UK upbeat about Paris climate talks, confident deal can be struck to reduce post-2020 emissions

Britain is confident the upcoming United Nations convention on climate change in Paris will be a success, and expects nations will agree to a global plan to reduce carbon emissions beyond 2020.

"We're in a good position," The UK foreign secretary's special representative for climate change, Sir David King, said about the talks later this month.

"There is clear political momentum behind an agreement. I think it is very unlikely we'll see a breakdown in negotiations."

In 2009, nations failed to come to an agreement at the Copenhagen summit, despite high hopes it would deliver a global deal to limit global warming in the long-term.

Sir David said preparations in the lead-up to the Paris conference were significantly further progressed than they were ahead of the Copenhagen summit.

"It's not a done deal ... but if you compare the position in the run-up to Copenhagen ... there's no comparison," he said.

He described the draft agreement as "well-developed" and that while there are some contentious areas still to be negotiated, they are "resolvable".

There are plenty of negotiations going on behind the scenes in the final fortnight before the Paris conference.

The deal involves countries submitting "intended nationally determined contributions" (INDCs) outlining what action they intend to take to curb emissions.

Of the 197 nations involved, 163 have submitted their plans, including all the major emitters.

It is not yet clear whether those commitments will be enough to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius, but Sir David said there are other measures not being counted that are significantly contributing to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

"Please don't add up the INDCs and think that's the end of the game," he said.

"Paris is not the end game."

The UK is lobbying to ensure the final agreement includes provisions for regular reviews, to take place every five years, to ensure mitigation efforts are on track to keep global warming in check.

There are nearly 100 "climate attaches" in British embassies around the world pressing the UK's case internationally.

As Britain's chief climate diplomat, Sir David acknowledges compromises will have to be made.

"While we're likely to get a deal, it's not likely to be perfect," he said.

He also reaffirmed comments he had made previously that climate change poses a bigger threat than terrorism.

While describing terrorism as a "severe challenge to our society," Sir David said in the long run, the health implications of climate change could see major advances in health lost.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-18/uk-upbeat-about-paris-climate-talks/6950194

2015 will be the hottest year ever recorded, weather agencies say

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/the-global-temperature-bet-you-have-a-999-per-cent-chance-of-winning-20151118-gl2hru.html

The Paris climate change summit later this month will be a test of whether Australia is ready to get serious, and whether it will embrace new studies that show it's possible to reduce emissions without the economic blowback, writes Mike Steketee.

While the Paris attacks last weekend demonstrated the extent of man's inhumanity to man, perhaps the climate change summit starting there on Monday-week will provide grounds for greater optimism.

If so, it will be based not so much on the words of the agreement to which world leaders subscribe as the measures that they take.....

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-20/steketee-paris-climate-summit-there's-grounds-for-optimism/6956944

Don't see how this is propaganda. It's a real issue and we should be preserving our natural resources.

Thought I would post this here also.
Hopefully this provides some impetus for action & [size=9]to also overshadow the far smaller issue of terrorism[/size].

Inb4 Socawho

Ask AJohn if he agrees.

I really don't see the need to compare the two. It's not a dick measuring competition. They both have significant effects on peoples lives, or will do in the case of climate change.

I hope I'm not going to be name dropped in every conversation about terrorism right now :/

Open Letter from Academics to World Leaders ahead of the Paris Climate Conference 2015
Some issues are of such ethical magnitude that being on the correct side of history becomes a signifier of moral character for generations to come. Global warming is such an issue. Indigenous peoples and the developing world are least responsible for climate change, least able to adapt to it, and most vulnerable to its impacts. As the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris approaches, the leaders of the industrialized world shoulder a grave responsibility for the consequences of our current and past carbon emissions.
Yet it looks unlikely that the international community will mandate even the greenhouse gas reductions necessary to give us a two thirds chance of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. At the moment, even if countries meet their current non-binding pledges to reduce carbon emissions, we will still be on course to reach 3 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. This is profoundly shocking, given that any sacrifice involved in making those reductions is far overshadowed by the catastrophes we are likely to face if we do not: more extinctions of species and loss of ecosystems; increasing vulnerability to storm surges; more heatwaves; more intense precipitation; more climate related deaths and disease; more climate refugees; slower poverty reduction; less food security; and more conflicts worsened by these factors. Given such high stakes, our leaders ought to be mustering planet-wide mobilization, at all societal levels, to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
We undersigned concerned academics, researchers, and scientists from around the world recognize the seriousness of our environmental situation and the special responsibility we owe our communities, future generations, and our fellow species. We will strive to meet that responsibility in our educational and communicative endeavors. We call upon our leaders to do what is necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change. With just as much urgency, we call upon our fellow citizens to hold their leaders responsible for vigorously addressing global warming.
http://globalclimatechangeweek.com/open-letter/

Timeline: UN climate negotiations

1988 marked the first mainstream call for climate action from scientists. It’s been a bumpy ride over nearly 30 years to the upcoming UN climate summit in Paris.

