Difference of 0.5 Degrees Critical in Respect of Global Warming

The difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius is in fact the difference between life and death for the people and communities that depend on ecosystems that could be destroyed unless action is taken to tackle climate change, the head of the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Global Climate and Energy Initiative, Samantha Smith, said Wednesday.

PARIS (Sputnik) – It is important to determine the temperature target, but not enough to fully address the issue of climate change, because the emissions reductions, the finance, the technology access, especially in regard of developing countries, are the issues that cannot be observed, controlled and changed immediately, Smith added.

"There is a debate right now about whether the upper limit for global warming should be 1.5 or 2 degrees, but….this is a critical difference, it is a difference for people's lives, some of the most important ecosystems in this world, for all the communities that depend on them," Smith said at a press briefing on the sidelines of the 21st UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21).

According to her, wealthy countries have a responsibility and capacity to do their "fair share" on climate change, but the prospective climate change deal "leaves open the possibility of doing more."

The French capital is currently hosting the 21st UN Climate Change Conference, which is due to wind up on December 11. Representatives of 195 countries are expected to reach a legally binding agreement on climate change on Friday, introducing a common universal strategy on the issue, which is due to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997.