Further Climate Change Zombies
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/copenhagen-climate-change-confe/6804753/Copenhagen-climate-summit-talks-not-on-track-warns-Ed-Miliband.htmlCopenhagen climate summit: talks not on track, warns Ed Miliband
International talks in Copenhagen to tackle global warming are not on track to deliver the ambitious agreement needed to protect the planet, according to Ed Miliband, the Climate Change Secretary.
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent in Copenhagen
Published: 6:35AM GMT 14 Dec 2009
With world leaders due to arrive at the talks later in the week, the pressure is on negotiators to come up with a political agreement that heads of state and government, including Gordon Brown and US President Barack Obama, can sign up to.
But Mr Miliband fears not enough progress is being made in efforts to secure a deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide funding to help poor countries develop without increasing their pollution.
Mr Miliband said: “We’re now getting close to midnight in this negotiation and we need to act like it. That means more urgency to solve problems, not just identify them, more willingness to shift from entrenched positions and more ambitious commitments. We’re not yet on track for the kind of deal we need.
“This is the critical opportunity. Britain is working in formal and informal settings as persuaders for the ambitious and comprehensive agreement we want. If we want to do a deal we will need to create greater momentum and make active efforts to find solutions. We need more progress before the leaders arrive.”
Speaking in Copenhagen on Sunday Tony Blair, the former prime minister, said the world must take action on climate change even if the science is not correct. [Emphasis Added]
Reacting to recent claims by climate change sceptics, Mr Blair said the science might not be “as certain as its proponents allege”.
However, he insisted the world should act as a precaution against the threat of floods, droughts and mass extinction. In fact, Mr Blair added, it would be “grossly irresponsible” not to.
Mr Blair described the talks as “one of the toughest negotiations that international leaders will ever have been involved in”. However, despite sceptics claiming that emails stolen from the University of East Anglia question the science, he said it was urgent to act now.
“It is said that the science around climate change is not as certain as its proponents allege. It doesn’t need to be. What is beyond debate, however, is that there is a huge amount of scientific support for the view that the climate is changing and as a result of human activity,” he said.
“Therefore, even purely as a matter of precaution, given the seriousness of the consequences if such a view is correct, and the time it will take for action to take effect, we should act. Not to do so would be grossly irresponsible.”
He also called for a deal to halt the deforestation that is responsible for a fifth of carbon emissions by paying poor countries not to chop down trees.
Speaking in Copenhagen on Sunday Tony Blair, the former prime minister, said the world must take action on climate change even if the science is not correct. [Emphasis Added]
What the #@**? The science is not correct but let's do it anyways. What a moron.