Time for Transformation

Climate change and peak oil have converged in this first decade of the 21st Century to challenge humanity to rethink how we live because we cannot continue to live beyond the Earth's ecological limits and at the same time avoid the collapse of human civilisation because of dangerous climate change and the war, famine, poverty, ecosystem destruction and species extinction that it will accompany it.

This gives us the great opportunity to turn away from wasteful, empty consumerism and the growing gap between rich and poor in our communities and nations and to think anew about addressing all that is making us unequal,unhappy, unhealthy and divided; to dream and drive the changes that will transform our way of life to make us happier and healthier in a more equitable and ecologically sustainable world.

Global Greens believe that human wellbeing and prosperity depend on us all urgently taking a leap towards a genuine partnership between developed and developing countries; a partnership which has at its heart a generous spirit and a collective will to see all people enjoying health, happiness and prosperity in a decarbonised global economy on a healthy planet.

Therefore ,alarmed by the reduction in cheap, easily accessible oil and estimated reserves together with the speed of climate change and the insufficient action, particularly of those countries that bear the greatest responsibility for emitting greenhouse gases, Global Greens call on the international community to negotiate in good faith to ensure that a binding regime for global greenhouse gas reductions that is consistent with avoiding dangerous climate change is agreed at COP 17 at Copenhagen in 2009.

Global Greens call for the international community to commit to the Bali mandate by
• building on key principles and mechanisms of the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol taking into account common but differentiated responsibilities;
• set rigorous short, medium and long-term emission reduction goals consistent with of limiting average global temperature increase to below +2°C above pre-industrial levels, giving due consideration to climate science published since the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change;
• requiring the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60% by 2050 compared to the 1990 level, with binding targets for industrialised countries and broader global participation in reduction efforts, in particular by emerging economies through fair and proportionate targets;
• including effective and predictable financing for adaptation, incentives for ecosystem restoration and to avoid deforestation and forest degradation and reduce land use emissions;
• making significant advances in reducing dependence on oil and facilitating clean technology transfer and deployment; and,
• including the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices.

Global Greens maintain that reducing global emissions must not lead to other threats such as nuclear risks, including nuclear proliferation, the risk of terrorists getting control over nuclear technology, or the risks posed by the impossibility of safely disposing of nuclear waste. Nuclear power must remain excluded from mechanisms aimed at promoting emission reductions under the international climate framework.

Climate change must be recognised as an issue of human rights and global equity, with security implications that might threaten international peace. Global Greens consider that finding an equitable solution is fundamental for success in international climate policy, and support the principle not only of contracting Co2 emissions but also of converging global per capita emissions.

Global Greens are convinced that a low carbon or even zero carbon society is possible and can be combined with increased quality of life. Imagine the opportunites to recreate a sense of community and common purpose as people come together to find ways to reconnect through more localised food production, more public transport, redevelopment of cities to encourage walking and cycling and in the development of a low carbon economy fuelled by renewable energy. To achieve this, it is necessary to set out a binding emission reduction pathway for the coming decades to ensure investment in energy-saving, resource-efficient and renewable energy technologies.

Global Greens consider it imperative that global emissions peak by 2015, and that greenhouse gas emissions thereafter decline to a level below the natural absorption capacity of natural sinks, recognising the alarming evidence in the latest science that this capacity is decreasing.

Industrialised countries must play a leading role in tackling climate change at world level. Global Greens call for developed countries to commit to domestic reductions of at least 40% by 2020 and net zero emissions by 2050 compared with 1990 levels.

Deforestation and forest degradation, in all forests, need to be tackled urgently and rigorously in the international climate policy framework. Global Greens call for urgent agreement to develop effective full carbon accounting measures, in particular to counteract the negative impacts linked to agrofuel expansion and the conversion to pulp and paper plantations. Measures to address climate change must not damage biodiversity, water and nature but should be designed to enhance them through protection and restoration.. They must respect the rights of local communities and be fair to developing countries. Global Greens call for integration of the work of the Convention on Biodiversity and the UNFCCC so as to develop a global system of biodiversity accounting linked to improved carbon accounting systems.

Global Greens insist that the international climate policy framework must also provide independent and predictable financing to assist low-income vulnerable countries in adapting to already inevitable climate change.

Global Greens support the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a means of promoting climate-friendly technologies but emphasise that, as an offset mechanism, it is only a temporary solution and must be restricted so that the use of flexible mechanisms is supplementary to domestic reductions and does not reduce the opportunities for developing countries to maintain their culture and connection to the land or offset their own emissions in the future.