COP21: Final push for climate deal amid 'optimism'

Negotiators at the Paris summit aim to wrap up a global agreement to curb climate change on Saturday - a day later than expected.

Messages on climate change outside Le Bourget in Paris where talks are taking place

"We are nearly there. I'm optimistic," said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is chairing the summit.

Efforts to forge a deal faltered on Friday, forcing the talks to overrun.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the negotiations were the "most complicated, most difficult, but, most important for humanity".

Mr Fabius told reporters in Paris that he would present a new version of the draft text on Saturday morning at 0800 GMT, which he was "sure" would be approved and "a big step forward for humanity as a whole".

"We are almost at the end of the road and I am optimistic," he added.

Live updates on COP21

The summit is entering a final push to try to secure a global agreement that would stake out a long-term strategy for dealing with climate change. However, there are still some unresolved issues.

---

What are the sticking points?

• Climate finance: How do countries pay for efforts to reduce, stop and cope with the effects of climate change?
• Differentiation: Related to the finance problem is how do we "differentiate" between developed countries, who can afford to donate money, and developing countries who need support? Richer nations want emerging economies to take on more of the burden of cutting emissions, and providing finance to the very poor nations hit by the impacts of higher temperatures.
• Overall goal: What is the overall target? Should nations try to limit global rises in temperature to 2C or 1.5C or by "well below 2C" - above what they were in pre-industrial times? The global average temperature has already risen by roughly 1C.

READ the whole article

COP21: What does ocean acidification look like?

Marine scientists are concerned that changes in the chemistry of the world's seas will have severe consequences for marine wildlife and ecosystems.

Jason Hall-Spencer, professor of Marine Biology at Plymouth University, shows BBC environment correspondent Matt McGrath the potential impact through two experiments at London's Aquarium.

Produced by Marcus Thompson (BBC)

COP21: Vanuatu voices from disappearing islands

Vanuatu is on the front line in the climate change debate, with rising sea levels putting the very future of the low-lying archipelago in jeopardy.

Islanders hope some sort of deal can be reached at the climate change conference Paris to make sure that whatever happens, their home will be as well prepared as possible.

They raised their concerns with the BBC's Matthew Price. (BBC Science/Environment)

COP 21: Why does Paris climate change conference matter?

UN: Climate plans must go further to prevent dangerous warming

The UN has released its assessment of national plans to limit climate change, submitted by 146 countries.

Carbon emissions will be "significantly dented" according to the UN, if all the plans are put into action

Officials say the submissions, in their current form, won't keep global temperatures from rising by more than the 2C danger threshold.

The global total of carbon emissions will continue to grow, although more slowly than over the past two decades.

However the UN report says the plans are a major step forward and the 2C goal is still "within reach".

The UN believes that these national climate plans, called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) will form the cornerstone of a binding, global treaty on climate change that will be agreed at a conference in Paris in December.

According to the UN, the submissions now cover around 86% of global emissions: about four times the amount covered by the Kyoto Protocol, the world's first carbon cutting treaty.

Their assessment is decidedly upbeat about the plans, despite acknowledging that taken together they point to rises in global temperatures of 2.7C above the pre-industrial level.

Scientists have determined that if temperature rises exceed 2C, this will lead to significant and dangerous climate impacts, which will especially hit the world's poor.

UN climate chief, Christiana Figueres, said the plans were an excellent first step: "The INDCs have the capability of limiting the forecast temperature rise to around 2.7C by 2100, by no means enough but a lot lower than the estimated four, five, or more degrees of warming projected by many prior to the INDCs."

Observers say the 2.7C figure is a substantial improvement on 3.1C, which was the estimate when the plans were assessed last December.

UN climate conference 30 Nov - 11 Dec 2015

COP 21 - the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties - will see more than 190 nations gather in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the threat of dangerous warming due to human activities.

Explained: What is climate change?

In video: Why does the Paris conference matter?

From BBC News

Party leaders make joint climate commitment

The UK's political leaders have pledged to work together to combat climate change, whatever the election result.

The pledge includes an undertaking "to end the use of unabated coal power"

In a joint statement, David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg said climate change was one of the most serious threats facing the world.

They said climate change threatens not just the environment but also security, prosperity and poverty eradication.

They have promised to end coal burning for power generation in the UK - unless it uses new clean-up technology.

Environmentalists say the pledge is significant because it quells some of their fears that the Conservatives might adopt a more climate-sceptic line, to mirror UKIP's position.

