From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Dec 16 2009 - 08:24:24 EST
African nations are expected to reject a deal forged by Ethiopia, France and
the UK aimed at breaking the deadlock at the summit, the BBC has learned.
The deal - said to have been organised during Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi's recent visit to Paris - would have raised funds for financing clean
development and climate adaptation through "innovative mechanisms" including
taxes on air travel and on bank transactions."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8415307.stm
Page last updated at 12:41 GMT, Wednesday, 16 December 2009
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Copenhagen police fire tear gas at climate protesters
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David Shukman says a line of riot police is slowly closing in on the
protesters
Police have fired tear gas as hundreds of protesters tried to break through
a perimeter fence at the UN climate summit venue in Copenhagen.
The Bella Centre, where the conference is taking place, has now been shut
off, says the BBC's Sarah Mukherjee.
Activists have been angered by lack of progress on a new climate deal and
also by restrictions on access to the talks.
In another development, Danish environment minister Connie Hedegaard has
resigned as summit president.
She will be replaced by Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
Ms Hedegaard said the meeting was procedural, adding: "With so many heads of
state and government having arrived, it's appropriate that the prime
minister of Denmark presides."
Marchers held
Police said they had arrested about 100 protesters as they marched to the
summit across Copenhagen.
The BBC's David Shukman, who is outside the Bella Centre, says there has
been a tense stand-off between protesters and police.
As government ministers from around the world join the talks, Danish
officials have cut the number of campaigners allowed in.
Thousands of would-be delegates have queued for hours to gain access to the
conference venue - many unsuccessfully.
Those unable to take part on Wednesday included campaign group Friends of
the Earth.
It said its delegates had arrived at the centre to find their badges were no
longer valid.
COPENHAGEN LATEST
Danish environment minister Connie Hedegaard resigns as president of the
summit to be replaced by Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen
The start of "high-level" talks, with prime ministers and other dignitaries,
is delayed after developing countries protested about procedural issues.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon suggests a climate change deal might not include a
figure on financial aid for developing countries, UK's Financial Times
reports.
Updated: 11:47 GMT, 16 December
Climate change in graphics
Q&A: Copenhagen summit
Some campaigners said that after marching to the summit they would try to
break in.
Inside the conference, Wednesday's "high-level" session, due to be addressed
by prime ministers and other dignitaries, was delayed when several
developing countries protested about procedural issues.
China said the process chosen by the Danish hosts "lacked transparency".
Others complained that rewritten texts were being pushed through without
proper consultation.
The BBC's environment correspondent Richard Black says the summit has been
plagued by claims from poorer countries that the Danes have tailored the
shape of negotiations to suit the EU's desired outcomes.
Delegates still have a huge number of fundamental issues to address before
the summit ends at the end of the week, our correspondent says.
These include the size of emissions cuts by developed nations, how finance
should be raised and disbursed, and most fundamentally, whether a deal here
should aim to keep the global temperature rise to 2C or 1.5C.
Draft text released to delegates and obtained by the BBC makes clear that
the most important parts of any eventual deal have still to be decided.
Temperature targets are still in the text as alternatives, our correspondent
says. Proposed figures for emission cuts by developed nations - apart from
the US - range from 15% by the period 2013-2017 to 49% by 2013-2020.
The section on finance consists entirely of paragraphs in square brackets,
meaning that none of it has been agreed, our correspondent adds.
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cutsBiofuelBlack carbonBoxer-Kerry billBusiness as usualCap and tradeCarbon
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equivalentCarbon footprintCarbon intensityCarbon leakageCarbon neutralCarbon
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(CER)Clean Coal TechnologyClean Development Mechanism (CDM)Climate
changeCFCCO2Commitment periodCOP15Country in transitionDangerous climate
changeDeforestationEmission Trading Scheme (ETS)EU Burden-sharing
agreementFeedback loopFlexible mechanismFossil_fuelsGeological
sequestrationGlobal average temperatureGlobal energy budgetGlobal
dimmingGlobal warmingGlobal Warming Potential (GWP)Greenhouse gases
(GHGs)Greenhouse effectHockey stickIPCCJoint implementationKyoto
ProtocolLDCsLULUCFMajor Economies Forum on Energy and
ClimateMethaneMitigationNairobi work programNatural greenhouse
effectNon-annex I countriesOcean acidificationppm (350/450)Per-capita
emissionsPre-industrial levels of carbon dioxideREDDRenewable energyStern
reviewTechnology transferTipping pointTwenty-twenty-twenty
(20-20-20)UNFCCCWaxman-Markey energy billWeather
Suggest additions
Glossary in full Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has suggested
that poor countries may have to give up their hope of getting immediate
long-term financial commitments from richer countries.
The amount of aid rich nations will pay poorer ones to combat global warming
has been one of the main stumbling blocks at the summit.
In an interview with the UK's Financial Times, Mr Ban said he did not think
the exact amount was vital to the current deal.
"If they are not able to agree this time at Copenhagen, then there needs to
be some initial arrangement. This is a time when common sense, compromise
and partnership should prevail," he said.
In another development on Wednesday, African nations are expected to reject
a deal forged by Ethiopia, France and the UK aimed at breaking the deadlock
at the summit, the BBC has learned.
The deal - said to have been organised during Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi's recent visit to Paris - would have raised funds for financing clean
development and climate adaptation through "innovative mechanisms" including
taxes on air travel and on bank transactions.
US hopes
Despite the difficulties, the White House says US President Barack Obama,
who will join world leaders in Copenhagen later in the week, is confident of
reaching a deal.
"The president believes that we can get... an operational agreement that
makes sense in Copenhagen, over the next few days," spokesman Robert Gibbs
told a briefing.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is already in Copenhagen, told reporters
on Tuesday that it was a critical moment.
"This is a very important moment for the world," Mr Brown said.
"It is possible that we will not get an agreement and it is also true that
there are many issues to be sorted out. But I am determined... to do
everything I can to bring the world together."
More than 120 leaders will formally join the talks on Thursday, aiming to
seal an accord by Friday.
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