New York - An organization of small island states on Friday criticized as "unacceptable" the decision by the world's major economies to limit global warming to below 2 degrees centigrade by 2050. The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which groups 42 countries, called for short- and medium-term limits to below 1.5 degrees centigrade of pre-industrial levels by 2020, which has been the call made by UN-led studies on climate change.
The Group of Eight (G8) leaders and the Major Economies Forum (MEF) agreed in L'Aquila, Italy, to the 2-degree target and 80-per- cent cut of emissions by 2050 without specifying medium-term limits.
UN studies have banked on short-and medium-term reductions to achieve the goals outline for 2050.
"For AOSIS, 2 degrees of temperature rise is still unacceptable because it exceeds safe thresholds necessary for the protection and survival of small islands," said Ambassador Dessima Williams of Grenada and chair of AOSIS.
"For the smallest and most vulnerable among us, climate change is already here, causing damage."
Envoys from Barbados, Solomon Islands, the Dominican Republic and Seychelles held a press conference at UN headquarters a day after the G8 and MEF announced their agreement in L'Aquila. AOSIS said its concerns should be taken into account by the major economies because small island nations are in the forefront of the effects of climate change.
AOSIS said its future would depend on the outcome of the international conference on climate change in Copenhagen in December, at which governments are to agree on goals to fight climate change under a new Kyoto Protocol. The current protocol will expire in 2012.
The UN on Thursday reacted negatively to the G8 and MEF decision. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the 2-degree target is "not sufficient" and should be backed by medium-term measures to prevent catastrophic impacts of climate change.
"The commitments expressed today at the G8 and Major Economies Forum leader's meeting, while welcome, are not sufficient," Ban said in a statement. "Much more needs to be done if governments are to seal the deal on a new climate agreement in December in Copenhagen."
"The countries represented at L'Aquila are responsible for more than 80 per cent of global emissions, and that is why they bear special responsibility for finding a solution to the political impasse," he said. "If they fail to act this year, they will have squandered a unique historical opportunity that may not come again."