'Moment of unity'

The move will be noticed by the UK's European partners working towards a global agreement on climate change at the UN conference in Paris in December. Some of them had been nervous that the UK might soften its leadership position in the talks, given the level of climate scepticism expressed by some newspapers and Conservative backbenchers.

The statement will also please investors who have been deterred from sinking money into renewable energy systems because they feared a withdrawal from climate policies.

It has been brokered by Matthew Spencer of the think tank Green Alliance, who He told BBC News: "The purpose is to create space for the current and future PM to ensure that the UK can play a full role in securing a good outcome in Paris.

He added that another aim was "to reassure investors that agreement remains strong across current leaders on emissions reduction, and that we're unlikely to see a major change in direction whichever party forms the next government".

"It's very unusual to get a moment of unity in the midst of a general election, and it is generating lots of excitement. A non-partisan approach is the holy grail in the US. It is in our national interest to act and to ensure that others act with us."

'Unusual' joint commitment: Cameron, Clegg and Miliband

The leaders have gone so far as to promise to ban "unabated" coal-fired power generation - meaning that, if it is to continue, the emissions will need to be captured and stored in rock formations. This decision has been long debated and will send a strong signal of intent to the power industry.

The leaders state: "Acting on climate change is an opportunity for the UK to grow a stronger economy more efficient, and more resilient to risks ahead."

They pledge:

• to seek a fair, strong, legally binding, global climate deal which limits temperature rises to below 2C
• to work together, across party lines, to agree carbon budgets in accordance with the Climate Change Act
• to accelerate the transition to a competitive, energy efficient low carbon economy and to end the use of unabated coal for power generation

Critics fear that combating climate change will make energy unaffordable. UKIP says climate change fears are inflated and the party's UKIP's energy spokesman recently said his party wanted to repeal the Climate Change Act, which commits the UK to step-by-step reductions in CO2 until 2050. He said the relationship between CO2 levels and global temperatures is "hugely open to question".

Labour leader Ed Miliband recently restated that tackling climate change "goes to the heart of" his beliefs. A Liberal Democrat source said tackling climate change was in the party's DNA.

The Green Party says the UK should be making much more urgent progress towards getting the country powered by renewables.

The leaders say action on climate change is an opportunity to grow a stronger economy

Greenpeace welcomed the new statement. Its director John Sauven said:

"This pledge marks a turning point in the collective effort to take Britain's energy system out of the Victorian age and into the 21st century. Party leaders now need to set a clear expiry date on coal pollution, stop subsidies to coal plants, and start investing in the clean energy infrastructure this country really needs."

Industry leaders will need reassuring about how this can be done without pushing up energy prices and making the UK uncompetitive.

From BBC news

Countries reach climate change agreement

Countries from all over the world have reached an agreement on how to limit the effects of climate change in the future.

Leaders from 195 countries have been meeting in Peru, in South America, for two weeks.

They were trying to agree on plans and targets that each country would have to meet to reduce the amount of harmful gases it produces, and the amount energy it uses.

There were disagreements between richer and poorer countries at the summit about whether all nations should have the same targets.

Negotiators have now come up with a plan for countries to make their own pledges, which will be submitted at another conference next year.

Environmental groups have criticised the deal saying it weakens international climate rules.

United Nations members have reached an agreement on how countries should tackle climate change.

Delegates have approved a framework for setting national pledges to be submitted to a summit next year.

Differences over the draft text caused the talks in Lima, Peru, to overrun by two days.

Environmental groups have criticised the deal as a weak and ineffectual compromise, saying it weakens international climate rules.

The talks proved difficult because of divisions between rich and poor countries over how to spread the burden of pledges to cut carbon emissions.

'Not perfect'

The BBC's Matt McGrath in Lima says none of the 194 countries attending the talks walked away with everything they wanted, but everybody got something.

There was a great sense of relief among delegates when the announcement came in the early hours of Sunday morning, he adds, following 48 hours of talks without a break.

Peru's environment minister, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, who chaired the summit, told reporters: "As a text it's not perfect, but it includes the positions of the parties."

The agreement was adopted hours after a previous draft was rejected by developing countries, who accused rich nations of shirking their responsibilities to fight global warming and pay for its impacts.

The final draft is said to have alleviated those concerns with by saying countries have "common but differentiated responsibilities".

The agreed document calls for:

• An "ambitious agreement" in 2015 that reflects "differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities" of each nation
• Developed countries to provide financial support to "vulnerable" developing nations
• National pledges to be submitted by the first quarter of 2015 by those states "ready to do so"
• Countries to set targets that go beyond their "current undertaking"
• The UN climate change body to report back on the national pledges in November 2015

Environmental groups were scathing in their response to the document, saying the proposals were nowhere need drastic enough.

