Missing Ministers in Stark Contrast to Signs of Hope Outside
5 June 2014
Bonn, Germany – June 5, 2014: Governments failed to seize the moment after only a handful of ministers arrived in Bonn for two days of high level meetings at the UN climate negotiations.
According to Climate Action Network – a network of 900 civil society organizations – many ministers from key countries were absent from the talks which started today, a sharp contrast from the political momentum of recent announcements by the US, Mexico, China and Finland.
Climate Action Network members made the following comments on the opening of the high level meeting today:
There are alarm bells going off all over the world and yet our leaders don't seem to notice and the collective response is totally inadequate. It is like a fire is raging outside our homes and instead of using fire hoses we're using squirt guns to put it out. Even worse, fossil fuel industry is trying to block fire fighters from coming to our rescue and put out the fire. And some people are even claiming there is no fire.
Alden Meyer, Union of Concerned Scientists.
Climate Action Network is now calling for governments to take action to phase in of 100% renewable energy and completely phase out fossil fuels by 2050. Transforming the energy systems which drive climate change is critical and urgent.
Tasneem Essop, WWF.