Richard Tafoya
Jun 10th, 2008, 06:36 PM
LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-deforest11-2008jun11,0,7852995.story
Africa produces a tiny fraction of the world's greenhouse gases but is particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming, U.N. environmental experts said at a conference of African environment ministers here today.
Some of those present had harsh words for the developed world, in particular the United States, the largest producer of greenhouse gases. They complained that industrialized nations are pressing Africans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while not doing enough to clean up their own act.
...
"Africa is one of the continents least responsible for climate change and is also least able to afford the costs of adaptation," said South African Environment Minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk. "Africa will remain vulnerable even if, globally, emissions peak and decline in the next 10 to 15 years."
He said developed countries should not demand that Africa reduce greenhouse emissions by 50% by 2020, as many have done, unless they are willing to commit themselves to cutting their own emissions by 25% to 40% over the same period.
...
Glaciers on Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the Rwenzori mountains in Uganda have shrunk by 50% since the late 1980s. Scientists estimate the Rwenzori glaciers, which feed water systems, will be gone in 20 years.
Lake Chad, which was once the second-largest wetland in Africa and supports 20 million people, has almost disappeared. It has shrunk to 5% of its size in 1973.
The report notes that forests, which cover 20% of the continent's landmass, are disappearing faster in Africa than on any other continent. Deforestation is a major concern in 35 of Africa's 54 nations. The continent accounts for 15,500 square miles of the 50,000 square miles of forest lost globally each year.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-deforest11-2008jun11,0,7852995.story
Africa produces a tiny fraction of the world's greenhouse gases but is particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming, U.N. environmental experts said at a conference of African environment ministers here today.
Some of those present had harsh words for the developed world, in particular the United States, the largest producer of greenhouse gases. They complained that industrialized nations are pressing Africans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while not doing enough to clean up their own act.
...
"Africa is one of the continents least responsible for climate change and is also least able to afford the costs of adaptation," said South African Environment Minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk. "Africa will remain vulnerable even if, globally, emissions peak and decline in the next 10 to 15 years."
He said developed countries should not demand that Africa reduce greenhouse emissions by 50% by 2020, as many have done, unless they are willing to commit themselves to cutting their own emissions by 25% to 40% over the same period.
...
Glaciers on Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the Rwenzori mountains in Uganda have shrunk by 50% since the late 1980s. Scientists estimate the Rwenzori glaciers, which feed water systems, will be gone in 20 years.
Lake Chad, which was once the second-largest wetland in Africa and supports 20 million people, has almost disappeared. It has shrunk to 5% of its size in 1973.
The report notes that forests, which cover 20% of the continent's landmass, are disappearing faster in Africa than on any other continent. Deforestation is a major concern in 35 of Africa's 54 nations. The continent accounts for 15,500 square miles of the 50,000 square miles of forest lost globally each year.