World can make the grade at Paris climate change talks

With the Paris climate change agreement undergoing an important stress test today, David Miller, WWF-Canada President and CEO, made the following statement:   

“Today is an important day for the climate change agreement being negotiated in Paris. We are expecting to see a new text with only a few options still open for negotiation, which means we will gain a much clearer sense of the strengths and weaknesses of the agreement. 

For Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau’s leadership has been important, and we’re very happy to see big commitments including billions in funding for vulnerable nations. 

We are also very happy to see Canada commit to a 1.5 degree target. This matters because once global average temperatures reach above this, many parts of the earth are in serious trouble – particularly the Arctic.

In spite of the leadership role Canada has been playing, there are still a few bumps in the road that risk watering down a final agreement. One point we are in danger of losing is pre-2020 review of existing national pledges to fight climate change. We just can’t wait five years to measure how effective the pledges made in Paris have been. 

Simply put, the absence of a pre-2020 “stock-take” in the agreement is like taking a test that’s never graded. It is very important now that the world comes out of the Paris  talks with top marks if we are going to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.” 

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For further information contact

Paris
Chris Chaplin, WWF-Canada, [email protected], +1 416 669 9155

Toronto
Rebecca Spring, WWF-Canada, [email protected], +1 647-338-6274