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US emissions commitment not enough to avoid catastrophic climate change: Oxfam
International humanitarian aid Oxfam has praised the USâ emission reduction commitment as a crucial measure toward achieving a global deal in 2015 but also highlights that more needs to be done to avoid climate impacts
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nternational humanitarian aid Oxfam has praised the US' emission reduction commitment as a crucial measure toward achieving a global deal in 2015 but also highlights that more needs to be done to avoid climate impacts.
Oxfam America's climate change manager, Heather Kaplan, said the US government's commitment to reducing emissions by 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 was a critical step forward in transitioning to a clean energy economy.
The announcement made today also demonstrated the administration's ongoing commitment to providing global leadership on climate change and brought countries closer to a global deal in 2015, she added.
"While this contribution does move us closer to the 2-degree pathway, it does not represent the level of ambition needed to avoid catastrophic climate change,' said Kaplan in a release on Wednesday.
She was speaking in response to today's announcement of the US government's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).
"The US must now shift its attention toward scaling up climate finance with a focus on adaptation, improving the effectiveness and quality of climate finance, and addressing inevitable loss and damage in developing
countries,' said Kaplan.
INDCs are commitments of countries on actions they intend to take under a global agreement before the Paris Climate Summit in December 2015. Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), they committed to create a new international climate agreement by the conclusion of the Paris Summit. The countries' commitment will determine whether the world can achieve the ambitious 2015 agreements.
"Cyclone Pam's recent destruction in the Pacific is a tragic reminder that the least developed countries ' who have contributed almost nothing to the problem of climate change ' are suffering the devastating consequences of global inaction,' Kaplan said.
"Congress must follow-through on the [US] president's request of US$500 million, the first installment toward meeting a pledge of US$3 billion over the next four years to the Green Climate Fund, a multilateral trust fund that will assist developing countries as they adapt to the effects of climate change and invest in climate change mitigation." (ebf)(+++)
