Saudis block key Climate Study

by: wade norris

Sat Jun 12, 2010 at 14:45:44 PM MST

Saudi Arabia on Thursday blocked a call by vulnerable island states at climate
talks for a study into the impact of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming, delegates said.

The appeal came from the Association of Small Island
States (AOSIS), gathering low-lying islands in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and the Pacific, which is lobbying hard for the UN climate arena not to abandon the 1.5 C target.

The goal is receding as emissions of greenhouse gases rise and political problems for tackling climate change multiply.

AOSIS, supported by the European Union (EU), Australia and New Zealand, called for a technical report on the cost of reaching the 1.5 C target and the consequences of breaching it.

But it was thwarted by Saudi Arabia, with support from Kuwait and Qatar, under the UN's consensus rule, the sources said.

Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers argue that ratcheting up action on carbon emissions will hurt their revenues as fossil-fuel consumers switch to cleaner energy.
"Some small island states could become stateless from sea level rise, which is why they are calling for global temperature rise to be kept below 1.5 C," added Wendel Trio of Greenpeace.

"That Saudi Arabia, a country with such obvious oil interests, exploited the UN consensus rule to stop the world's most vulnerable countries from getting a much-needed summary of the latest climate science is breathtaking for its criminal disregard for the human impacts of climate change."

As I have made the case before, only when citizens realize that the way they power their cars is directly causing the loss of entire ways of life, will they demand change.
Unfortunately, while we failed to convince people do at Copenhagen, the BP oil spill and the planet itself is showing the limits she can withstand.
I also humbly ask to also do the following:
#1 sign the  
Environmental Refugee Legal Status petition that changes the legal status of Environmental Refugees
from Migrants to actual refugees - guaranteeing them the right to asylum and monetary restitution.
#2 sign the Gulf Oil Spill Electric Car Credit petition, and mention it to your elected officials.
#3 Talk to your candidates about Environmental issues - until they start to show that they are listening - I know one candidate in my state who has listened and promised some of the most progressive renewable energy legislation if elected to the Senate.
#4 Get involved with 350.org and tck, tck, tck.