18 June 2012: The Climate Change Task Force has issued a Statement on Action to Face the Urgent Realities of Climate Change, calling on world leaders to take urgent action to address climate change in order to ensure the transition to sustainable, just and secure development.

The call to action, which was issued by the Task Force ahead of the high-level session of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), underlines that effective climate action is a pre-condition for meeting human needs and achieving sustainable development. It calls on world leaders and policymakers to promote innovative solutions and partnerships that will help decouple development from increasing carbon emissions, such as increased resource productivity and energy efficiency.

The statement further calls on world leaders to engage public support to define and implement a vision and strategy for achieving sustainable, inclusive and just human progress. It outlines seven proposed lines of action, calling on governments to: implement urgent and deep emission cuts; preserve natural capital and restore ecosystems; undertake rapid adaptation to the inevitable impacts of climate change; strengthen capacities and resilience; develop radical new solutions; reorient economies to a sustainable path; and mobilize the essential financial resources.

The statement was delivered at a Rio+20 side event, during which participants heard a video address by Mikhail Gorbachev, convener of the Climate Change Task Force, and an address by Rajendra Pachauri, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chairperson. [Task Force Press Release] [Publication: Statement on Action to Face the Urgent Realities of Climate Change] [Rio+20 Side Event Agenda]