Greenpeace calls Sydney climate declaration 'laughable'

Climate Ark, via Philippine Inquirer: The international environment organization Greenpeace on Sunday dismissed a declaration on climate change by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit "a laughable attempt to address climate change by clueless politicians."

Abigail Jabines, Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, said in a statement that the so-called Sydney Declaration "distracts from the real solutions and ignores the aspirations of the millions of victims of climate change in developing countries." The declaration, adopted Saturday by leaders of Pacific Rim nations meeting in Sydney -- including Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, George W. Bush of the US, Hu Jintao of China and Russia's Vladimir Putin -- calls on APEC members to set voluntary, non-binding targets to cut emissions, while increasing energy efficiency and forests.

Proponents of the declaration say it creates consensus on the thorny issue of climate change. There are also suggestions that it replace the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty to lower greenhouse gas emissions that the US has refused to sign. However, Jabines said: "Without legally binding targets for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the Sydney declaration is irrelevant and meaningless in addressing climate change."

"If this is the platform for future climate action, then the world is in trouble," she added. Jabines said the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol, scheduled for December in Bali, Indonesia, "will be more critical than ever to ensure that the international community delivers a strong mandate on climate change and sets binding targets and timelines to cut greenhouse emissions."