Yahoo News 1 Jul 09;
PARIS (AFP) – Canada ranks last among the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations for tackling climate change while Germany is top, the green group WWF and the German insurance giant Allianz reported on Wednesday.
Their assessment, issued ahead of the annual G8 summit, blasts Canada for greenhouse-gas emissions that are surging "far above" its obligations under under the UN's Kyoto Protocol.
"(Canada's) per capita emissions are among the highest in the world," they said.
"(Its) mid- to long-term greenhouse targets are inadequate. A plan to curb emissions was developed last year but has not been implemented. The Kyoto target will stay completely out of reach."
The United States, which placed last in the 2008 rankings, moves up a notch, thanks to the pro-climate policies launched by President Barack Obama.
Russia, too, is criticised for a steady increase in carbon pollution since 1999 and the lack of policies to reverse the trend.
Japan and Italy, ranked fifth and fourth respectively, have relatively low emissions per capita.
But both are faulted for failing to set down programmes that will help to peg global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees) Fahrenheit above pre-industrial times, a widely-accepted goal.
Germany heads the G8 list, narrowly followed by Britain and then France.
Even so, these three countries are still two-thirds short of what they could achieve, the report said.
The G8 summit takes place in L'Aquila, Italy, from July 8-10.
UN countries, under the 192-party Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), aim to forge a new agreement in Copenhagen in December that will set targets for emissions curbs and channel help to poor countries beyond 2012.
Canada agreed under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce CO2 emissions to 6.0 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. In 2007, the latest year for which figures are available, its emissions were 26.2 percent higher than in 1990.
Canada seen worst of G8 not curbing climate change
Daniel Flynn, Reuters 1 Jul 09;
ROME (Reuters) - With only five months to go until a new global pact on climate change, none of the Group of Eight nations is doing enough to curb global warming, with Canada and the United States ranking bottom, a study said on Wednesday.
The "G8 Climate Scorecards," compiled by environmental group WWF, said even the greenest members of the rich nations' club -- Germany, Britain and France -- were not on track to meet a "danger threshold" of limiting temperature rises to below two degrees Celsius.
G8 leaders gather in Italy next week to discuss the world financial crisis and climate change, hoping to make progress toward a new pact on global warming due to be signed in Copenhagen in December to replace the 1997 Kyoto deal.
They will be joined by members of U.S. President Barack Obama's Major Economies Forum in a bid to forge broad consensus.
"While there might be a bailout possibility for the financial system, no amounts of money will save the planet once climate change crosses the danger threshold," WWF head James Leape wrote in the foreword to the report.
Wednesday's annual G8 scorecard singled out Canada, saying Prime Minister Stephen Harper's conservative government had not implemented a plan to curb emissions, already among the highest in the world per capita and steadily increasing. Canada was not even close to meeting its Kyoto agreements, the WWF said.
The report praised U.S. President Obama for prioritizing clean energy in his economic recovery package and promoting green legislation, but said U.S. per capita emissions were among the highest in the world and were projected to rise.
"There has been more action in the U.S. in the last four months than in the last three decades -- a trend that will hopefully continue," the report said.
Obama's government has not embraced the 2 degree Celsius goal adopted by the European Union. Temperatures have already risen by 0.7 percent since the start of the industrial era.
"In order to avoid or reduce the risk of catastrophic climate change, G8 leaders must agree to do everything they can to stay below 2 degrees," said Kim Carstensen, leader of the WWF's Global Climate Initiative.
GERMANY TOP, THEN BRITAIN
Top of the G8 rankings came Germany, followed by Britain. The WWF praised Berlin for promoting renewable energy and an ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gases by 40 percent by 2020, though said this lacked clear plans for implementation.
"There is no reason to celebrate," said Regine Guenther, director for climate change, WWF Germany, adding that emissions needed to be cut by 95 percent by 2050. "This would be essential to keep global temperature rises well below two degrees."
Britain has already more than achieved its Kyoto pact targets due to a transition from coal to gas-fired power stations in the 1990s, but there was room to cut emissions in transport, power generation and services, the report said.
France has low emissions per capita for an industrialized nation due to its reliance on nuclear power, which provides more than three-quarters of its needs. The WWF does not support nuclear power due to concerns over safety and radioactive waste.
G8 host Italy has low emissions compared to G8 partners due mainly to the structure of its economy, the WWF said, but emissions were rising and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government was not making headway to meeting Kyoto obligations.
(Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)
G8 fails on climate goals. Again.
WWF 1 Jul 09;
Berlin, Germany – G8 countries have so far failed to take sufficient action to protect the world against climate change. The latest G8 Climate Scorecards report shows that Germany, followed by the UK and France, is performing better than the rest of the rich nations’ group. Italy and Japan are in a lower medium ranked group. Canada, the USA and Russia are lagging behind, despite the USA moving up one rank.
The report carried out by Ecofys for WWF and Allianz SE ranks the top eight industrialized countries and five major developing countries according to their climate change policy.
Only five months ahead of crucial climate talks in Copenhagen, the 2009 edition of the annual WWF-Allianz G8 climate scorecards shows that while some efforts had been made, action remains insufficient to set the world on a low carbon economy course.
The report states the lack of a clear leader among the ranked nations and while Germany has slightly improved, countries such as Canada and Russia have completely failed to pass the test.
In the foreword of the report, James Leape, the head of WWF and Allianz board member Joachim Faber urged the nations to take action now and help seal a good deal in Copenhagen.
“While there might be a bailout possibility for the financial system, no amounts of money will save the planet once climate change crosses the danger threshold,” Mr. Leape and Mr. Faber wrote. “It is therefore crucial to limit the rise of global temperature to below two degrees compared to pre-industrial levels.”
The G8 Climate Scorecards 2009 measure countries’ performance and trends in areas such as development of greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, the distance to their Kyoto-targets, their share of renewable energies and the efficiency of their climate policies.
The evaluation is based on their progress and improvement made since 1990, is looking at the current status of emissions and the intended policies for the future.
According to the report, Germany, the United Kingdom and France have already achieved their Kyoto targets - but their long-term climate performance is not adequate to limit the global temperature rise below two degrees Celsius.
Climate initiatives so far planned or announced by the Obama-administration have helped the USA climb from the last rank to seventh place.
Canada and Russia which are at the bottom of the rank either do not have political plans to change this development or do not implement them.
Within the framework of the global WWF-Allianz partnership, Allianz in its position as an international finance service provider supports the G8 Climate Scorecards to better understand the consequences of climate change. That is vital for the investment and regulatory framework conditions that have to be adapted to the consequences of climate change as well as for the development of new climate compliant products and financial solutions.
Joachim Faber, board member of Allianz SE says: “A low carbon future holds growth potential for G8 countries as well as for emerging nations. Future investments and product development therefore require a sustainable political framework.”
