WASHINGTON, DC, November 20, 2003 -- Drawing on a new climate indicator tool, experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI) today warned that current efforts by the global community, and in particular by the US, are inadequate to reverse the rapidly rising trends in global emissions. The warning was issued during a briefing previewing the upcoming UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings in Milan, Italy, Dec. 1-12.

“While focusing on many of the operational details of emissions registries and offset projects, the Milan meetings will be the opening round of a post-Kyoto conversation on the mitigation of global climate change,” said Dr. Jonathan Pershing, director of WRI’s Climate, Energy, and Pollution Program and head of the institute’s delegation to the Milan negotiations.

“The US, representing one fifth of world greenhouse gas emissions, cannot continue to do so little,” said Pershing. “The absence of any greenhouse gas provisions in the new energy bill, the limited new funding for climate friendly technologies and the defeat in the Senate of climate change legislation does not send a good signal of US intent.”

Pershing’s comments come as WRI is poised to roll out its new Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT), a database that provides perhaps the most detailed picture of the emissions contributions that countries are making to global warming. CAIT will be formally released during the UNFCCC negotiations in Milan.

The Climate Analysis Indicators Tool is a database that provides negotiators and observers with the most complete global data on greenhouse gas emissions. It is drawn from a wide range of sources. It will be available on the CAIT website (cait.wri.org) when it is launched on December 5.

“An interactive tool that includes a comprehensive set of climate-relevant indicators would help better inform debates on global climate change,” said Kevin Baumert, WRI senior associate, who led a team that developed CAIT. “CAIT, which is under UNFCCC consideration to be a key analysis vehicle for the convention, seeks to fill that void.”

To effectively address climate change at the global level, sound data and information are needed to support decision-making. CAIT provides government policy-makers, advocates, the media, and academics with a comprehensive, easy-to-use platform for obtaining information and conducting analysis on global climate change. This tool will enhance the universal information base needed for making key policy decisions, while simultaneously promoting more equitable access to information on climate change.

The UNFCCC, signed in 1992 has been ratified by 188 countries, including the U.S. Its related treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, was adopted in 1997, but lacks the necessary ratifications to come into force. The US, the largest single contributor of greenhouse gases, has pulled out of the treaty. The treaty’s future now rests on Russia, which has sent mixed signals regarding its intent to ratify.

Despite this, many countries and corporations are already implementing programs to reduce their emissions. In the U.S. many states and cities have started programs that are attracting international attention, setting up emissions registries and offsets programs, establishing renewable energy standards, promoting energy efficiency, and beginning to use the market to reduce costs through emissions trading on the Chicago Climate Exchange.

Meanwhile, many companies are using the GHG Protocol (www.ghgprotocol.org) to account for their greenhouse gas emissions. These steps suggest that private sector, as well as state and local actors are well in advance of the federal government – even if not up to the standards set in the international community.

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For more information, contact:

World Resources Institute
Paul Mackie, senior media officer, +1(202)729-7684, pmackie@wri.org
Christopher Lagan, WRI media officer, Tel: (+1-202) 729-7684, clagan@wri.org
For copies of reports, press releases and media kits, see newsroom.wri.org