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05 Oct 2000
Three months of weather-related disasters have wrought havoc with the lives of millions of
people, a new briefing from Friends of the Earth reveals today. The briefing is published
as part of a Day of Action to coincide with the last meeting of Ministers and other leaders
before next month's world climate summit [1]. Severe weather events have included:
Storms: in Taiwan, Brazil and Canada
Floods: in Bangladesh, Japan, Vietnam and India
Fires: in the US, Italy and the Balkans
Droughts: in Burundi, Croatia, Kenya and Iran
No individual disaster can be directly blamed on man-made climate change. But scientists
believe that the number of such events will rise as the effects of climate change are felt.
The recent run of extreme weather events should be a warning sign to world leaders that
climate change threatens the livelihoods of millions of people.
Roger Higman, Senior Climate Campaigner of Friends of the Earth said:
"The lives and livelihoods of millions of people are already threatened by climate
change. Industrial nations like Britain must cut their emissions from coal, oil and
gas if the devastation is not to get worse. Yet, too many nations, led by the
Americans, are resisting cuts. Instead they search ever more frantically for
loophole after loophole to avoid action".
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] FOE International "Indications of climate change - recent extreme global weather events" is available on the FOE Europe web pages. It details climate-related disasters in 18 different countries over the last three months. This week, leaders and negotiators from 35 countries meet in Muiden, The Netherlands - their last preparatory meeting before the sixth Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which takes place in the Hague from 13-24 November. Some countries, notably the US and Australia want to open all sorts of loopholes to enable them to meet the targets they agreed at Kyoto in 1997 without having to cut their own emissions (see also http://www.foeeurope.org/dike/avoid.htm).
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Media team
