Group slams “pathetic” climate goals
The government's climate targets are "pathetic", Swiss development agencies said on Friday at a meeting ahead of December's Copenhagen climate conference.
Rosemarie Bär, a former Green member of parliament, who now coordinates development aid for the umbrella group Alliance Sud, called on the government to keep its promise to follow the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Group on Climate Change.
The IGCC wants industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 per cent in comparison with 1990 levels by 2020. Switzerland has said it would reduce them by 20 per cent.
Alliance Sud says the government has given in to pressure from lobby groups. It points out that although the European Union has set a guideline of 20 per cent on average, some countries with a similar economy to Switzerland, such as Germany and Sweden, have given themselves a target of 40 per cent.
The group also called on Switzerland to allocate more money to help developing countries over the impact of climate change.
Switzerland must play a leading role to ensure that Copenhagen does not become “Flopenhagen”, Bär said.
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