[Vision2020] Copenhagen Set to Fail on Climate Deal: US Set at Damage Control

[Ted Moffett]

More "hot air" procrastination from world leaders avoiding rapid and
extensive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:

http://australianetworknews.com/stories/200911/2743412.htm?desktop

Copenhagen set to fail on climate deal

*Linda Mottram, Singapore*

Last Updated: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:30:00 +1100

World leaders meeting in Singapore have said it will not be possible to
reach a climate change deal ahead of next month's UN conference in Denmark.

After a two-day Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, they vowed
to work towards an "ambitious outcome" in Copenhagen.

APEC didn't include an emissions target in the final statement from its
leaders.

But the group dropped a target to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,
which was outlined in an earlier draft.

APEC host, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, preferred to describe
it as negotiated and insisted APEC wasn't the place for climate change
negotiations.

Officials say the leaders - including presidents Barack Obama of the US and
Hu Jintao of China - now view the Copenhagen summit as a "staging post", and
not an end point.

Climate breakfast

The issue was also discussed at a climate change breakfast on the sidelines
of the APEC summit, co-hosted by Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd and
Mexico's President Felipe Calderon.

Most APEC leaders, including President's Barack Obama and Hu Jintao
attended.

Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen even flew into Singapore at
short notice to attend.

Speaking after the breakfast, Kevin Rudd summed up the general view of the
Copenhagen process.

"Leaders were clear in their view that the current officials led process is
running into all sorts of difficulties and therefore its time for political
leaders to step in," he said.

APEC leaders had accepted that the only way forward for Copenhagen was to
set a two stage process, with the aim of getting a legally binding deal
between nations further down the track.
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http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2597

US set at damage control Trying to avoid “having Copenhagen failure laid at
its doorstep”, the US administration is reported to be considering patching
up a limited short-term climate deal.
Morten Andersen *13/11/2009 16:25*

Even if the USA - short of national climate change legislation - cannot
commit to a legally binding global deal at the UN conference in Copenhagen
next month, it may still engage in a limited deal. The purpose of this would
be to ensure the world of the Obama administration’s good intentions.

“An interim, operational deal is not meant to be seen as a substitute for a
real agreement. It’s meant to be seen as substantive building blocks to a
full, legal agreement, and perhaps the best chance of getting such an
agreement.” Todd Stern, US special envoy on climate change, says according
to The Washington Post.

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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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