NGOs call for tougher climate action

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called on Switzerland to double its 2020 target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

A joint study published on Thursday by the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund and Bread for All says Switzerland should go beyond its “modest” current target of reducing emissions by 20 per cent – the European average.

The organisations said the bar for rich countries had to be higher than the norm. Their study says Switzerland should set an example and inspire other industrialised countries to take tougher measures and also provide more development aid to help poorer countries fight global warming.

Also on Thursday, NGOs also presented a petition to government signed by more than 10,000 people, calling on Switzerland to play its part in ensuring a “coherent and effective” outcome at December’s UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen. The conference will decide on emission reduction measures to replace those agreed in Kyoto in 1997 which expire in 2013.

Lukrezia Meier-Shatz from the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund said Switzerland needed to take a strong stance in Copenhagen, including helping to determine which sanctions could be fixed against countries which refuse to sign the protocol.

swissinfo.ch and agencies