The Petition
Dear President Obama:
If global temperatures continue to rise at their current rate, our planet and its people will face dire consequences. Food production will decrease dramatically, putting billions of people at increased risk for hunger and malnutrition. Increased flooding will lead to a rise in water-born diseases that will threaten the lives of the poor. And entire countries will be submerged under water, causing massive displacement and destruction.
This year may represent the last, best chance for a comprehensive global commitment to address climate change. In December, world leaders will gather in Copenhagen, Denmark, to complete a new climate treaty. The United States must show leadership during this process to craft an ambitious and equitable treaty.
We welcome the commitments you have made in making climate change a priority for your administration. Accordingly, we now ask for you to commit the United States to making the Copenhagen agreement truly equitable and effective. Specifically, we are asking for you to support the following provisions in the Copenhagen agreement:
- Setting binding climate change mitigation targets for developed countries at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050;
- Agreeing to finance global warming adaptation with at least $67 billion to $86 billion each year;
- Ensuring that all funding for climate change will go through a multilateral fund within the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change;
- Helping developing countries obtain substantial clean technology to help them deal with climate change mitigation and adaptation; and
- Making vulnerable groups such as women and indigenous communities central to the effort.
Thank you for your time and commitment to climate change issues. We look forward to working with you and your administration to ensure the United States is a leader on this critical front.
