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AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION
OTTAWA
MEDIA RELEASE
COPENHAGEN CLIMATE SUMMIT – UMBRELLA GROUP STATEMENT
16 December 2009
On 16 December, the Australian Minister for Climate Change, Senator Penny Wong, made the following statement on behalf of the Umbrella Group of countries at the High Level Segment of the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen:
‘This morning I have the privilege to speak on behalf of the following members of the Umbrella Group, namely Canada, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, United States and Australia.
‘The Umbrella Group wants success at Copenhagen. We are committed to action, a strong outcome, and to realising the hopes of the world’s citizens who demand a successful outcome that tackles climate change. We recognise the scientific view that the increase in global average temperature above pre-industrial levels ought not exceed 2 degrees Celsius. We seek a global outcome that puts the world on a path to a 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050 and peaking emissions as soon as possible. This can only be achieved if all act.
‘The Umbrella Group countries are ready to make this vision a reality. We accept our responsibility to act. As part of a post-2012 outcome, Umbrella Group members are prepared to put on the table economy-wide emissions targets that will substantially reduce their emissions. We are also willing to subject these actions to robust measurement, reporting, review and verification.
‘In the context of a post-2012 outcome, we are resolved to support financing which is quick, substantial, and high-impact to assist the most vulnerable developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and vulnerable small island developing states.
‘There is an emerging consensus that a core element of the Copenhagen accord should be to mobilise $10 billion a year by 2012 to support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable and least developed countries.
‘This is a key first step to providing finance that is needed to support adaptation and set the world on the path to low-carbon development.
‘The Umbrella Group also supports a substantial increase in financial and investment flows for climate change as part of the final post-2012 outcome, both from public and private funding sources, including carbon markets.
‘Many countries, developed and developing, have demonstrated their willingness to act at home. It is now time for all of us to bring our pledges here, stand behind our actions, internationalise our contributions and forge a comprehensive outcome that sets the world on the path to a low-carbon future. To meet the challenge of climate change we must know what gains we are making through our collective efforts. Transparency is central.
‘In the next three days, we must seal the deal. We must agree on action to 2012 and beyond. We must give effect to the full extent of what we agreed in Bali – our shared vision, mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology cooperation. And we must agree on how we translate our political agreement into enduring and ongoing commitments.
‘As we confront the scale of the task before us, we should recall that we have come together to face this challenge before.
‘The world has the Convention, the world has the Kyoto Protocol and the world has the Bali Road Map. Now the world needs to do more – here in Copenhagen.
‘We need agreement that is capable of delivering the environmental outcome all of us need. To make that happen, we will need to include the legally binding commitments of all major economies.
‘The full range of countries is represented here in Copenhagen. We differ in our capacity to act. But we face a common threat and we share a common future. Let us look to this future as we work together in the days ahead.
‘The Umbrella Group stands ready to play our full and fair part in reaching agreement here in Copenhagen, with a legal outcome to follow in 2010.
‘We thank the Danish Government for the great effort it is making to host this conference. But most of all, we welcome and applaud the efforts made by the Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen, Minister Hedegaard and their team to lead us toward a success at Copenhagen.