PARIS: France's top diplomat, who will preside over a
year-end Paris summit tasked with inking a climate rescue pact, warned Sunday
of looming planetary "catastrophe" if negotiations fail.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius's remarks came as separate
reports warned of the devastating effects of global warming on the poor and
those living in megacities around the world.
- "It is life on our planet itself which is at stake," Fabius told journalists as ministers and climate envoys from 70 countries met for pre-summit talks to iron out tough political questions.
- With the key UN conference just three weeks away, he also announced that Russia's President Vladimir Putin would attend the November 30 opening.
- Russia, a major oil producer, is seen as a deal-maker or -breaker in the years-long attempt to negotiate the world's first truly universal pact to curb climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.
- "There is absolute urgency," said Fabius, to achieve the UN goal of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
The UN's climate science panel has warned of an average
temperature rise of "four, five, six degrees, if we do not act extremely
quickly," he said.
"This would have catastrophic consequences because
there would be drought... and colossal migration problems, including problems
of war and peace."
A World Bank study warned that global warming could elevate
levels of disease, ravage crops and push 100 million more people into poverty.
levels of disease, ravage crops and push 100 million more people into poverty.
"The poor are more vulnerable to climate-related shocks
than wealthier people because they are more exposed, lose more in relative
terms, and lack the financial systems and social safety nets that would allow
them to better prepare and cope," it said.
Source: Tribune...More...
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