Tiempo Climate Newswatch

The World Heritage Committee (WHC) has adopted a strategy in response to the threat that climate change brings to sites such as Mount Everest and the Great Barrier Reef. Sites at risk will be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger on a case by case basis. There will be a study of alternatives to the Danger List for these sites. Environmentalists were frustrated by what they saw as a conservative stance. They had lobbied for a strong statement on the need to reduce emissions and immediate listing of threatened sites such as Mount Everest.

"We are extremely angry that the World Heritage Committee has not taken any meaningful action to protect some of the most important sites on Earth from climate change," said Peter Roderick of the Climate Justice Programme. "They are good at drawing up wonderfully drafted documents, but the idea of actually doing anything seems to pose a problem." WHC chairperson Ina Marciulionyte explained that "this is the start of a long process, which is important in that it helps draw attention to a far reaching issue. It is our duty to do whatever we can to protect World Heritage in keeping with our responsibility to implement the World Heritage Convention. This is what we are trying to do by initiating more studies and sharing experience."

More information

• ENS
• BBC

• New Zealand Herald
• ABC Online

The Pacific island of Vanuatu is the happiest nation on earth, according to the Happy Planet Index. The index, developed by the new economics foundation (nef), is based on consumption levels, life expectancy and happiness, rather than measurements of national economic wealth. "It is clear that no single nation listed in the index has got everything right," said Nic Marks from nef, "but it does reveal patterns that show how we might better achieve long and happy lives for all while living within our environmental means."

nef is calling for the adoption of a global manifesto for a happier planet. Recommendations include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, recognizing the contribution of individuals and unpaid work and ensuring economic policies stay within environmental limits. According to Simon Bullock of Friends of the Earth, "the current crude focus on Gross Domestic Product is outdated, destructive and doesn't deliver a better quality of life."

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• BBC
• Independent

• Download report, nef

In the run-up to the Group of Eight (G8) Summit in St Petersburg, Russia, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that he would like to see the G8 expanded to 13 nations, taking in China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. He considers that this is essential if global agreement is to be reached on climate change, trade and other issues. There is no way we can deal with climate change unless we get an agreement that binds in the United States, China and India," he said. The British government recently published plans to bring the developing nations into a more forward role in the climate negotiations.

Jacques Chirac, the French President, called on the G8 members to "set an example by respecting their commitments" under the Kyoto Protocol. "If we continue on our current course, increased consumption of fossil fuels will be disastrous for the environment and climate," he warned. The WorldWide Fund for Nature urged the G8 to adopt a "Marshall Plan" to treat climate change and energy security in one concerted effort. G8 legislators also underlined the need for a joint response. "If we do not successfully address both, we risk undermining our development, economic and security goals," they said in a statement released at a meeting organized by Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE) International. Responding to fears that climate would drop down the agenda in St Petersburg, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that G8 members would use the Summit to "to renew the commitments we made together last year on climate change."

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Background

• Trend
• Independent
• Planet Ark
• IPS
• IOL

• Comment from Jacques Chirac, Independent
• Energy poll, BBC