In the open letter the scientists called for leaders to commit
to cutting emissions by at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels
by Forty of the world’s leading climate scientists have signed
an open letter demanding global leaders take bolder action
against climate change. The joint statement (see below) –
initiated by WWF and endorsed by recognised climate luminaries
such as Sir John Houghton, former chair of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – calls for industrialised
countries to make a commitment, at the UN Climate summit in
Copenhagen, to cut carbon emissions by at least 40 per cent
below 1990 levels by 2020. Saleemul Huq, one of the signatories,
IPCC author and Senior Fellow in the Climate Change Group at the
International Institute for Environment and Development, said:
“The scientific evidence now indicates that even a rise in
temperature of 2°C will entail considerable hardships for poor
and vulnerable people around the world, especially those living
on low-lying islands and coasts.