Pacific Islands call on rich nations to deliver deeper emission cuts

The Pacific Islands Forum yesterday issued a heartfelt plea for all nations to formally agree to cut emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050 as part of the UN's ongoing Copenhagen climate change talks.

The group of 16 countries, including a number that could be inundated as a result of rising sea levels, issued a joint statement at the close of a three-day forum in Cairns, Australia, calling on negotiators to urgently increase the pace of the talks ahead of the meeting in December to agree a replacement for the Kyoto Treaty.

"We call upon world leaders to urgently increase their level of ambition and to give their negotiators fresh mandates to secure a truly effective global agreement," the group said.

It added that the Copenhagen deal should set a goal of ensuring global emissions peak no later than 2020, warning that without deep cuts in emissions, "some habitats and island states face obliteration".

The move came a day after seven of the group's members called on developed nations to agree to cut emissions by at least 45 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020.

The calls further highlight the disagreements over emissions targets that are expected to dominate the next round of UN-backed climate change talks in Bonn next week.

The Pacific Nations call for cuts of 45 per cent is even more ambitious than the 40 per cent cuts China is demanding rich nations sign up to as a condition for it agreeing to less-demanding emission targets.

However, both figures are considerably higher than the best offer on the table from a developed economy: the EU has said it will agree to 30 per cent cuts by 2020 if other nations sign up for similar agreements. Meanwhile, the US climate change bill, which is being prepared for a Senate vote, would result in cuts of just 17 per cent on 2005 levels.

The news also comes as a group of 10 moderate Democrat senators from coal and heavy industrial states wrote to President Obama, warning that they would not vote in favour of any climate change bill that does not include measures to protect US firms from competitors operating in countries without similar climate change legislation.

"It is essential that any clean energy legislation not only address the crisis of climate change, but include strong provisions to ensure the strength and viability of domestic manufacturing," the letter said.

It called for increased financial support for carbon-intensive industries that are likely to be affected by the introduction of a carbon cap-and-trade scheme, and the development of "border adjustments" or tariffs on goods imported from countries that fail to sign up to any Copenhagen deal.

However, the proposals are likely to anger Chinese negotiators, who have warned that they will oppose any attempt by developed nations to impose carbon tariffs, arguing that they amount to protectionism.