On Thursday, IWC member countries unanimously agreed to adopt a resolution on climate change co-sponsored by the United States and Norway. The 85-member body began its annual meeting on Monday, though it set aside most major decisions until later in the year.

The resolution states that climate change is a key threat to whales, and urges governments to commit to reducing their carbon emissions at the UN Climate meeting in Copenhagen in December. It also directs IWC to engage in external climate change meetings in the run up to Copenhagen.

“This is a very positive development that will help ensure that climate negotiations take into account impacts on biodiversity,” said Heather Sohl, WWF-UK Species Trade and Policy Officer. “However, members did not take action that would stop commercial whaling outside of IWC regulation, which is a fundamental problem that the IWC must address-and which continues today.”

IWC members, for example, did not take action on “scientific whaling” by Japan, which has led to the killing of thousands of whales, particularly in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary. Under the guise of scientific research, Japan has continued to defy the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling by hunting whales in both the Antarctic and the North Pacific, claiming that these whales must be killed to answer critical management questions.

Although IWC members did not take decisions on many key whaling-related issues that have dominated negotiations during the annual meeting in past years, they did discuss another prominent whale conservation issue that needs attention – the protection of smaller whales, such as dolphins and porpoises.

That discussion coincided with the release during the meeting on Wednesday of Small Cetaceans: The Forgotten Whales, a new WWF report stating that small whales are disappearing from the world’s oceans and waterways as they fall victim to fishing gear, pollution, and habitat loss – compounded by a lack of conservation measures such as those developed for great whales.

Support for the recommendations in the report at the meeting came from Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who simultaneously announced an AU$500,000 pledge to the IWC for the conservation and protection of smaller whales. Meanwhile, Belgium called for a review of work on conservation and management for small cetaceans to take place before IWC 62 in 2010.

“It is time for the IWC to build on these commitments, to become a modern 21st century convention, and to dedicate itself to the conservation of all whales, great and small,” Heather Sohl said.

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Editor’s notes
A copy of the climate change resolution can be found at: http://www.iwcoffice.org/_documents/commission/IWC61docs/61-16.pdf

For background information and additional media on WWF and the IWC, visit www.panda.org/iwc.

The way we live is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF’s One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth’s capacity. For more information visit www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet

For further information, please contact:
Kellie Hulbert, WWF-UK Press Officer, Tel: 01483 412383, Email: khulbert@wwf.org.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commissioned by WWF and E3G and carried out by Ecofys and Germanwatch, the report provides the most detailed and comprehensive analysis to date of the proposed ’stimulus’ packages of five key countries – France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US – as well as examining the package agreed by the European Union as a whole. “These packages amounting to billions of dollars provide a clear opportunity to shift to a more environmentally-sustainable economy when planning a recovery from the world’s global recession,” says Kim Carstensen, Director of WWF’s Global Climate Initiative. “Unfortunately, close examination of the proposed packages reveals a failure to properly incentivise green technologies or to move away from high carbon investment. It is abundantly clear that the world must act now in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, and that unless we invest in a sustainable, low-carbon economy now, we will certainly pay the price later – a price far greater than that of the current economic crisis. The packages currently on the table fail to reflect this reality.”

The report examined the environmentally-beneficial elements of each package in the context of the stimulus as a whole, offsetting low-carbon developments against any potentially carbon-intensive investments. It also considered whether the financing proposed is a direct investment – for example low interest loans to improve energy efficiency – or an indirect one such as tax incentives.

When analysed in this way, the data collected revealed that in the worst cases, the amount of carbon-intensive stimulus actually exceeded the amount devoted to climate-friendly measures. The study also revealed that of all fifteen countries that have announced their plans for economic stimulus, only five (plus the EU as a whole) have the necessary data available to carry out a detailed analysis of their proposed expenditure on climate-friendly measures.

“The fact that we are unable to comprehensively analyse the results of two thirds of the countries which have announced packages is a real concern,” says Nick Mabey, CEO of E3G. “Even the data for the six packages analysed in the report was relatively limited and it was often difficult to pinpoint which sector the money was actually intended for. This lack of transparency allows far too much scope for greenwashing, and equally, for the good work done by investment in clean technology to be completely undermined by parallel investment in carbon intensive sectors such as fossil fuels and new roads.”

