Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Heherson Alvarez Warns United Nations About Climate Change "Tipping Point"

Manila – Heherson T. Alvarez, presidential adviser on global warming and climate change, told the United Nations that our planet is heading towards a point where climate change will become irreversible.

The tipping point is when the level of greenhouse gasses reach 450 ppm (parts per million)

The present level is already 372 ppm – and rising.

Alvarez, staunch environmentalist and former Senator, spoke at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference in Bonn, urging Annex 1 countries – U.S., E.U., Japan, Canada, Australia and the Russian Federation – to initiate drastic cuts on green house gas emissions.

This was even before Oxfam’s recently-released report on the looming chronic hunger trend brought about by climate change.

“Now, the whole world is looking forward to the climate conference in Copenhagen in December, especially because U.S. President Barack Obama, while campaigning for the presidency, proposed that the U.S. progressively reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050,” according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial, July 14, 2009.

Alvarez photo courtesy of the United Nations. This story originally appeared in AllVoices

Your comments and links are welcome

2 comments:

Elizabeth Perrigin said...

Hopefully what Obama is doing now with the use of cleaner fuel will help. Some may have even noticed a bit of a change the past two years. This summer for example isn't as dry as the past years summers.

Jonathan Aquino said...

I really hope so, Beth, because the United States is the single biggest influence in the Philippines, and that's without even mentioning Hollywood. As a environmentally aware young woman, you might be interested in Green Day: Energy Efficiency Digest -- Thank you and God bless!