Environment Forum
Global environmental challenges
Reporter’s video notebook: Day Four
Reuters environmental markets correspondent Gerard Wynn is at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen. In this video log, he previews what to expect on the fourth day of talks.
Day Three: And what of Obama?
President Barack Obama’s decision to attend the climate talks in Copenhagen next week, at the end of the process rather than at the beginning, is said to show the White House is serious about pursuing a deal to curb global warming.
On the first day of talks in Copenhagen this week, the Environmental Protection Agency cleared the way for regulation of greenhouse gases without new laws passed by Congress, a move said to enforce Obama’s commitment to act.
Climate skeptics hold their own Copenhagen conference
With the world’s eyes firmly fixed on the U.N. Climate Conference in Copenhagen it is easy to forget that there remains a significant group of scientists and politicians who do not accept that humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases are the primary cause of climate change.
These climate skeptics are in Copenhagen too and they held their own two-day conference not far from the Bella Center, home of the main summit. The Copenhagen Climate Challenge brought together a cluster of scientists who believe the real causes of climate change are being overlooked, ignored and even purposefully distorted.
from Mario Di Simine:
Staged protests aplenty at COP15 — Do they matter?
Not a day goes by at the Bella Center here in Copenhagen, site of the UN Climate Conference now underway, without some group or another staging a protest or demonstration.
There are staged events that we know are coming and some that seem to just spring up.
Icebergs, penguins and pyjamas
I awoke today Dec 8 at 5.40 a.m. to an unfamiliar sound – l’Astrolabe crunching her way through sheets of ice. After days of wild seas the ship’s progress has slowed as she makes her way through the floating ice.
After months of anticipation, I sat up in my bunk and peered out through the cabin port hole to see icebergs, it’s an amazing feeling!
Day Two: Reaction to the EPA
(Updated with comments from Dr. Gidon Eshel, physics professor, Bard College)
On the first day of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleared the way for regulation of greenhouse gases without new laws passed by Congress, reflecting President Barack Obama’s commitment to act on climate change.
The EPA ruling that greenhouse gases endanger human health was widely expected, but for the record, Reuters.com asked our panel of experts on climate change what they thought of the decision.
from Tales from the Trail:
Boycott Copenhagen, Palin urges Obama
If Sarah Palin had her way, President Barack Obama would be staying away from this month's global climate change talks in Copenhagen and "sending a message that the United States will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices."
The summit will hear from scientists like those from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, where recently revealed e-mails showed information that raised questions about climate change was suppressed, writes Palin.
from Mario Di Simine:
Africans protest COP15, say “process manipulated”
In the most heated protest of these early days at COP15 in Copenhagen, African representatives accused the political leaders of the developed world of hijacking the conference to the detriment of developing nations.
The marchers said the process of the talks had been manipulated by the developed world's political leaders to impose on Africans a deal that won't benefit them.
from Mario Di Simine:
Youth get in bed together on Lennon anniversary
It was 29 years ago today that a lone gunman assassinated John Lennon and the anniversary was the spur behind a youth "bed in" at the COP15 conference center.
Socres of young folks from around the world used the day to remember Lennon's famous bed-in protest of the Vietnam War and to put their own spin on it. They pulled on their P.J.s, pulled out their pillows and protest signs and got in "bed" together to perform a rendition of Lennon's iconic Give Peace a Chance, remaking the lyrics to reflect their climate concerns.
Will Copenhagen lead to a deal?
In Copenhagen, delegates from 190 countries are at the largest-ever climate conference aimed at crafting a legally-binding global treaty to curb climate change.
Reuters.com is running a series with some of the world’s leading thinkers on the subject during the talks, which run Dec7-18. We are asking questions about breaking news out of the conference as well as more umbrella themes about fighting global warming. We also hope you will join the discussion.
