International scientists call for ambitious emissions reduction targets from major economies at the G8

On July 9th, the leaders of seventeen of the world’s largest economies will meet in L’Aquila, Italy at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF).

As scientists from the MEF countries, we come together to call on our government leaders to recognize both the unacceptable risks that climate change creates for our societies, and the unprecedented opportunities a clean energy, low-carbon transition creates for our economies. 

Specifically, we ask the leaders to take five steps in L’Aquila that will support a successful outcome in the global climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December, and start the world forward on the path to low-carbon prosperity:

1. Recognize that present global warming of 0.8°C above pre-industrial levels is already having a significant impact, and that warming exceeding 2°C predicted for later this century would create great risks and have irreversible consequences

2. Commit to peak global greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2020 and reduce them by at least 50% relative to 1990 levels by 2050

3. For developed countries, commit to emissions reductions of at least 80% relative to 1990 by 2050 with appropriate intermediate targets set in time for Copenhagen

4. For developing countries, commit by Copenhagen to significant gains in energy efficiency, reductions in carbon intensity, and cuts in non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions over the next two decades; this should be designed to support sustainable development and to lead to substantial reduction from business-as-usual emissions

5. Recognize that the impacts of existing changes in climate are primarily due to past emissions by developed nations, and that unless the burden of poverty in developing nations is alleviated by significant financial support for mitigation, adaptation, and the reduction of deforestation, the ability of developing countries to pursue sustainable development is likely to diminish, to the economic and environmental detriment of all

Limiting climate change and providing clean, secure sources of energy will ensure long-term
sustainability and well being to all countries.  The world is looking to the MEF leaders to act on this challenge and to seize this immense opportunity. The time for bold leadership is now.

Yours respectfully,

Kamal Bawa, Ph.D.  
Founder & President, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
Distinguished Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts
India and United States

Robert W. Corell, Ph.D.
Senior Policy Fellow
American Meteorological Society
United States
 
Robert Costanza, Ph.D.
Director, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics
Professor, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The University of Vermont
United States

Hironori Hamanaka, Ph.D.
Chair of the Board of Directors, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University
Japan

Sir John Houghton, Ph.D.
Honorary Scientist, Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, UK Meteorological Office
United Kingdom
 
Thomas E. Lovejoy, Ph.D.
Biodiversity Chair, Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and Environment  
United States
 
Michael MacCracken, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs, Climate Institute
United States
 
Michael E. Mann, Ph.D.
Director, The Earth System Science Center
Professor of Meteorology, The Pennsylvania State University
United States
 
Gordon McBean, Ph.D.
Fellow, Royal Society of Canada
Director and Professor of Policy Studies, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction  
The University of Western Ontario  
Canada
 
James J. McCarthy, Ph.D.
Chair of the Board, American Association for the Advancement of Science  
Professor of Oceanography, Harvard University  
United States
 
Anthony J. McMichael, Ph.D.
Professor, National Center for Epidemiology & Population Health  
The Australian National University  
Australia

Mario Molina, Ph.D.
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
President, Mario Molina Center for Strategic Studies in Energy and the Environment
Mexico
 
Shuzo Nishioka, Ph.D.
Senior Visiting Researcher and former Executive Director, National Institute for Environmental Studies
Research Advisor, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
Japan
 
Michael Oppenheimer, Ph.D.
Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs, Princeton University  
United States
 
Jyoti Parikh, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Integrated Research and Action for Development
Member, Prime Minister Singh’s Advisory Council for Climate Change
India
 
Kirit Parikh, Ph.D.
Chairman, Integrated Research and Action for Development
Founding Director, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research  
Former Member, Planning Commission
India
 
Martin Parry, Ph.D
Co-Chair, IPCC WGII 2007
Professor, Grantham Institute and Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London  
United Kingdom
 
Barrie Pittock, Ph.D.
Former Head, Climate Impacts Group, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
Australia
 
Stefan Rahmstorf, Ph.D.
Head of Earth Systems Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Professor of Physics of the Oceans, Potsdam University
Member, Academia Europaea  
Member, German Advisory Council on Global Change Germany
Germany
 
Eric Rignot, Ph.D.
Professor, Earth System Science, University of California
Senior Research Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Adjunct Researcher, Centro de Estudios Cientificos  
Chile and United States
 
Henning Rodhe, Ph.D.
Professor, Chemical Meteorology, Stockholm University
Member, Academia Europaea
Member, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences  
Sweden
 
Steven W. Running, Ph.D.
Director, Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group  
Regents Professor of Ecology, University of Montana  
United States

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Ph.D.
Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impacts Research
Professor in Theoretical Physics, Potsdam University
Germany
 
Richard C. J. Somerville, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego
United States
 
Warren M. Washington, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist and Head of Climate Change Research, Climate and Global Dynamics Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research
United States