UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, December 2009

 

The potential risks of unmitigated climate change are enormous. Therefore, a successful agreement in Copenhagen, with deep cuts in global emissions that limit global warming to 2°C, and taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, respective resources and national circumstances, is of paramount importance.

In days of the UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Foreign Ministers of Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Iceland, Singapore, Slovenia, and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to strengthen their commitments and call for renewed global action to address climate change.

In their joint letter Foreign Ministers stressed that scientific evidence clearly shows that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions contribute significantly to global warming. The prospects are grim: rising temperatures will cause major crop declines in entire regions and significant changes in the availability of water resources. At the same time, as some areas experience major water shortages, rising sea levels will be threatening some of the world's largest cities and may even cause loss of territory and give rise to border disputes. Entire ecosystems, from glaciers to rain forests, could collapse, and many species would face extinction. Storms, droughts, forest fires and floods will cause irreversible environmental degradation and desertification, affecting the food security of millions and causing massive migration flows. Climate change will have the most severe impact on countries with scarce natural resources and a limited ability to adapt to these challenges. Small developing island states, in particular, are among the most vulnerable and face the existential threat from the rising sea level. Climate change is changing our world in more ways than one.

Foreign Ministers emphasized furthermore that decisions taken by individuals and groups at the local and global level should fully take into account scientific findings, must be ambitious and based on the principles of interconnectivity and synergy. They also called for a strong commitment at the governmental level.

In their joint letter Foreign Ministers stressed that scientific evidence clearly shows that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions contribute significantly to global warming. The prospects are grim: rising temperatures will cause major crop declines in entire regions and significant changes in the availability of water resources. At the same time, as some areas experience major water shortages, rising sea levels will be threatening some of the world's largest cities and may even cause loss of territory and give rise to border disputes. Entire ecosystems, from glaciers to rain forests, could collapse, and many species would face extinction. Storms, droughts, forest fires and floods will cause irreversible environmental degradation and desertification, affecting the food security of millions and causing massive migration flows. Climate change will have the most severe impact on countries with scarce natural resources and a limited ability to adapt to these challenges. Small developing island states, in particular, are among the most vulnerable and face the existential threat from the rising sea level. Climate change is changing our world in more ways than one.

Foreign Ministers emphasized furthermore that decisions taken by individuals and groups at the local and global level should fully take into account scientific findings, must be ambitious and based on the principles of interconnectivity and synergy. They also called for a strong commitment at the governmental level.

Letter of Foreign Ministers

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