WWF and E3G are calling on all countries putting forward economic recovery packages to provide comprehensive details of the environmental benefits and impacts of the proposed investments and to ensure that these investments help rather than hinder the global transition to a low carbon future.

Key findings:

Of the $1.1 trillion worth of stimulus packages analysed the effectiveness adjusted climate friendly expenditure amounts to just $73 billion – a tiny share (6.6%) of the total stimulus.

The cost of reducing global emissions to a level that will limit global temperature rise to 2°C is estimated to be between 1-3% of global GDP. Our analysis shows that Germany and USA have given the highest priority to green measures, at around 0.5% of national GDP. Even these totals are well below the required level of investment to avoid catastrophic climate change..

Greater clarity and transparency is needed about the extent of climate friendly measures included in the stimulus packages of all countries in order to avoid potential greenwashing and to allow a real understanding of proposals.

The G8 must shoulder its historic responsibilities and commit far greater amounts of their stimulus packages to climate friendly measures, so as not to burden the developing world with a massive climate debt in addition to a financial one.

Most countries focus their activity on energy efficiency in buildings and cars, ignoring key opportunities offered by renewables or restructuring of electricity grids.

In Italy, where climate-friendly stimulus is only relevant for the transport sector, investment for new roads exceeds investment in public transport and subsidies for efficient vehicles by roughly 30%.

The UK stimulus has entirely neglected the potential for investment in renewables and is given an overall negative score based on a $742 million investment in highways

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Editor’s notes

The way we live in the UK is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF’s One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth’s capacity. For more information visit www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet

E3G is an independent, non-profit European organisation operating in the public interest to accelerate the global transition to sustainable development. A new E3G report, “Delivering a Sustainable Low Carbon Economy”, is available at www.e3g.org
For further information or a copy of the report and accompanying briefing document, please contact:

Jo Sargent, tel: 01483 412 375, Mobile: 07867 697 519 , email: jsargent@wwf.org.uk

“The global economic crisis is a critically important opportunity to begin building an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future, and one we ignore at our own peril” said David Norman, Director of Campaigns at WWF-UK. “Any argument that climate change should be moved down the political agenda until the current economic crisis is addressed is incredibly shortsighted. Finance and the climate are inextricably linked, and if we don’t address climate change now, we will certainly pay later.”

According to a new analysis released by WWF and E3G today, many of the economic stimulus packages up for discussion at the G20 summit risk locking the world into a continuing high carbon economy.

WWF will be attending the summit as part of the Put People First coalition and will be available for comment.

For further information, please contact:

Jo Sargent, Senior Press Officer, WWF-UK
Tel: 01483 412 375, Mob: 07867 697 519, Email: jsargent@wwf.org.uk

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Editor’s notes

The way we live in the UK is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF’s One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth’s capacity. For more information visit www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet

Featuring ‘lights out’ themed songs, from the Amy Winehouse hit ‘Back to Black’ and Bob Marley’s ‘Turn Your Lights Down Low’ to The Fratellis ‘When all the Lights go Out’ and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’, WWF has put together more than 60 minutes of classic music to help people celebrate Earth Hour in style.

To enjoy WWF’s playlist, simply download Spotify for free from http://www.spotify.com and follow this link: http://tinyurl.com/daf5mp

Spotify is a quick, simple and free digital music service, that allows you instant access to a massive online music library, and also enables you to build, collaborate and share playlists with friends. Spotify is supporting WWF’s Earth Hour and will be encouraging their users to sign up via their twitter page.

“We’re delighted to support a cause as worthwhile as WWF’s Earth Hour and hope that our music will help spread the charity’s conservation message across the globe,” said Daniel Ek, CEO and founder at Spotify.

