Aug 05 , 2015
News
Top global polluters urged to intensify efforts to curb carbon emission
* Mushahidullah says rich countries should come forward to save earth from devastating impacts of climate changeISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change Mushahidullah Khan on Tuesday called upon top key global polluters to step up their carbon emission mitigation efforts by particularly increasing their utilisation of clean energy sources to cope with global warming.
The minister for climate change said global warming is unlikely to be dealt with to save earth from its negative impacts as long as the international community including rich polluting countries do not show that it is committed to radically reducing carbon emissions to slow down climate change.
He made these remarks while responding to US President Barack Obama’s new Clean Energy Plan announced on Monday.
He further said, “China, the United States, Russia, Japan, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and South and Korea have been ranked among the top 10 polluting countries in the world, who emit the highest carbon dioxide emissions from all forms of industry and fossil fuel consumption.” It is these countries which must show leadership in cutting carbon emissions significantly to save planet earth from devastating impacts of climate change, he added.
The new clean energy plan calls on the US to cut carbon emissions from power plants by a third by 2030. The plan, which also mandates a shift to renewable energy from coal-fired electricity, is meant to put the US in a strong position at international talks in Paris later this year on reaching a deal to curb global warming.
Declaring climate change the gravest threat facing the world today Obama said, during a White House ceremony to formally unveil what he called his “Clean Power Plan”, that the regulation requiring the power sector to cut its emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 would reduce Americans’ energy bills and improve the health of vulnerable populations nationwide.
Mushahidullah said, “The new US clean energy plan does deserve appreciation. But, we believe that since America is the second biggest carbon emitter after China, the 32 percent carbon emission target by 2030 does not sound impressive and the target must have been higher to provide pretty strong push for other rich polluters such as Russia, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Korea and Canada to announce their more ambitious carbon emission reduction plans, respectively.”
He added, “We also understand that actions by the world’s second largest emitter send signals to the rest of the rich polluting counties on beefing up efforts to confront man-made climate change by announcing ambitious carbon emission mitigation plans in their respective energy, water, agriculture and transport sectors.” He said this will fairly set the ground for the two-week long UN-led global climate conference this year in December to reach at a viable, balanced, ambitious global climate agreement which will be enforceable after 2020 and inevitable to slow down climate change and keep the average global temperature rise within 2 degree Celsius by significantly cutting carbon emissions.
The minister lauded American Democratic presidential candidates for praising the plan as a good way to confront the challenges of climate change. On the other hand, he flayed Republicans for terming the new energy plan as over-regulation and warning that it would lead to substantial cuts in jobs and inflate utility bills.
Mushahidullah also seconded Obama’s statement wherein he noted that “no challenge today poses a greater risk to future of all living beings on the planet earth than climate change that is heating the atmosphere to record levels, and the nation may not be able to reverse the trend if it doesn’t act soon”. Meanwhile, he said that “it was heartening for us to note that former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, has announced to strongly defend the Obama’s plan.
Commenting on clear-cut signs of rapidly changing climate because of heat-trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs), which he blamed on rich countries, he said that “more frequent floods, droughts, super-storms, cyclones, erratic rainfall patterns, rise in glacial melt speed and asthma cases are evidence that climate change is not just a problem for future generations, but our own.”
The rich countries cause climate change, but it’s the poorer countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam and Maldives which are reeling under the ravaging consequences, the minister asserted. He said, “The developing countries are supporting their climate-vulnerable communities while trying to cope with the disastrous effects of climate change on their socioeconomic sectors. “However, we the developing countries together would strongly keep challenging world leaders to do more about climate change,” he said.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk