UK official calls for climate change risk control
- By Zhang Junmian
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 6, 2015
Sir David King, the UK's special representative for climate change, has called for global efforts in managing climate change risks in a recent interview with China.org.cn.
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Sir David King [Photo by Zhang Junmian/China.org.cn] |
King presented a report on big new climate risks on June 27 based on his study carried out with experts from the United Kingdom, the United States, China and India over a span of about one year.
"That report very clearly indicates to heads of governments the risks we face from climate change," King said on the sidelines of the 2015 Eco Forum Global Annual Conference, which concluded on June 28 in Guiyang, the capital of southwestern China's Guizhou Province.
King noted that climate change leads to extreme weather conditions which have a catastrophic impact, including rising sea-levels, air pollution, food shortages and conflicts.
Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the goal is to keep global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times by the end of the century.
"[However,] we are likely to be heading towards at least four degrees even before the end of the century. There is even a possibility that we will go up to six or seven in the next century," King said.
"This is not survivable. A civilization cannot stand this temperature rise. People would be dying from heat, we will not have enough food, we will have problems with water provision, and there would be an international breakdown," King explained.
The former chief scientific adviser to the U.K. government urged, "The risk is big enough that our political system needs to understand it and respond to it today."
King expressed his expectation that an agreement would be reached at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris in December. "We expect an agreement of 197 nations to meet the target of not exceeding two degrees Celsius with nationally determined contributions from each country."
He explained: "The most important reasons for optimism are because of the China-U.S. joint statement on the commitment [in November last year], the European Union commitment to at least a 40 percent reduction by 2030, and commitments from other countries coming in."
King said, "Britain has since 2008 committed itself to reducing emissions by 80 percent by 2050, and each four years, we have a carbon target. By 2050, we will be emitting two tons per person annually, which means we will have achieved an 80 percent reduction."
The country has recently launched its Global Apollo Program on research, development and demonstration into green technologies to achieve cheaper electricity from renewables, energy storage and smart grids, according to King.
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