Sam Smith, chief of climate policy for the environmental group WWF, said: "The text went from weak to weaker to weakest and it's very weak indeed."

Jagoda Munic, chairperson of Friends of the Earth International, said fears the talks would fail to deliver "a fair and ambitious outcome" had been proven "tragically accurate".

The talks followed last month's agreement on emissions targets between the US and China, but hopes it would encourage wider global agreement faded once talks began in Lima on 1 December.

On Saturday, US climate envoy Todd Stern had warned that the deadlock in the negotiations threatened the chances of a new global deal next year, saying it would be seen as "a major breakdown".

From CBBC newswround and BBC news

EU review of environmental laws raises concern

MEPs will get the chance this week to grill the nominees for Europe's top environment jobs about their green credentials.

Space for wildlife is being squeezed as European farmers battle to remain competitive

The environment commissioner-designate is Karmenu Vella - a businessman from Malta, whose government faces criticism for its failure to stop illegal hunting of wild birds.

The energy and climate commissioner-designate is Miguel Arias Canete from Spain, a former oil firm president.

Both appointments are part of a reshuffle of environment and energy portfolios that has angered environmentalists but delighted business groups.

Both groups believe the changes herald a shift of priorities, from the environment to jobs and growth.

MEP demand

The reshuffle was made by Commission President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker.

He has scrapped the commissioners for environment and energy, who argued the case for environmental protection.

The environment job is now combined with fisheries. Mr Vella will be questioned in the European Parliament on Monday.

Croatia - the EU's newest member state - has embraced intensive farming

Mr Juncker has asked him to review laws protecting birds and their natural habitat - and told him to report to the Commission's new vice-president responsible for economic growth, Jyrki Katainen. This all alarms Greens.

Catherine Bearder, a British Liberal Democrat MEP, is also worried. She wants a reassurance from Mr Vella that he "will not diminish or water down these vital pieces of legislation that have done so much to protect Europe's biodiversity".

In a parallel move, the climate commissioner's job - previously filled by the outspoken Connie Hedegaard - has been rolled in with the energy portfolio as Europe seeks to secure its energy supplies.

Commissioner-designate Canete will be questioned by MEPs on Wednesday - and already some MEPs are demanding that he sever all links with companies in which he has an interest.

They also want Mr Juncker to put sustainability on the same level as economic growth and competitiveness.

Parliament President Martin Schulz has written to Mr Juncker urging him to include sustainable development among the economic priorities assigned to Jyrki Katainen, the Euractiv news website reports.

'Deeply regressive'

The change of EU portfolios alarms Jeremy Wates, head of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), an alliance of green activists: "Possibly even more disturbing than the shrinking of the environmental component in the new structure are the instructions given by Juncker to his proposed team.

"The incoming environment commissioner is requested to review legislative proposals such as the air and circular economy packages in the light of the 'jobs and growth' agenda, and to question the effectiveness of the Birds and Habitats Directives. This is a longstanding demand of anti-environment business interests.

"Under a banner of reform, a deeply regressive deregulatory agenda has been put forward here that reads like a wish-list of private sector interest groups hostile to the environment."

The changes were welcomed by Markus Beyrer from BusinessEurope. He applauded a "courageous approach... which underlines the clear aim to focus on crucial priorities necessary to make Europe more competitive to deliver growth and jobs".

An industry source later told BBC News the move was obviously a downgrade for environmental concerns in the light of Europe's struggling economy.

Mr Juncker said in his mission statement: "Protecting the environment and maintaining our competitiveness have to go hand-in-hand - both are about a sustainable future."

From BBC News- Sci/Environment

Leaders gather to commit to action on climate change

Climate change has been a huge issue for a long time now - with many people worried about melting glaciers - huge pieces of ice - causing rising sea levels.

Melting glacier, Greenland

World leaders, including US President Barack Obama, have held a special meeting, to try to stop the problem getting worse.

During the meeting, the President warned that a failure to act on climate change is a "betrayal" of future generations.

120 world leaders gathered at the summit at the U.N. headquarters in New York

He said climate change was moving faster than efforts to address it, and the US and China had a responsibility to lead other nations.

China has now pledged to take firm action on climate change for the first time.

The summit, which took place in New York, was the first major gathering of high-level leaders since 2009.

What is climate change?

