President Barack Obama spoke on the last day of climate talks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The President called on all major economies to put forward decisive national actions that will reduce their emissions and turn the corner on climate change.
Excerpt From NYT’s ClimateWire, By DARREN SAMUELSOHN AND LISA FRIEDMAN
Obama Tries to Rally U.N. Climate Conference, but Deadlock Persists
Behind the scenes, dozens of presidents and prime ministers worked on a three-page document that they hope will become the lone outcome of the two-week negotiations here.
But the blame game is also under way with more than 115 heads of state in Copenhagen — many with years of work and their prestige on the line — struggling to bridge a divide between the world’s rich and poor nations. Several major industrialized countries pointed the finger at China for balking at demands to ensure their emission commitments would be open for public scrutiny.
A hush fell over the entire Bella Center during Obama’s eight-minute speech (pdf). He took on climate skeptics with his opening words and then made an all-out push for a collective agreement.
“While the reality of climate change is not in doubt, I have to be honest, as the world watches us today, I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now and it hangs in the balance,” he said. “I believe we can act boldly, and decisively, in the face of a common threat. That is why I have come here today. Not to talk, but to act.”
But with nearly 200 countries handing the negotiations over to their heads of state after two brutal weeks of gridlock, those talks have yet to bear any fruit.
China’s leader ignores compromise meeting
Obama and 19 other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, met for about 90 minutes in the Bella Center trying to find a compromise.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao boycotted the meeting and instead sent his vice foreign minister, He Yafei. In remarks to reporters, Sarkozy noted the protocol breach and said an agreement remained out of reach because of Beijing’s resistance to emissions monitoring.
Read the rest of the story at the New York Times: Obama Tries to Rally U.N. Climate Conference, but Deadlock Persists
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A report on “the deal”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/19/2776502.htm
If it is to limit global warming to 2deg, everyone will be happy. If we have warmed 0.5 degrees in the last century, we have time to sort the science properly.
Looks as if Obama is leaving before the vote.:
“Because of weather constraints in Washington I am leaving before a final vote”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/dec/18/copenhagen-climate-change-summit-liveblog
Just thought I’d remind everyone, that Obama said he would slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet – no joke. Watch this awesome video:
OK. The warm up act is done. Now the real negotiations can commence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8419048.stm
Who controls the money?
BTW, does anyone still think this is about science?
BBC from Copenhagen :
Chinese have won the argument !
Why would Obama say:
“Because of weather constraints in Washington I am leaving before a final vote”
Someone in the USA might explain? Wasn’t he going on vacations?
Ecotretas
Obama had a private meeting with China to see If they couyld spot him some cash. apparently they didn’t.
Now all he leaves the fine city with is a “New Years resolution” That means Amerika will try harder, be better and try to clean up our act.
There is no agreement. All there is from the spin is agrreement to meet again. I suspect they will want a hot city like Mexico city or Cairo in July. I hope the boys didn’t get ijnto too much trouble with the wild women.
(Obama is suffering without a teleprompter. He had no complete sentences.)
“So far, we have no agreement on the new climate fund or the body that will oversee it”
Why vote for your nominee? Al Gore? Michael Mann? Briffa? Jones? Huho Chavez? Robert Mugabe?
Opps, ;greenies verdict is not good 🙂
Commenting on the draft Copenhagen Accord, the Greenpeace climate campaigner Joss Garman said tonight: “This latest draft is so weak as to be meaningless. It’s more like a G8 communiqué than the legally binding agreement we need.
“It doesn’t even include a timeline to give it legal standing or an explicit temperature target. It’s hard to imagine our leaders will try to present this document to the world and keep a straight face.”
Why not vote…
Due to weather complications #Obama leaves #Copenhagen before #cop15 concludes. Oh – the irony. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change/copenhagen-2 #Greenpeace
I have plenty of $100,000,000,000,000 ($100 Trillion) Dollar notes…from Zimbabwe. I’m surprised Mugabe didn’t loan you a few. How many do you need?
