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World Environment Day calls to end CO2 addiction
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-05 20:22 Global Events In Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, people plan to clean up Gulshan Baridhara Lake that has become badly polluted, and in Kathmandu the Bagmati River Festival will focus on cleaning up the river there. Many Asian cities, such as Bangalore and Mumbai, plan tree-planting campaigns, while the Indian town of Pune will open a "Temple of Environment" to help spread green awareness.Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels are rising quickly and scientists say the world faces rising seas, melting glaciers and more intense storms, droughts and floods as the planet warms. A summit of G8 nations in Hokkaido, Japan, next month, is due to formalize a goal agreed a year ago that global carbon emissions should be reduced by 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. But some nations think the cuts should be deeper, leading to a reduction of 80 percent of carbon emissions by 2050 to try to stabilize CO2 concentrations in the air to limit global warming. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said climate change was already a reality. "We have been experiencing the worst drought in living memory and our inland rivers are running dry," he said in a statement. "We are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent on 2000 levels by 2050. We will implement emissions trading as the primary mechanism for achieving this target," he said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea state media said the government was doing its bit for the environment, including updating existing thermal power plants, increasing hydro-power generating capacity, creating more forests and using more organic fertilizers. The UN Environment Program said the cost of greening of the world's economy would cost as little as a few tenths of global GDP annually over 30 years and would be a driving force for innovation, new businesses and employment. |