Scientists say a rise in man-made greenhouse gases has resulted in some shrinking of glaciers, sea levels going up slightly and the temperature of some seas around the world rising. Greenhouse gases are produced by many things including burning fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal.

Satellite image showing water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean

Animals Under threat

Animals like polar bears, seals and penguins could be under threat if there isn't enough food as a result of changing conditions. Small islands may be also be lost, if sea levels rise in the future.

Polar Bear in the Arctic Barents Sea region

"The world must set on a new course"

Leonardo DiCaprio, who has been appointed as a United Nations representative on climate change, told the UN audience that climate change was not ''a fiction''.

The Hollywood actor said there was ''evidence that accelerated climate change is here, right now''.

Hollywood actor, Leonardo DiCaprio said: ''I believe that mankind has looked at climate change as if it was a fiction''

The meeting was hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

As he closed the summit, Mr Ban hailed the meeting, saying "never before have so many leaders gathered to commit to action on climate change".

                          

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked world leaders to take action

He said: "Today, we must set the world on a new course," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "I am asking you to lead".

Many protestors demonstrated outside the meeting. They're angry at some businesses who they claim can use too many fossil fuels. Protestors want them to use cleaner, more environmentally friendly fuels for the future.

From CBBC newsround

Street protests demanding urgent action on climate change have attracted hundreds of thousands of marchers in more than 2,000 locations worldwide.

The People's Climate March is campaigning for curbs on carbon emissions, ahead of the UN climate summit in New York next week.

In Manhattan, organisers said some 310,000 people joined a march that was also attended by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

Earlier, huge demonstrations took place in Australia and Europe.

"This is the planet where our subsequent generations will live," Mr Ban told reporters. "There is no 'Plan B' because we do not have 'Planet B'."

The UN Secretary General was accompanied by primatologist Jane Goodall and the French Ecology Minister, Segolene Royal.

New York hosted the largest of Sunday's protests, drawing more than half of the 600,000 marchers estimated by organisers to have taken part in rallies around the world.

In Manhattan, Ban Ki-moon (in blue hat) was flanked by primatologist Jane Goodall (to his right) and French ecology minister Segolene Royal

Manhattan echoed to the sound of chants, horns and drums as the colourful protest progressed through the streets.

Organisers of the Manhattan event said it surpassed the largest previous protest on climate change.

They said the massive mobilisation was aimed at transforming climate change "from an environmental concern to an everybody issue".

Business leaders, environmentalists and celebrities joined the demonstration.

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio also took part, having been appointed as a UN representative on climate change last week.

Many of the marchers in New York wore costumes associated with indigenous people

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Human role in warming 'more certain' - UN climate chief

 
 By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst 

Scientists are more certain than ever that greenhouse gases from human activities are heating the planet, the head of the UN's climate panel says.

Prof Pachauri shared the 2007 Nobel peace prize for his work

 

Rajendra Pachauri made the comments in an interview with BBC News.

The panel is due to deliver its latest report on the state of the climate later this week in Stockholm, Sweden.

Its last report was criticised after an error on glaciers unveiled other flaws, but Prof Pachauri said procedures had been reformed and strengthened.

He also dismissed suggestions of a slowdown in global warming.

"There’s definitely an increase in our belief that climate change is taking place and that human beings are responsible,” he told me.

"I don't think there is a slowdown (in the rate of temperature increase). I would like to draw your attention to the World Meteorological Organization which clearly stated on the basis of observations that the first decade of this century has been the warmest in recorded history.

"And I think the rest will be brought out by the report itself when it’s released."

Prof Pachauri’s insistence that warming has not slowed hints at a focus of debate this week in Stockholm: Global temperatures have not been increasing as fast as scientists predicted, and several governments insist that this puzzle is properly addressed in the final summary.

Have computer climate models overestimated the sensitivity of the planet to increasing CO2? Or has excess heat been stored up in oceans whence it will emerge to super-heat the planet in decades to come? Or both?

Or just perhaps it could be something else.

Unprecedented change

The draft says a doubling of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere above pre-industrial levels (expected by mid-century) is likely to result in a temperature rise globally of between 1.5 and 4.5C.

Any rise above 2C could risk major changes on Earth, according to projections, but the results of recent modelling involves a downward tweak at the bottom of the range, offering the tantalising prospect to politicians that if humans are very lucky, they could get away with rising CO2 emissions for a bit longer than previously expected.

The panel is struggling to offer a definitive answer as to why warming is not happening at the rate previously projected. But it will be anxious to ensure that the likelihood of a fortunate escape for humanity should not be overplayed.

