Earth Equity News

Scientists Issue Plea for Action on Climate Change. By David Adam, Guardian (UK), March 13, 2009."More than 2,500 climate experts from 80 countries at an emergency summit in Copenhagen said there is now 'no excuse' for failing to act on global warming. A failure to agree strong carbon reduction targets at political negotiations this year could bring 'abrupt or irreversible' shifts in climate that 'will be very difficult for contemporary societies to cope with.' In a significant break from the scientific tradition not to comment directly on policy, the experts insisted politicians must stand up to 'vested interests that increase emissions' and 'build on a growing public desire for governments to act.' They called for a 'shift from ineffective governance and weak institutions to innovative leadership in government, the private sector and civil society.' Katherine Richardson, a climate scientist at the University of Copenhagen, who organised the three-day summit, said: 'We have to act and we have to act now. We need politicians to realise what a risk it is they are taking on behalf of their own constituents, the world's societies and, even more importantly, future generations. All of the signals from the Earth system and the climate system show us we are on a path that will have enormous and unacceptable consequences.'"