Earth Hour looks set to be the world’s biggest ever action against climate change. So far 1,500 cities and towns from more than 80 countries, including London, Cardiff, Belfast, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, have already signed up and the numbers are growing daily. Landmarks from Nelson’s Column and the Wembley Arch in London, to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the entire quayside in Newcastle and the Forth Bridge in Edinburgh are also committed to taking part.

“WWF’s Earth Hour will send a strong signal to global leaders that millions of people are relying on them to take strong steps to tackle climate change when they meet at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen this December,” said Colin Butfield, Head of Campaigns at WWF-UK. “From the Eiffel Tower to Nelsons column and Las Vegas to Lima, WWF’s Earth Hour is a truly global event. Sign up to switch off and become part of the world’s biggest ever action against climate change.”

Sign up to switch off by visiting http://www.wwf.org.uk/earthhour or text ‘earth’ to 84880. You can also download a WWF lightswitch widget, which will turn your website dark by visiting: http://tinyurl.com/b2mqps

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Editor’s notes

The way we live is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF’s One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth’s capacity. For more information visit www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet

About Spotify

Spotify is an innovative digital music service offering music fans instant access to a world of music. Spotify enables on-demand streaming of audio content and aims to be a better alternative to music piracy by offering a superior user experience, while monetising licensed content with both an ad-supported, free-to-the-user model and a premium, paid model. Spotify brings fans closer to the music and artists they love, and provides a marketplace for additional products such as live events, music downloads and more.

For further information or WWF’s Earth Hour images/logo, please contact:
Jo Sargent, tel: 01483 412375, mobile: 07867 697 519, email: jsargent@wwf.org.uk

Carried out to support WWF’s Earth Hour, the poll revealed most men wanted to wine and dine glamorous X Factor judge Cheryl Cole, whilst women favoured charismatic Pirates of the Caribbean star, Johnny Depp. And given the chance to bring absolutely anyone back from the past for a spot of supper, 15% of people would pick Elvis Presley, with Freddie Mercury and Marilyn Monroe in second and third place.

Based on a sample of 4,000 people, the survey backs WWF’s Earth Hour initiative – a global WWF campaign to encourage one billion people, and hundreds of iconic buildings and landmarks, to switch off their lights for one hour at 8.30pm on Saturday 28 March 2009 and show their support for positive action on climate change. Millions of people around the world are expected to hold candlelit dinners and parties to mark the event.

1,500 cities and towns from more than 80 countries, including London, Cardiff, Belfast, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh, have already signed up to support WWF’s Earth Hour and the numbers are growing daily. Landmarks from Nelson’s Column and the Wembley Arch in London, to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the entire quayside in Newcastle and the Forth Bridge in Edinburgh are also committed to taking part.

“WWF’s Earth Hour is set to be the world’s biggest ever climate change event, and it will send an incredibly powerful message to global leaders that, in order to avoid its worst impacts, they need to take action to tackle climate change now,” said Colin Butfield, Head of Campaigns at WWF-UK. “WWF hopes that millions of people across the UK will take part and celebrate the hour by holding candlelit dinners with their friends and family, even if they are secretly wishing they were with Cheryl Cole or Johnny Depp instead.”

The level of public support for Earth Hour should come as no surprise – according to the poll, apart from the current financial crisis, climate change is the UK public’s greatest fear for the future and an overwhelming 72%of people are willing to take more action to tackle the issue head on. Climate change is also a vote winning issue – 57% of people polled would vote for a political party that promised strong action against climate change – and 88% of people think the UK government should be doing more to get world leaders to tackle the issue.

WWF hopes that the millions of people taking part in Earth Hour will help to convince governments across the world that they must agree to take effective action to tackle climate change, when they meet at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, in December 2009. To sign up to WWF’s Earth Hour, please text ‘earth’ to 84880 or visit: www.wwf.org.uk/earthhour

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Editor’s notes

The survey was carried out online by One Poll, and full results are available on request

The way we live is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF’s One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth’s capacity. For more information visit www.wwf.org.uk/oneplanet

For further information or WWF’s Earth Hour images/logo, please contact:
Jo Sargent, tel: 01483 412375, mobile: 07867 697 519, email: jsargent@wwf.org.uk