It is expected to say that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have already warmed the ocean, melted snow and ice, raised sea levels and increased climatic extremes.

It will also warn that unless emissions are cut soon, we are likely to suffer severe changes in the climate unprecedented for hundreds of thousands of years.

Prof Pachauri’s leadership of the panel has been strongly supported by developing countries, although he has faced criticism in the West. He told me he had no plans to retire after the forthcoming report.

He said the panel enjoyed massive support, with 3,000 people volunteering to act as authors, 831 of whom were selected.

Tightening procedures

In the detailed text of its last report, the UN panel made a controversial mistake on glaciers.

Prof Pachauri said: "We made one mistake about the glaciers melting by 2035 - for which we have apologised. That was totally out of character because we always give a range for these things and it somehow slipped through.

"But it wasn’t included in the technical summary or the summary for policymakers, it just somehow escaped attention.

“What we did say about the glaciers was in substance not all that wrong – the glaciers are melting across the globe so that is something we stand by.

 

“This time we have been doubly careful... [that] we don’t have any mistake of that type. And I hope that [the report] will reassure everyone that human influence is having a major impact on the Earth's climate.”

Prof Pachauri said he anticipated attempts to discredit the panel. But he claimed evidence of extreme events was persuading more and more people, especially in the US, that humans were taking a risk with the climate.

Indeed, the report is expected to say it is very likely that manmade climate change has produced higher precipitation in America.

"Hopefully,” he said, “there are enough sane and sensible people in the public who will ultimately prevail."

The broader question is whether science itself will prevail over politics. Whatever the pronouncements of the UN panel, emissions are expected to continue to increase into the foreseeable future as politicians weigh risks to energy bills and competitiveness against risks to the planet.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has re-confirmed that he will invite world leaders to a climate summit next year in an attempt to galvanise action.

From BBC-Sci/Environment

 

Whatis CITES?

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Widespread information nowadays about the endangered status of many prominent species, such as the tiger and elephants, might make the need for such a convention seem obvious. But at the time when the ideas for CITES were first formed, in the 1960s, international discussion of the regulation of wildlife trade for conservation purposes was something relatively new. With hindsight, the need for CITES is clear. Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. The trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from them, including food products, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines. Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction. Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard these resources for the future.

Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation. CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.

CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union). The text of the Convention was finally agreed at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., the United States of America, on 3 March 1973, and on 1 July 1975 CITES entered in force. The original of the Convention was deposited with the Depositary Government in the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish languages, each version being equally authentic.

CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention ('joined' CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.

For many years CITES has been among the conservation agreements with the largest membership, with now 177 Parties.

Which animals were helped by cites?

For the last two weeks representatives from 178 countries have been meeting in Thailand to talk about endangered species.

The CITES conference has been described as a big step towards protecting the thousands of endangered animals and plants destroyed every year for money.

But whilst some animals, like the African elephant, were given protection, others lost out.

Amidst the great celebrations of a historic moment in the history of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), when regulations on the trading of several shark species were upheld, one man stood looking a little forlorn.

170 governments have turned to CITES to ensure the legal, sustainable and traceable trade in their precious timber and forest products, with the Conference unanimously bringing hundreds of new timber species under CITES controls, along with a number of tortoises and turtles and a wide range of other plant and animal species.  Five shark species and manta rays were also brought under CITES controls following a vote.

The members States declared the 3rd of March as the World Wildlife Day and accepted South Africa’s invitation to host the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to be held in 2016.

The CITES Secretary-General, John E. Scanlon, said: “This is a big day for CITES and for the world’s wildlife.  It takes enormous effort to negotiate treaties and then make them work.  The international community has today decided to make best use of this pragmatic and effective agreement to help it along the path to sustainability in our oceans and forests". 

CITES Parties have heeded the call from Rio+20 and recognized the important role of CITES as an international agreement that stands at the intersection between trade, the environment and development.

For Shingo Ota, the spokesman for Japan's negotiating team in the conference hall, the debate and the result made it an unhappy day.

"It was not so pleasant to listen to all the clapping and sometimes screaming on the floor," he told me.

The upgrading of oceanic whitetip, porbeagle and hammerheads toCites Appendix 2 - mandating trade licenses and quotas - would not stop fishermen from catching these species, he said.

"Hammerheads are caught by small-scale fishermen - they don't care about Cites, the fins may not be exported now because of Cites listing but hammerheads will continue to die."

From CBBC News

BBC News

Cites-http://www.cites.org/eng/news/pr/2013/20130314_cop16.php