Caritas at the United Nations

Since the industrial revolution, human activities have led to a massive increase in the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halocarbons.

These absorb heat and lead to global warming, which is the pre-cursor to human-induced climate change, a serious threat as it is likely to result in more extreme, and catastrophic weather conditions.

Industrialised countries are responsible for 70% of carbon dioxide emitted since the start of the industrial era. Developing countries have the least capacity to cope and are most vulnerable to changes in weather patterns, catastrophic storms and other effects of climate change.

Our message is to achieve effective climate justice the polluter must pay.

We’re support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the primary forum for decisions on climate change.

We want governments to establish a binding global post-2012 climate change agreement that will address the urgency of climate change and that will respect and promote equity and social justice.

Our campaign is calling for an international agreement to include:

• Recognition of and support for the right to sustainable development of people in developing countries
• Sufficient and secure support for developing countries to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change
• At least a 30-40 % cut in greenhouse gas emissions by industrialised countries by 2020

For more information, read CIDSE Development and Climate Justice Policy Paper and Bishop statement on the campaign