Climate campaigners walk out of talks

November 22, 2013

It just two weeks since Typhoon Haiyan caused enormous devastation and thousands of deaths in the Philippines in the latest example of extreme weather being caused by climate change.

It has now been recognised by climate scientists that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions humans cause by burning fossil fuels is helping to increase climate change. Yet several of the governments represented at the talks have announced that they will not be meeting targets for reducing their countries' CO2 emissions. For example, Japan had pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% from 1990 levels by the year 2020. Now this target has been cut to just a 3.8% reduction. Canada has withdrawn completely from the Kyoto accord, which committed governments to reducing CO2 emissions to 1990 levels or below and Australia has indicated that it will reduce its targets for CO2 reduction.

With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and more intense, it is clear that we have to do something. Many of the environmental groups represented in Warsaw have simply had enough of the unclear targets and the lack of action these climate talks seem to generate. The backtracking on previously agreed targets by some of the world's developed nations has rightly caused despair and led to the mass walkout.

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