To navigate the timeline below, hover your mouse on the right and click on the arrow to move forward (and on the left to move back).

https://theconversation.com/timeline-un-climate-negotiations-50529

Only If you come looking for it, but you wouldn't do that would you ?

You're a legitimate slime ball.
Actually what is your problem?!

The way forward is to try and get countries to build their renewable infrastructure rather than trying to force countries to break the bank to manage it now.

A progressive increase in renewable technology over a period of lets say 20 years will have a lesser affect on our economy.

Its due to the denial & stonewalling from predominantly the right wing side of politics & self-interested business & of course the right wing voters that put them into power, that countries are having to now 'break the bank'. If serious action had have been taken a couple of decades ago, like us 'greenies' that have greater foresight urged for, there would be less pressure on countries' economies. Which is ironic considering how much right wingers cherish the concept of business & economic growth - this economic growth would have been greater if action had have been taken sooner. But due to the relatively simplistic mindset of the right winger, with the need to pigeon hole greenies as 'red under the bed' & 'anti-development' and hence the wilful inability to separate the nuanced cornucopia of issues relating to economics & environment, we are now being burdened with progressively reduced economic growth. Additionally ironic that, indirectly, the left wing greenies wanted greater economic growth through global environmental action.

Ask AJohn if he agrees.

"For all the immediate challenges that we gather to address this week — terrorism, instability, inequality, disease — there's one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other, and that is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate," he told the UN last year.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-23/climate-change-clashes-in-us-politics/6961546

After having read this forum a bit further, it is terribly sad that someone has lost another close to them.
I hope that the person concerned is surrounding themselves with & talking to people on an ongoing basis to work through the pain and gets professional counselling.

[size=8]Although I am not one to rely on politicians or populist figures in society when it comes to expertise on an issue,[/size] but rather I rely on academics publishing regularly in their field of expertise, here is a quote from [size=8]Barack Obama in an ABC article today[/size], that echoes what I stated:

Bernie Sanders agrees :)

I think we have a consensus of respected leaders opinions on this.

Disagree. If Republicans win the election, advances made could be reversed.
As night follows day, surprise surprise, Republicans are right wing

I said respected leaders :)

Who's who at the Paris climate conference?

See who all the important players are at the Paris climate conference.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-26/cop21-guide-to-participants/6890096

China to stake leadership claim on climate change, emissions reduction at Paris UN conference

Despite pumping as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as the next four biggest polluters combined, China will use this week's UN conference in Paris to stake a global leadership claim on climate change.

Six years on from the disappointing Copenhagen conference, where China was seen by the West as largely impeding a binding agreement, Beijing is bringing a raft of ambitious commitments to the table.

Chief among them, a state-led investment drive for renewables with an aim of sourcing 20 per cent of the country's energy needs from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Accompanying that is a pledge to peak the nation's carbon dioxide emissions by about 2030, and to reduce carbon emission intensity by up to 65 per cent in the same period.

Li Yuan, the CEO of China Merchants New Energy Group [the green energy arm of a major state-owned enterprise] said the world has "already witnessed China's speed in developing its green energy industry".

"Last year's speed was the fastest. This year we've reached the highest capacity construction of wind power and solar power in the world."

China in 2014 spent around $115 billion on solar and wind power, and other forms of renewable energy, putting it far ahead of the European Union and the United States for investment.

In a sign of how eager Beijing is to invest, Mr Li's company has gone from operating one solar power plant to running 46 of them in three years....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-29/china-stakes-leadership-claim-to-combat-climate-change/6983650

COP21: Paris conference could be climate turning point, says Obama

US President Barack Obama has said the UN climate conference in Paris could be a "turning point" in global efforts to limit future temperature rise.
Negotiators from 195 countries will try to reach a deal within two weeks aimed at reducing global carbon emissions and limit global warming to 2C (3.6F).
Leaders from 147 nations are addressing the meeting, known as COP21.
But the world's poorest countries say they fear being "left behind" in the push for a new treaty.
President Obama told delegates: "Climate change could define the contours of this century more than any other (challenge)."
He urged negotiators to deliver a meaningful deal, because the "next generation is watching".
"I came here personally to say the United States not only recognises the problem but is committed to do something about it."
He added that recent years had shown that the global economy had grown while emissions had remained flat, breaking the old arguments for inaction "that economic growth and environmental protection were in conflict"....
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34960051