Climate change

Climate Change Affects Everybody . . . But Not Equally

Trócaire staff's blogs from the Copenhagen talks.

World leaders' failure to reach a legally-binding deal in Copenhagen spells disaster for millions of the world’s poorest people, according to Trócaire's climate advisor Niamh Garvey, speaking from the UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen.

"Our leaders have continued to talk rather than act," said Niamh. "People in developing countries have been failed miserably today by a hollow, half-baked political outcome that will leave millions fighting to keep their heads above water."

Niamh said the talks had been dogged by an untransparent process that saw a paper produced by a small number of countries that could not be adopted by all.

"Rich countries were not willing to make necessary decisions on emissions reductions and financing. Countries set their own individual targets based on what they considered economically and politically viable rather than what is required by science and justice," she said.

"It is inconceivable that more than 100 world leaders gathered in one room have failed to reach a legally-binding deal and have passed up an historical opportunity. And there is still no clear timeline that lays out how an agreement fixed in international law will be achieved in the coming months.

"Governments, including Ireland, need to get back at the negotiating table and deliver a real deal as soon as possible. This will require re-building trust between developing and developed countries. Ireland must show its willingness to take action by adopting a strong climate change bill at home that commits to a 40% domestic emission reduction by 2020 and guarantees that Irish contributions to climate financing are 100% additional to overseas aid."

 The next round of global negotiations must secure a legally-binding outcome that includes:

· At least 40 per cent cuts in carbon emissions by rich countries by 2020 from 1990 levels.

· A minimum of $195 billion in new funding from rich countries every year to help poor countries deal with the impacts of climate change and pursue greener growth.

In Brief - the Copenhagen summit outcome:

The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), today 'noted' the 'Copenhagen Accord' document produced by a number of countries on Friday night, including the United States, but did not formally adopt it.

The Copenhagen Accord includes a reference to keeping global temperatures to below 2 degrees celsius, but does not set a global emission reduction target or a mid-term emission reduction target for developed countries.

The Copenhagen Accord promises $30bn for climate finance in developing countries over the next three years, and agrees to 'set a goal' of providing $100bn each year by 2020 of finance from a range of sources.

There is no reference to a legally-binding agreement.World leaders have begun meeting in Copenhagen to agree a crucial new global treaty on climate change.  Trócaire wants to see a strong, fair deal agreed that offers real financial support to the developing countries who are being hit hardest by climate change despite doing the least to cause it.  

We also need to make sure that governments don’t raid their overseas aid budgets to fund for this support. Poor countries shouldn’t be forced to sacrifice badly needed health or education services in order to pay for a problem which richer countries have created.

Action on climate change

Read Changing Lives: Climate Change in the Developing World

Read, 'The Cry of the Earth, the Irish Bishops' statement on Climate Change

Photos from Copenhagan Climate Change demonstrations

How climate change is hitting Africa

Photos from the Wave Climate Change March

 What we want

People in developing countries have done least to cause climate change
but are suffering the worst impacts.  Decisions made in Copenhagen this
December will be crucial if we are to truly tackle the causes and effects of climate change.  We want Ireland and the EU to work for a strong and fair deal which

•    Protects the right to a better future for people in developing countries
•    Provides adequate, appropriate and additional support to poor countries to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change.
•    Reduces wealthy countries greenhouse gas emissions by at  least  40 % cut by 2020

Impact of Climate Change : Stories from across the world

From drought in Kenya to floods in Asia, hurricanes and landslides in Central America, poor countries are suffering the disastrous effects of climate change. Extreme changes in weather patterns are forcing people to abandon their traditional ways of living collecting. They are struggling to adapt to a new reality that they have not caused. Climate change is making poor people even more vulnerable and costing thousands of lives and if we don’t act soon it will get far worse.

We asked the people we work with overseas to tell us how climate change was affecting their communities. 100% said they are seeing the impacts of climate change firsthand. 86% described harsh weather conditions damaging crops and having a negative effect on community food supplies.  Meanwhile 90% said that climate changes was badly affecting water supply and a worrying 43% said that water supply is a source of tension and conflict in their region.

Trócaire help these communities find ways of making a living that will let them withstand harsh weather conditions that effect crops and livestock. We also help people to become better prepared so they know how to cope during extreme weather disasters, such as flooding, drought and landslides.  We also work, alongside climate change activists in the developing world, to campaign for the political change which is necessary if we are to truly tackle this global challenge, before it’s too late.

Helping farmers in Kenya to grow food during drought

El Salvador: “We lost all our crops but we’re the lucky ones”

What is the UN summit?

It’s called the UNFCCC Summit. In 1992, world leaders from most countries around the world including the US, China, Europe, the Middle East and Africa signed up to an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to consider what could be done to reduce global warming and to cope with the unavoidable consequences of climate change.

In 2005, member countries from the UNFCCC, agreed an update to the treaty called the Kyoto protocol, which set binding targets for reducing greenhouse emissions.

This December governments from around the world will meet in Copenhagan to sign up to a new global agreement that will come into effect when the current deal, the Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012.

It will set new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions needed to prevent further dangerous global warming. The deal also aims set out rich countries’ plans to help poor countries adapt to the realities of climate change – through money, technology and training.

What’s Trócaire doing about climate change overseas?

We help families and communities find ways of making a living that will let them withstand harsh weather conditions that effect crops and livestock. We also help people to become better prepared so they know how to cope during extreme weather disasters, such as flooding, drought and landslides.

For example;

Malawi is the most densely populated African country, and 80% of the population is living from agriculture and dependent on a single short rainy season. Both drought and floods are major hazards in this region. During the food shortages of 05/06, 4.8 million people, 40% of the population, was in need of emergency food distribution.  Trócaire is helping communities to diversify their crops to reduce their reliance on one particular season, as the seasons are changing and becoming less reliable. We are also teaching farmers to use livestock to vary their sources of food and income which will make them less vulnerable.

In Honduras, the Colón and Olancho regions are very vulnerable to floods and landslides. During the last three months of 2005, three storms flooded the area, forcing over 25,000 people from their homes three times within this period. This flooding continues on a regular basis. Trócaire is helping communities to be better prepared for these disasters so that they can adapt and cope with these situations. 

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