Copenhagen climate conference opens to dire warnings

[discocrisco01]

Source: AFP

A landmark conference on climate change opened in Copenhagen on Monday, with grim warnings of the apocalyptic dangers for mankind if world leaders fail to agree a way to stave off global warming. Skip related content
Related photos / videos Connie Hedegaard, a Danish politician elected to chair the talks in Copenhagen Enlarge photo Connie Hedegaard, a Danish politician elected to chair the talks in Copenhagen Enlarge photo Pachauri proudly defended the IPCC's reputation as an arena for weighing evidence …More Enlarge photo VIDEO: 'World's hope' lies with climate summit: Danish PM. Enlarge photo A cyclist stops to look at a display entitled "Cool Globes" in the Kongens …More Enlarge photo Danish Prime Minister Lokke Rasmussen delivers a speech at the Bella center in Copenhagen Enlarge photo The impact on humanity of man-made drought, flood, storms and rising seas were spelt out at the start of the 12-day meeting, which will climax with more than 110 heads of state or government in attendance.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen warned that the world was looking to Copenhagen to safeguard the generations of tomorrow.

"For the next two weeks, Copenhagen will be Hopenhagen. By the end, we must be able to deliver back to the world what was granted us here today: hope for a better future," he said.

Opening ceremonies began with a short sci-fi film featuring children of the future facing an apocalypse of tempests and desert landscapes if world leaders failed to act today.


Read more: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20091207/twl-copenhagen-climate-conference-opens-6d10327.html

[discocrisco01]

1. The best last chance: UN climate conference opens

Source: Associated Press

COPENHAGEN – The largest and most important U.N. climate change conference in history opened Monday, with organizers warning diplomats from 192 nations that this could be the best last chance for a deal to protect the world from calamitous global warming.

The two-week conference, the climax of two years of contentious negotiations, convened in an upbeat mood after a series of promises by rich and emerging economies to curb their greenhouse gases, but with major issues yet to be resolved.

Conference president Connie Hedegaard said the key to an agreement is finding a way to raise and channel public and private financing to poor countries for years to come to help them fight the effects of climate change.

Hedegaard — Denmark's former climate minister — said if governments miss their chance at the Copenhagen summit, a better opportunity may never come


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091207/ap_on_sc/climate_33/print

[MindPilot]

2. Probably been a good idea to do this in the heat of summer.

Then the deniers couldn't point out the window and say "there's no global warming; look, it's snowing in Denver!"

[endless october]

3. best last chance?

we had better pick a solution other than cap and trade, then. because it won't do shit except make carbon traders rich.

build new green infrastructure now. cut all red tape. nukes, solar, wind. built and maintained by taxes, just like the interstate highways.

or, we could spend tons of money buying carbon credits from non-producing nations while China signs the deal and then cheats on it and keeps burning coal anyway. oh, and more of our jobs go there to seal the deal.

fuck that. cap and trade is less than useless. this problem is real, and it requires more than international politics fiddlefucking a new way to enrich themselves while sticking it to all of us.

[karynnj]

4. Cap and trade worked to eliminate acid rain

It is a market based way to put a cost on carbon. It is VERY important that the market be closely regulated and Kerry, who with BCCI and other things has credibility on both the determination and the skill, to do so.

The Congress will not pass a carbon tax at all and to work, the carbon tax would have to be pick enough that people will notice and move to make other choices. That definitely is not happening. As to your idea that energy plans could be built and maintained by the federal government, I seriously doubt that would get more than 5 or so Senators to support what really would be a government run energy section.

The reason people are behind cap and trade is that it is the best method that has a reasonable chance of passing. A perfect plan, not passed, does nothing.

[endless october]

5. we need a solution, not a market based solution.

and we don't need an international treaty to build infrastructure.

this is like putting a toll on all existing country roads and hoping that it results in an interstate highway being built because people get tired of the tolls.

just build the damned infrastructure.

[karynnj]

6. We do need Congress to pass it and there is NO way they would

Who other than Bernie Sanders and possibly a few others would vote for it. Under our form of government, I know of no way to allocate money for this without Congress approving it.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, discocrisco.

[Triana]

8. Tell you what...I'm in a position to be able to talk to leading climate researchers and..

....here's what they tell me when I ask if all this information is true or just alarmist or overstated. They tell me that they MAY be wrong, certainly. BUT IF THEY ARE, it's in the sense that they DOWNPLAY the numbers so as NOT to sound alarmist or like a bunch of Chicken Littles. They are SCIENTISTS and RESEARCHERS. That's the LAST thing they want to sound like! SO - they are VERY CONSERVATIVE with their projections and numbers.

IF THEY'RE WRONG they are wrong in the sense that it's a LOT worse than they're saying. Notice all the reports that come out almost daily about how the ice is melting, species are going extinct, etc. etc. quicker than scientists predicted?

THAT'S why.

We have AT MOST - FOUR years to halt catastrophic and irreversible climate change. IF that long.

[jtylerpittman]

9. any thing that is not binding for china and india is useless

any cuts we make will be more then made up for by those two