If the global average temperature rises, so will the number and intensity of freak weather events such as flash floods, storms, heat waves, mudslides or droughts, causing catastrophic social, environmental and economic damages. Rising sea levels will wipe whole countries off the globe and is responsible for a new category of refugees : climate refugees.

At the UN climate negotiations, governments must agree on urgently needed future steps to drastically cut greenhouse gas pollution. The European Union must take the lead at these negotiations, showing that Europe is ready to further cut back greenhouse gas emissions after 2012, when the provisions of the global climate treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, will end. These negotiations need to be completed by 2009.

On the other hand the EU has to show firm engagement by implementing already existing energy policies and create new ambitious ones. So far the EU has agreed only to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. And only if other developed countries would join in, the EU would be ready to reduce emissions by 30% by 2020.

FoEE calls on the EU to step up ist commitment and agree to unconditionally reduce ist emissions by at least 30% by 2020 and 90% by 2050, through domestic action alone. On top of this, huge additional obligations will be needed from the EU and other industrialised countries.

This is necessary to stay below a dangerous temperature rise of 2°C. To achieve this we have to fundamentally change the way how we produce and consume energy and the EU has to implement tough legislation in the areas of energy conservation and efficiency as well as renewables.

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