Another wonderful piece of drivel from a real climate expert, actress Helen Baxendale (who she?)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/copenhagen-climate-change-confe/6841060/Copenhagen-climate-summit-the-talks-were-another-missed-opportunity.html
I despair of these people, I really do.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao boycotted the meeting and instead sent his vice foreign minister
We are lucky they didn’t send the junior assistant deputy vice foreign minister’s secretary’s assistant. Just to let all know how they really feel.
Does anyone else think this is quite unseemly for an American president to lie, right in our faces?
It’s all about stealing more money.
An unprecedented non-binding agreement to keep yapping … Yes, that’s unprecedented.
Sorry, but simply handing out $100 billion of our money for no good reason is criminal, IMHO. Who is going to have to provide that money? The Tooth Fairy?
I believe the correct answer is Congress. And FWIW I don’t think Congress is on board.
More than half and that figure is rising
China’s Spokesperson : It’s the U.S. fault that the talks have failed.
U.S. Spokesperson : It’s the Chinese’s fault that the talks have failed.
Greens Spokesperson : Its those Capitalist Socialists fault that the talks have failed.
Undeveloped countries spokesperson : Where’s our money?
Chavez : Hooray for me.
Ecotretas (14:40:08) :
Why would Obama say:
“Because of weather constraints in Washington I am leaving before a final vote”
Someone in the USA might explain? Wasn’t he going on vacations?
Washington DC is expecting a blizzard, some are predicting snow fall amounts of 20″. Oh, the irony!
Ecotretas (14:40:08) :
> Why would Obama say:
> “Because of weather constraints in Washington I am leaving before a final vote”
A snow storm (“Of historic proportions” according the the NWS – National Weather Service) is about to immobilize much of the US mid-Atlantic coast. Let’s see,
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=lwx&FcstType=text&zmx=1&zmy=1&map.x=260&map.y=113&site=LWX
And from
http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=LWX&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1&highlight=off
Short term /Saturday/…
— Changed Discussion —
Intense snowfall begins this evening for SW zones then spreads northeast through the night as the center of the low reaches the GA coast and intensifies as it heads NE up the Carolina coast tonight. Expecting the storm to be half over for the SW zones by tomorrow morning…while just getting underway for the Baltimore- DC metro area. As the system crosses Cape Hatteras early Saturday… wraparound snow bands spread across the CWA…primarily along and east of the Shenandoah Valley. A TROWAL with embedded instability expected to be along the I-95 corridor through the day Saturday… producing Intense snowfall. The TROWAL axis pulls east Saturday night…though the rate at which it moves east remains to be seen. However…expect snowfall to taper off from west to east Saturday night…ending along the western shore of the bay Sunday morning.
Winds of 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 25 mph will blow the heavy snow as it falls…further decreasing visibility. Travel will be very treacherous and is greatly discouraged late tonight through Saturday.
— End Changed Discussion —
I’m not sure what “TROWAL” is, the discussions are written for meteorologists and weather geeks. I-95 is a major highway along the east coast. You don’t want to be there in a small snow storm, let alone this one. Washington DC rarely gets storms like this, but they deserve this one!
China is realizing they’re going to get 10 cents on the dollar for all the paper they’re holding and they still have to feed 1.3Billion people. Oooops.
Obamahagen (TM) Report – While on stage at the microphone, Hillary Clinton was told that two Brazilian delegates had been turned away from the hall. Visibly shocked, Secretary Clinton asked, “How many is a brazilian?”
And a hush fell over the entire Bella Center.
The liberal left media and left politicians here in Canada are WHINING about the Canadian gov’t having a non-presence the past two days.
The less our PM and Env minister are involved the better. Unless someone has heard different, we don’t seem to be playing ball. I am praying they know how the majority of the public feel and backing off. They MAY be waiting for the fallout to fight back against the whining.
The latest I’ve heard is the Copenhagen Accord is 80 percent by 2050 for developed countries. Global Insanity.
Back to the caves I guess.
Climate Change = communists complaining they cannot compete in free markets.
“Snowfall causes traffic chaos in Europe”
They say the Eiffel Tower is closed till further notice. (Though the top of the tower still continues to poke out of the snow)
http://english.cctv.com/program/newshour/20091218/103098.shtml