Christians eye Copenhagen as climate summit opens

|PIC1|Christian climate change campaigners are praying that a historic climate summit opening in Copenhagen today will lead to a deal that puts the planet and people first.

“We must pray for a successful outcome because the whole world is depending on it,” said Daleep Mukarji, director of Christian Aid.

Some 15,000 delegates from 192 countries are in the Danish capital for the start of negotiations today, while more than 100 world leaders will arrive for the summit next week to reach an agreement on a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

They will discuss reductions in carbon emissions, funds to help developing countries adapt to climate change, and a carbon trading scheme.

Mukarji said it was “urgent” that governments agree on 40 per cent cuts in carbon emissions and additional money for developing countries to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

“We don’t want a fudge,” he said. “We want a ‘FAB’ agreement - fair, ambitious and binding. Fair to developing countries, ambitious on targets, and legally binding so that all countries are signed up.

“If you get targets that are not really controlling global warming then what’s the point?”

Mr Mukarji said a climate change deal was not only an issue of science but also of justice for people already feeling the impact of climate change. He warned that around 600 million people were already vulnerable because of climate change and the world was set to see more extreme weather like droughts, floods and typhoons.

“God’s people are suffering today because of what we’ve done in the last few years. They are suffering not because of anything they’ve done. It is not right that we allow this to continue,” he said.

A Rocha founder the Rev Dave Bookless said it was likely that governments would agree the “bare bones” of an agreement at Copenhagen and flesh out the details in the coming year.

He said recent commitments from the US and China on carbon emissions cuts had made him more hopeful of a binding agreement at Copenhagen.

He said: “I’m increasingly optimistic we will get a good agreement or at least a major step in the right direction towards a good agreement.”

A Globescan poll out today indicates growing concern around the world about climate change, with 64 per cent of people regarding climate change as "very serious". The poll, commissioned by the BBC, found that 62 per cent of people in the UK support the Government playing a strong leadership role in Copenhagen.

The world's two biggest polluters, China and the US, were more ambivalent towards climate change, with 57 per cent and 45 per cent respectively regarding it as "very serious".

GlobeScan Chairman Doug Miller commented: “The poll shows strong worldwide support for action on climate change, in spite of the recession. However, the mixed opinions in the United States and China suggest leadership in Copenhagen may need to come from others.”