Why is stronger action to combat climate change needed?
Global warming is happening: the average global temperature is already 0.6°C above the pre-industrial level and is now increasing by around 0.2°C per decade. This means the window of opportunity for staying within the 2°C temperature ceiling is closing fast. The Kyoto Protocol is an essential first step towards reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are mainly responsible for this warming trend, but it was never expected to solve the problem on its own. The Protocol commits only industrialised countries to reduce their emissions, and by an average of only 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2012. This reduction is nothing like enough to keep within the 2°C temperature limit. A new international agreement is needed on deeper, global emissions reductions for the period after the Kyoto targets expire in 2012.
