CT: Tearfund said that the summit had taken only "modest steps". Was the outcome what you were hoping for or do you think more could have been achieved?
RR: We definitely hoped that more would be achieved. At the very least we were hoping that the ministers from all the different countries wouldn't just agree that climate change a problem and we need to do something about it, which seems to really be what they've agreed - again. We were hoping more that they'd actually recognise that we therefore need to set a global cap on emissions and set a temperature that it should not rise above. These kinds of things are being talked about everywhere else and we really need governments to take the lead and start making political decisions on those. For them to just come out and say 'Yeah, we all agree it's really urgent', we already know that!
What kind of steps do you want them to take then? What were you hoping for?
Under the UN process there is a whole discussion going on about what will happen when the Kyoto Protocol runs out in 2012. There's a whole set of discussions happening within the UN on that and we'd hoped within the G8 they could at least come to an agreement. What we are looking for is to agree that we need to stop global temperature rising two degrees above pre-industrial temperatures, which is what all the scientific research is telling us. And from that the next logical step is what concentration targets do we need and actually get into the details. It seems we are still skirting round the edges and still trying to get agreement that we even need to get that.
We would have loved to see the G8 say, 'Look, we agree we need to come up with a global target, let's get on with it within the UN.' Because the G8 is a really key place, especially to get the U.S. on board, and often in the bigger political negotiations they have more reticence.
Why do you think there has been skirting around the edges and why do you think there hasn't been urgent action until now?
It is really hard and frustrating sometimes when for us it seems so obvious. You hear all the rhetoric and you hear David Miliband and the UK Government saying how urgent it is. At the end of the day I think it does come down to each country's economics and politics and what they are willing to get on and make some quite serious decisions about, recognising that it probably will have some impact on their economies.
One of the significant things that did happen in the last few days was the Stern Review. It's really clear they are saying if we don't act now we will pay more later and I think that argument is going to become increasingly powerful. If you can speak to finance ministers and the economists in the country and say, 'Look guys, this is economically ridiculous,' then hopefully that might help move the argument along.
How do you feel about that attitude as a development agency: if it is in their economic advantage to do it then it seems they would do it?
Yeah, it is really hard and it can be quite frustrating. My heart just sank when I heard the reports this morning of what they had agreed. But at the end of the day you have to persevere within the realities that are. And if that is what it's going to take to move them then let's go for it. It is pretty demoralising, especially for us. You see how climate change is already starting to affect people. And it's not like we are a lone voice. There's so much out there now, everyone is talking about it. Practically every day there are news articles. There's scientific research coming out.
