Martin Galea De Giovanni The objective of Friends of the Earth Malta through the UN climate talks is to secure a safe and fair future for all. This objective and our strategies are informed first and foremost by our perspective as an environmental justice campaigning organisation and rooted in our membership of Friends of the Earth International – the world’s largest grassroots environmental network with 77 national member organisations, with a large number of member organisations in the global South.
A Question of Environmental Justice... But there will be no agreement if rich countries, who have caused the climate crisis, fail to show a strong commitment to investing public money in climate protection, at home and in developing countries.
While rich developed countries represent only 20% of the world’s population, historically they have emitted three quarters of global CO2 emissions. This means that they have already consumed more than three times their fair share of atmospheric space, representing a disproportionate contribution to climate change. In contrast, the poorest 10% of the world’s population have contributed less than 1% of these emissions.
Friends of the Earth Malta believes that an international agreement can only work practically and politically if it is fair, giving ries whose over-consumption of fossil fuels and promotion of particular development paradigms has caused the climate crisis we all face.
Will Europe take the lead ? Europe must up its commitment and agree to at least 40% emissions reductions by 2020 within the EU. At the same time European governments must close all the loopholes which would make the targets meaningless. Achieving at least 40% cuts within Europe by 2020 is technically and economically feasible - there are no excuses for governments not to act now.
This can be confirmed by a new study recently released by the Stockholm Environment Institute in partnership with Friends of the Earth Europe. This research shows how Europe can cut domestic emissions by 40% in 2020, and by 90% in 2050, compared to 1990 levels. This is the minimum scale and speed of reductions science says is likely to be needed from rich countries to avert a climate catastrophe and would enable the European Union to live up to its historical responsibility for causing climate change.
FoE Malta launched its Climate Change Campaign in 2008 as part of the Big Ask Campaign together with other 16 Friends of the Earth Europe groups to lobby in favour of legislation towards a net decrease in emissions year on year.
Visit Friends of the Earth’s website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us www.foemalta.org. You can also support us by sending a blank SMS donation on 50618070 (€4.66) or 50619212 (€11.65).
The full report ‘Europe’s Share of the Climate Challenge: Domestic Actions and International Obligations to Protect the Planet’ is available at: www.sei-international.org/climateshareeurope
The Stockholm Environment Institute is an independent, international research institute working on environment and development issues. The institute’s goal is to bridge science and policy on sustainability. www.sei-international.org
Friends of the Earth’s climate campaign, the Big Ask, is calling on governments across Europe to commit to legally binding year on year cuts in emissions equal to a 40% reduction of EU-wide domestic emissions by 2020. www.thebigask.eu
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