The world's wealthiest countries, in particular Australia, Canada, European Community, Japan and the US, failed in Poland to commit to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, says Friends of the Earth International.
After two weeks of negotiations, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan are closing with many industrialized countries being blamed for failing to live up to their obligations. Unfortunately, the Climate Change Talks failed to come up with a global emission cuts’ target.
“Industrialized countries are failing to live up to their historical and current responsibilities by not committing to steep, immediate binding emission reduction targets,” said Friends of the Earth International Climate Coordinator Stephanie Long.
Some industrialized countries continue to advocate for avoiding emission reduction obligations through initiatives such as 'carbon offsetting' in developing countries. Most environmental groups reject offsetting as it delays real measures to tackle climate change.
The green consensus is that not nearly enough progress was made at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The main progress reported is a $60 million fund to help poor countries combat the effects of climate change such as rising sea levels. This seems like an awfully small amount of money to tackle an enormous problem. Especially considering all the money available for economic financial bailouts.
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