Climate 'road map missing vital signpost', says Tearfund

|PIC1|"A road map missing a vital signpost" was how Tearfund described the global deal on climate change struck at the UN conference in Bali on Saturday.

The new deal commits the US and China to global greenhouse goals for the first time, as well as a two-year process to negotiate further emissions cuts, to culminate in the adoption of a new agreement in Copenhagen in 2009.

However, Andy Atkins, Tearfund Advocacy Director, pointed to the fact that the final document has no explicit reference to the need for industrialised countries to cut carbon emissions by 25 to 40 per cent by 2020.

"The stalling tactics of the Bush Administration and a few others snatched mediocrity from the jaws of resounding success," he said.

"The good news is we have a process to negotiate further emissions cuts by 2020. Getting more than 180 countries to agree was no mean feat.

"But the fact that there is no agreement about exactly how far to cut emissions means the Bali roadmap is missing a vital signpost. An ambitious, science-based target will have to be agreed by 2009 if the new agreement is not to be fatally flawed," he warned.

There was significant progress in helping poor countries adapt to the ravages of climate change, a neglected issue according to Tearfund.

Governments were able to agree a commitment to adaptation to be a major building block of any new treaty, alongside emissions cuts.

There was further news in the finalising of a special Adaptation Fund, which has the potential to deliver significant funds to grassroots programmes to help poor communities adapt, Tearfund believes.

"It represents some progress, however at least $50 billion a year is needed for adaptation in developing countries, which means we will need much more than just the Adaptation Fund," said Sarah La Trobe, Senior Policy Analyst at Tearfund.

"We are pleased that adaptation has leapt up the political agenda but money is not yet flowing in the quantity we need. And world leaders must acknowledge that with every delay in taking strong action to cut global emissions, poor people in developing countries have to survive more droughts, floods and more intense storms."

"Rich countries will have to explore every possible avenue for funding over the next few years if we are to have any chance of meeting our responsibilities to poor people."