France – Addressing the Challenge of Climate Change

Joint article by Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, David Miliband, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Carl Bildt, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Per Stig Møller, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Stubb, Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miguel Angel Moratinos, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Guido Westerwelle, German Minister of Foreign Affairs. Published in the French newspaper Liberation on November 16.

There is now less than a month to Copenhagen. We want, and the world needs, a global deal in Copenhagen that is ambitious and fair. We want this because climate change is not just a planetary emergency but a human emergency. The poorest people are those who are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. The test we face in December at Copenhagen is a test of our ability to rise to a challenge recognized to be a defining one for our generation.

Unchecked, climate change could lead to a 4 degree average rise in global temperature which poses huge consequences for foreign policy. It could mean 4 billion people would regularly suffer from severe water shortages in 2080. It could stimulate mass migration of a further 150 to 200 million people. It could accentuate areas of pre-existing conflict like in the Middle East where currently 5% of the world’s population is drawing on only 1% of the world’s water.

That is why we, the Foreign Ministers of the UK, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Finland and Spain reaffirm our commitment to working towards a successful deal in Copenhagen that will limit global warming to a maximum of 2 degrees and provide for immediate action to combat global warming. The deal should also provide support to developing countries to help them cope with climate change. We will ensure that the European Union continues to lead the way in showing ambition, urging others to follow our approach. We will continue to engage personally to ensure climate change and that the challenges it poses are prioritized on the international stage and that we and the global community honour our responsibility to support countries that will be hardest hit by the effects of a changing climate.

source : the French version of this article was published in the “Libération” newspaper on 16 November.