With the first volume of this fourth report from the IPCC, there no longer remains any doubt as to the reality of global warming, nor as to the responsibility of human activities. The scientific community - 500 world experts finalised the text - has assessed the warming of the climate at the surface of the earth between 1906 and 2005 and confirmed its extent: a rise of 0.74 degrees and something unprecedented in the entire history of the climate!
An alarming report
It is forecast that by 2100 the temperature on the earth’s surface will have increased by 2 to 4 °C, and sea levels will have risen by 28 to 43 centimetres. All the experts are certain that increasingly extreme events will occur, with many more heatwaves and greater precipitation in the northern hemisphere, and a worsening of drought in the south. Between 1 and 3 billion individuals are likely to be affected by water shortages. As for the intensity of cyclonic episodes - the next two volumes of the IPCC [2] report should tell us more about it - this is likely to increase, and if it does so, according to Jean Jouzel, one of the members of the IPCC, "two million people will be forced to move".
Towards global ecological governanceThe Paris Conference has called "for a transformation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) into a genuinely international organisation" [3]. "Just as there is one for education, science and culture, with UNESCO, for health, with the WHO, and for trade, with the WTO", explains Laurent Contini, deputy director of the Direction of the United Nations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Indeed, with 500 agreements, 18 agencies, programmes or institutions, the environment suffers from a fragmentation of decision-making centres, lack of a strong and coherent policy, and structural weaknesses in the UNEP. The latter represents only 58 states and its budget - 130 million dollars - is not enough to finance its programmes, which depend upon voluntary contributions. Hence the idea advocated by President Jacques Chirac, back in 2003, of establishing global governance, and his announcement, in September 2006, that a conference would be held to set it in motion.
"An event that is quite obviously backed by the expected results of the IPCC’s work and the warning issued by British economist Nicholas Stern in October 2006, who in his report estimates the cost of doing nothing to combat climate change at 5500 billion euros," stresses Laurent Contini.
And after the conference? "We have some fifty convinced states on board in setting up an informal "Group of Friends" which will meet soon in Morocco, with the aim of becoming a formal working group within the United Nations. But to do this, we need to win the support of around a hundred countries, in order to carry more weight, to put forward a recommendation to the General Assembly and to arrive at a resolution." This is genuine battle that France is leading with enthusiasm and conviction, with the hope, notably, of bringing the United States and Australia on board.
Environmental commitment
"We have since July 2005 proposed a fourfold reduction in CO2 emissions in a law on energy, which is equivalent to a 75 % reduction between now and 2050," we are told by the Environment Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Moreover, France is involved in many campaigns to raise public awareness and has taken incentive measures, notably to encourage the use of renewable energy. The fight against global warming is also one of Europe’s priorities (see box).
As for developing countries, aware that they do not have the means to provide the same resources, France is encouraging every scheme offering aid and assistance in adapting to climate change: investment programmes, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM), which enable an industrialised state to invest in a clean energy solution in a developing country. The fight against global warming transcends borders. www.ecologie.gouv.fr
[courtesy label France magazine, Embassy of France in Nepal]
Global Warming: Let’s do something before it’s too late
