S. and Canada) today
urged the US and Canadian delegations not to block progress at the United
Nations conference on global warming which opens in Bali this week.
"Ultimately, the United States will not be judged by the rhetoric of its
diplomats in Bali, but by our concrete actions to reduce our global warming
emissions at home," said Stephen Mills, Director of the Sierra Club’s
International Programs. "Bush administration officials are very good at
using green-sounding language to describe their domestic initiatives that
in fact undermine environmental protections and conservation. At this
meeting the whole world will be holding President Bush and our Congress
accountable."
"The Bali negotiations are an opportunity for Canada to move from laggard
to leader in the fight against global warming," said Jean Langlois,
National Campaigns Director for the Sierra Club of Canada. "Canada and the
US in are isolated from the rest of the world in trying to block binding
targets that would hold developed countries accountable for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. This position is fundamentally at odds with
Canadian public opinion. Bali is an opportunity for our delegation to
represent the will of Canadians."
The entire world--nearly 200 countries in all--is gathering in Bali,
Indonesia between December 3-14, 2007 to address the fast-arriving effects
of global warming, the findings of climate science and the early results of
efforts to stop dangerous climate change.
Most importantly, the Bali meetings must set the stage for the crucial
second phase of work starting in 2013 under the UN Framework Convention for
Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. Some are calling the
package of agreements to be adopted this month the Bali Mandate.
"We are also realistic," said Mills. "Official national policy opposing the
Kyoto Protocol will not change until the current administration leaves
office. But thereafter, the Bali Mandate should provide an open path
toward reconnecting the US to the global process. Global issues require
global solutions." Langlois added: "No country will avoid the impacts of
climate change unless each country takes more aggressive action in the
second Kyoto commitment period after 2012."
Key Sierra Club Supported Outcomes for the COP13/MOP3 Meetings include:
Agreement on a coordinated and clear two-year timetable and detailed
work program for both the UNFCCC ("Convention track") and the Kyoto
Protocol ("Kyoto track"), leading to an agreement at the UN meetings in
Copenhagen at the end of 2009. This will provide time for all countries
to ratify treaty amendments, maintain momentum, and avoid any delay or
gap once Commitment Period 1 ends in 2012.
Adoption of goals to limit global temperatures to no more than 2 degrees
C above pre-industrial levels, keep greenhouse gas levels at 450 ppm CO2
equivalent or less, and review these goals regularly with regard to new
scientific information.
Commitment to adopt short term (2020) and intermediate (2050) global
goals for emissions reductions to achieve the 2 degree C/450 ppm limit
as part of the Kyoto/Copenhagen agreement.
Provide broad flexibility and resources to Subsidiary Bodies, Working
Groups and other delegated bodies to assure rapid progress, prepare
strong and detailed proposals as soon as possible, and accelerate the
negotiations for a final agreement in Copenhagen in 2009.
On Monday, December 3, the Sierra Club hosted a side event at the Grand
Hyatt in Bali on the organization’s Cool Cities Program, an exciting
approach to building local grassroots power to take action on global
warming.
Sierra Club's Cool Cities program recruits and engages local citizens in
securing commitments from local public officials to establish goals for
greenhouse gas reductions and to plan for how to achieve those reductions.
Thousands of Cool Cities volunteers are working in hundreds of cities
across the United States and Canada to advocate for local action on global
warming. These local volunteers are also active at the state, provincial
and federal levels advocating for policies and action on climate change.
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With over 1.3 million members and supporters, Sierra Club, established in
1892 by John Muir, is the oldest, largest and most influential grassroots
environmental organization in the United States. Sierra Club of Canada has
active chapters and groups in every region of the country.
Audio Actualities from Carl Pope, Sierra Club’s Executive Director, will be
available from Friday, December 7 online at
www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/media.
Sierra Club Factsheet on the Bali Meeting:
http://www.sierraclub.org/international/bali.pdf
Local contact information for Stephen Mills and Carl Pope will be available
following their arrival in Bali. Please contact Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384
or [log in to unmask], for that information.
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