WWF warns that climate change is outstripping EU targets
October 26, 2008
A new report from the WWF claims that climate change is happening faster and to a wider extent than scientists had predicted. The WWF is urging the EU to take drastic action.
According to the report, global warming is accelerating in advance of last year's forecasts, with sea ice loss in the Arctic being up to 30 years ahead of that predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Sea level rises are expected to exceed the IPCC's maximum estimate of 0.59m by more than double by the end of the century. This will place many coastal areas at risk.
It is feared that summer sea ice could totally disappear between 2013 and 2040. Furthermore, strong winds, storms, excessive rainfall and heat waves are likely to increase throughout Europe over the next decade.
The report warns that ozone levels in summer are likely to be similar to those that occurred during the summer of 2003, when 35,000 extra deaths across Europe were attributed to heat stress.
The WWF is concerned that the EU's 20:20:20 objective (the EU plans to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% and boost renewable energy by 20% by 2020) is insufficient. It is calling for the EU to commit to an emissions reduction of at least 30% with respect to 1990 levels by 2020, as well as assisting developing countries to reduce their emissions.
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