Peru joins growing list of developing nations to introduce climate change initiative

Peru has this week adopted a resolution to mitigate carbon emissions to become the latest developing nation to announce its own domestic climate change initiative in the absence of a global binding treaty.

The South American country, renowned for its diverse climate, claims to already be feeling the effect of climate change following a rise in adverse weather, the melting of its tropical glaciers, record Amazon rainfall and increasing levels of solar radiation. 

“If we don't do something we will have problems with water supplies along the coasts, we know there will be more droughts, more rains ... we are already seeing temperature changes,” Mariano Felipe Soldan, head of the government's strategic planning office, told Reuters.

Peru, responsible for 0.4 percent of the world’s total emissions, will follow the model developed by South Africa, which is currently being applied in other countries including Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

In its bid to switch to a low-carbon economy and as part of the nation’s long-term climate change plans Peru will invest heavily in the renewables sector and focus on reducing the rising trade of illegal logging crippling Peru’s Amazon rain forest.

At the UN’s annual climate talks in Durban in December of last year, Peru was one of a number of developing countries that advocated a legally binding worldwide climate treaty by 2015 to come into force by 2020.

However, like other developing nations, Peru believes that any such deal should not prevent them from being able to industrialize and that the larger polluting countries such as China and the United States should bear the brunt of emission cuts.

“Not all countries can be treated as equals, developing economies must be taken into account by the international community,” said Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Jose Beraun.

 

Image 01: David Baggins | Flickr

Image 02: Climate Action Stock Photo

Image 03: Climate Action Stock Photo