Diplomatic frenzy at final day of UN climate talks

AP ^ | 23 minutes ago Dec 18, 2009 | MICHAEL CASEY and JENNIFER LOVEN (AP)

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COPENHAGEN — A diplomatic frenzy enveloped the final scheduled day of the U.N. climate conference Friday, with President Barack Obama meeting with China's premier as world leaders pressed to salvage a global warming accord amid deep divisions between rich and poor nations.

But neither Obama nor Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered any new commitments to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming as they addressed the conference. And Wen skipped a high-level meeting of major nations, sending an envoy instead.

"We are ready to get this done today but there has to be movement on all sides to recognize that is better for us to act rather than talk," Obama said, insisting on a transparent way to monitor each nation's pledges to cut emissions.

Wen told delegates that China's voluntary targets of reducing its carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent will require "tremendous efforts." The target refers to China's rate of emissions per unit of economic growth.

"We will honor our word with real action," Wen said.

Abandoning any hope of reaching a comprehensive deal, a group of about 25 countries sought agreement on a two-page political statement setting out critical elements, key among them the mobilization of $30 billion in the next three years to help poor countries cope with climate change and a scaling up to $100 billion a year by 2020.

As negotiations evolved, new drafts of the document, titled the Copenhagen Accord, emerged with key clauses being inserted, deleted and reintroduced with new wording.

South Korea's chief negotiator, Rae-Kwon Chung, said one of the sticking points was a clause saying the combined emissions of rich and poor countries should be cut in half by 2050. Some developing countries opposed that target, fearing it would "define their carbon space," he said, declining to identify them.

With the climate talks in disarray,

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Obama and Wen met twice Friday —

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fyi

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From Marketwatch:

Obama sets out formula for climate deal

******************************EXCERPT*****************************************

By Kim Hjelmgaard, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- President Barack Obama arrived in Copenhagen Friday and very quickly become the focus of a faltering climate deal as the U.N. summit reached its final, whirlwind day of negotiations.

After arriving at the Bella Center conference center on the outskirts of Denmark's capital, the president launched headfirst into meetings with the leaders of Britain, France, China and at least a dozen other countries.

In a much-anticipated speech delivered to the Copenhagen summit on Friday President Obama said: "After months of talk, and two weeks of negotiations, I believe that the pieces of that accord are now clear."

"This is not a perfect agreement, and no country would get everything that it wants. There are those developing countries that want aid with no strings attached, and who think that the most advanced nations should pay a higher price. And there are those advanced nations who think that developing countries cannot absorb this assistance, or that the world's fastest-growing emitters should bear a greater share of the burden," Obama added.

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

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Comments (396) on the Marketwatch Site.

[N. Theknow]

the president launched headfirst into meetings with the leaders of Britain, France, China and at least a dozen other countries.

So, he bowed to everyone?

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Those comments read just like here on FreeRepublic.

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He is thinking about doing something...maybe apologizing again!

[tet68]

the president launched headfirst into meetings with the leaders of Britain, France, China and at least a dozen other countries.

Welcome to Copenhagen, home of the international MOSH pit.

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I am saving that image.

[NormsRevenge]

apologizing? again?

I hope he has good knee pads.

speaking of kneepads..

So glad to see Monica Lewinsky surface about this time too coincidentally perhaps or not.. ;-)

Copenhagen, the Left’s Waterloo?? Here’s hopin’!

[NormsRevenge]

Thought this looked familiar, got ya by a minute and a half or so. ;-)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410676/posts

Copenhagen’s last act,, like watching chickens running around with their heads missing

Good stuff..

[henkster]

The Copenhagen conference is just a really long Monty Python skit.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

You should have told me....I wasted all that effort.

LOL!

[TLI]

Copenhagen Crack-ups!

Obama may eventually become known as "the man who killed Copenhagen," said Greenpeace U.S. Executive Director Phil Radford.

In a diatribe against the U.S., Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized the conference as undemocratic.

Clinton said Washington would press the world to come up with a climate aid fund amounting to $100 billion a year by 2020

And the "signal..." But neither Obama nor Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered any new commitments to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming as they addressed the conference. And Wen skipped a high-level meeting of major nations, sending an envoy instead.

[NormsRevenge]

It happens. no biggy. It’s all for a good cause.

Keep up the mighty damn fine work!