Global Greens, representing 70 Green Parties and Green groups, issue declaration on reduction of greenhouse gases

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Friday, December 7, 2007

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

• Declaration addresses UN negotiations in Bali on climate change
• Greens, other Americans concerned about global warming to take the 'Polar Bear Plunge' into the Chesapeake Bay on December 8

WASHINGTON, DC -- Global Greens has published a declaration on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations in Bali addressing the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to curb the advance of global warming.

The statement calls on developed countries to commit to domestic reductions of at least 30% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, in comparison with 1990 emission levels, and urges conversion to a "low or zero carbon society."

Founded in 2001, the Global Greens is the international network of Green parties and political movements and represents more than 70 Green parties and political movements, in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe and the Americas, including the Green Party of the United States. The parties and movements have united behind the Global Green Charter .

Global Greens held a press conference at the Bali International Conference Center on Friday, December 7, in connection with the release of the declaration. More than 30 Green Party elected officials and other party representatives from around the world will participated in the Bali meeting, many as part of their country's national delegations. The text of the declaration is appended below.

In the US, over 200 Americans, including many Greens, will dive into the Chesapeake Bay on December 8 in connection with the Climate Change Action Network's International Day of Climate Action . The 'Polar Bear Plunge' into frigid water near Annapolis, Maryland, will raise public awareness of the growing climate crisis and raise money, through sponsorship of divers, for the fight against global warming. For more information, visit and .

US Greens have called for an end to subsidies and tax breaks to fossil and nuclear energy industries; enactment of socially equitable carbon taxes; incentives, legislation, and reforms to provide renewable energy technologies; rejection of environmentally destructive 'alternative' fuels produced from unsustainable or toxic feedstocks; rejection of 'clean coal'; an absolute limit on CO2 emissions; reduced fossil fuel use and an 80% cutback within ten years (condensed from the Green Party platform and the EcoAction Committee's statement of goals, 2006 Earth Day Statement).

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Global Greens Declaration for Bali
5th of December 2007

Time for Commitments

Alarmed by the speed of climate change and the insufficient action, particularly of those countries that bear the greatest responsibility for emitting greenhouse gases, Global Greens call for the Bali meeting to agree on a negotiation mandate to establish a binding regime for global greenhouse gas reductions which is consistent with avoiding dangerous climate change.

Global Greens call for the Bali mandate to

• build on key principles and mechanisms of the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol taking into account common but differentiated responsibilities;
• set a long-term goal of limiting average global temperature increase to below +2°C above pre-industrial levels;
• require the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60% by 2050 compared to the 1990 level, with binding targets for industrialised countries and broader global participation in reduction efforts, in particular by emerging economies through fair and proportionate targets;
• include effective and predictable financing for adaptation, incentives to avoid deforestation and forest degradation and reduce land use emissions;
• make significant advances in facilitating clean technology transfer and deployment;
• include the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices; and
• aim to establish such an international agreement by 2009.

Global Greens maintain that reducing global emissions must not lead to other threats such as nuclear risks, including nuclear proliferation, the risk of terrorists getting control over nuclear technology, or the risks posed by the impossibility of safely disposing of nuclear waste. Nuclear power must remain excluded from mechanisms aimed at promoting emission reductions under the international climate framework.

Climate change must be recognised as an issue of human rights and global equity, with security implications that might threaten international peace. Global Greens consider that finding an equitable solution is fundamental for success in international climate policy, and support the principle of converging global per capita emissions.

Global Greens are convinced that a low carbon or even zero carbon society is possible and can be combined with increased quality of life. To achieve this, it is necessary to set out a binding emission reduction pathway for the coming decades to ensure investment in energy-saving, resource-efficient and renewable energy technologies.

Global Greens consider it imperative that global emissions peak by 2015, and that greenhouse gas emissions thereafter decline to a level which is sustained by the absorption capacity of natural sinks, recognising the alarming evidence in the latest science that this capacity is decreasing.

Industrialised countries must play a leading role in tackling climate change at world level. Global Greens call for developed countries to commit to domestic reductions of at least 30% by 2020 and 80% by 2050 compared with 1990 levels.

Deforestation and forest degradation, especially in tropical forests, need to be tackled in the international climate policy framework. Global Greens call for urgent agreement to develop effective global measures, in particular to counteract any negative impacts linked to agrofuel expansion. Measures to address climate change must not damage biodiversity, water and nature. They must respect the rights of local communities and be fair to developing countries. Global Greens call for a global system of biodiversity accounting linked to improved carbon accounting systems.

Global Greens insist that the international climate policy framework must also provide independent and predictable financing to assist low-income vulnerable countries in adapting to already inevitable climate change. Global Greens support the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a means of promoting climate-friendly technologies but emphasise that, as an offset mechanism, it is only a temporary solution. Global Greens maintain that the use of flexible mechanisms must be supplemental to domestic reductions.

Global Greens

The Global Greens is the international network of Green parties and political movements. Founded in 2001, it represents more than 70 Green parties and political movements in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe and the Americas. For more information, see http://www.globalgreens.info

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