Countries Ink Climate Agreement In Bonn

Environmental Defense today praised an agreement by over 170 nations on the Kyoto treaty to combat global warming. Ministers wrapped up three days of intense negotiations by finalizing the basic structure of the rules needed to implement the treaty. With the high-level ministerial segment over, delegates will remain in Bonn for a week to begin work on the technical and legal details of the rules.

“The nations of the world have come together to protect Earth from the potentially disastrous effects of global warming,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Joseph Goffman. “This agreement on the rules for the Kyoto treaty is a turning point. It is now up to each country to ratify the treaty and ensure strong domestic policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s agreement makes it possible for the world to act now to avert dangerous warming.”

The 1990s, likely the hottest decade of the past thousand years, capped decades of shrinking glaciers, thinning Arctic ice, intensifying rainstorms, and rising seas.

“The scientific consensus on global warming is clear, as is the need for decisive action,” said Environmental Defense international counsel Annie Petsonk. “Countries have recognized the risks and come together on a basic agreement for action. It is imperative now that the United States, the world’s largest polluter, join the nations of the world in protecting Earth from the threat of global warming.”