Three new signatories to global climate pact
Three regions in the EU have joined a campaign to limit GHG emissions and tackle climate change
Three regions in the European Union have joined a campaign to limit greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change in the build up to the major United Nations climate negotiations in December.
Rhone-Alpes in France, Basque County in Spain, and Scotland have signed the “Under 2 MOU” memorandum of understanding designed to support international efforts to limit the global average temperature increase to less than 2°C.
A recent study from the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that failure to limit temperature increase to below 2°C would result in catastrophic levels of climate change including sea level rises, heat waves, droughts and flooding.
The “Under 2 MOU” agreement is part of an international movement to encourage global leaders to finalise a strong climate deal at the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris later this year.
European leaders including French President Francois Hollande (pictured) attended the Le Sommet mondial Climat & Territoires climate conference in Lyon on Wednesday and Thursday to boost support and cooperation before COP21.
Hollande addressed hundreds of officials from cities, regions and provinces at the meeting.
The commitments and proposals made at the Lyon meeting will be shared with the Presidency of COP21 and will be presented the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
17 regions in 9 countries have committed to the “Under 2 MOU” agreement so far.
The deal includes the U.S. states of California, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, as well as the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario.
The Mexican states of Baja California and Jalisco have also signed the pact.
Wales in the United Kingdom, Acre in Brazil, Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Catalonia in Spain are also included.
The group represents more than 100 million people and $4.5 trillion in gross domestic product.
Signatories to the pact have agreed to either cut GHG emissions to at least 80 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050, or to achieve an annual emission target of less than 2 metric tonnes per capita within the next forty years.