U.S. responsible for 44% of global warming bill-Oxfam
U.S. responsible for 44% of global warming bill-Oxfam
mongabay.com
May 29, 2007
The U.S.is responsible for 44% of the annual $50 billion needed to fight global warming said aid agency Oxfam as expectations mount that the United States will reject stiff targets and timetables for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The U.S. and other G8 nations are meeting next week in Germany to discuss climate change.
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“G8 countries face two obligations as they prepare for this year’s summit in Germany — to stop harming by cutting their emissions to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius and to start helping poor countries to cope,” Oxfam researcher Kate Raworth told Reuters. “Developing countries cannot and should not be expected to foot the bill for the impact of rich countries’ emissions.”
Oxfam has developed a global warming adaptation financing index based on the responsibility, equity and capability of each nation, reports Reuters.
It said after the United States, Japan owed 13 percent of the cost, followed by Germany (seven percent), Britain (just over five percent), Italy, France and Canada (four to five percent and Spain), Australia and Korea (three percent). China, which is expected to surpass the U.S. in annual CO2 emissions this year or next, does not figure in Oxfam’s ledger.
Oxfam’s call comes shortly after leaked documents show the U.S. plans to reject Germany’s proposals on climate change. The Bush Administration has long positioned itself against binding limits on heat-trapping emissions, instead calling for soft targets and technological fixes.
Recent studies by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that offsetting global warming using existing technology will cost around 3 percent of GDP, or 0.12 percent per year over the next 25 years, though new technologies could further reduce this cost. McKinsey&Company, one the world’s most respected management consulting firms, has put forth similar figures.
This article used quotes and information from a Reuters article.