COP17 United Nations Climate Change Conference Coverage by Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! is on the ground in Durban South Africa to report on the COP17 climate talks.
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Friday, December 09, 2011
U.S. Publicly Shifts Climate Stance in Face of Widespread Criticism -- Then Quietly Backtracks
Talks at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Durban have entered their last official day, with focus now on a European Union-sponsored road map calling for a new climate treaty to be negotiated by 2015. The treaty would impose binding cuts on the world’s biggest emitters of the heat-trapping gases, but would not likely go into effect until 2020. After being publicly heckled by a U.S. college student on Thursday and facing widespread accusations of obstructing the Durban talks, U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said the Obama administration supports the E.U. road map. The U.S. State Department later backtracked on Stern’s comments by taking the unusual step of issuing a clarification to its position, saying it does not yet support a legally binding deal to cut emissions. When Amy Goodman then tried to question Stern and fellow lead U.S. negotiator Jonathan Pershing about the apparent retraction, they refused to answer. [includes rush transcript]
"Get It Done": Urging Climate Justice, Youth Delegate Anjali Appadurai Mic Checks U.N. Summit
A number of protests are being held today at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban to protest the failure of world leaders to agree to immediately agree to a deal of binding emissions cuts. Anjali Appadurai, a student at the College of the Atlantic in Maine, addressed the conference on behalf of youth delegates. Just after her speech, she led a mic check from the stage — a move inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests. "It always seems impossible until it’s done," Appadurai said. "So, distinguished delegates and governments around the world, governments of the developed world: Deep [emissions] cuts now. Get it done." [includes rush transcript]
Obama Admin Denounced for "Startling Level of Obstructionism and Defeatism" on U.N. Climate Deal
For analysis on where the U.N. climate change talks stand, we are joined by two guests who have been closely tracking the role of the U.S. negotiating team over the past two weeks. Kate Horner is a policy analyst at Friends of the Earth, and Michael Dorsey is an assistant professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. "In those briefings, we’ve seen, I think, a startling lack of vision, a startling level of obstructionism, of defeatism," Dorsey says. "And I think one way we could summarize those briefings is that the U.S. State Department diplomacy is about delay... What we’ve seen the U.S. try to force the world to do here is to sort of throw out the baby that’s called Kyoto, which is an agreement that’s legally binding, and get the world to drink the dirty water, the bath water that’s left behind." [includes rush transcript]
Lauding "Collapse of Global Warming Movement," Sen. Inhofe Tells U.N. Summit "You Are Being Ignored"
While no members of the U.S. Congress attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma recorded a video message that was aired at a press conference of climate change deniers here at the summit on Wednesday. "Tossing out any remote possibility of a U.N. global warming treaty is one of the most important things we can do for the economy," Sen. Inhofe said. "I’m making this announcement from Washington, D.C., where I am confident that the only person left talking about global warming is me. The message from the Washington to the U.N. delegates in South Africa is this, this week, could not be any clearer: you are being ignored." [includes rush transcript]
Thursday, December 08, 2011
"I'm Scared for My Future": Student Disrupts Speech by U.S. Climate Envoy Todd Stern in Durban
Several prominent U.S. environmental groups have accused the Obama administration of obstructing negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference and have called for the United States to step aside and let other countries carry on with the talks. Earlier today, the top U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern addressed the U.N. summit for the first time. But as he took the stage, Middlebury College student Abigail Borah interrupted the proceedings. "I am scared for my future," Borah told Stern. "2020 is too late to wait. We need an urgent path to a fair, ambitious and legally binding treaty. You must take responsibility to act now." Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman later questioned Stern about Borah’s comments and accusations the United States is a major obstacle to progress at the climate talks. [includes rush transcript]
Critics: Rich Polluters—Including U.S.—Should Face Sanctions for Rejecting Binding Emissions Cuts
Talks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference are in their second to last day, but little progress appears to have been made on the key issues of extending the Kyoto Protocol or forming a Green Climate Fund. The United States is refusing to accept any deal involving binding emissions cuts before the year 2020 despite dire warnings that the world can’t afford to wait. We get analysis from Pablo Solón, Bolivia’s former ambassador to the United Nations and former chief negotiator on climate change, and from Patrick Bond, a South African climate activist, professor and author. "The main issue, that is the number, the figure of emission reductions of rich countries, is not really being raised," Solón says. "It’s very, very low... You cannot be silent when you see that genocide and ecocide is going to happen because of this kind of decisions." Solón also says the U.S. "blackmails" developing countries into dropping demands for binding cuts by threatening to withdraw climate aid. Bond says the next round of climate talks should include the idea of sanctions against major polluters, like the United States, that reject binding cuts. [includes rush transcript]
more > Democracy Now! - Durban Climate Summit 2011
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Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. Pioneering the largest public media collaboration in the U.S., Democracy Now! is broadcast on Pacifica, NPR, community, and college radio stations; on public access, PBS, satellite television (DISH network: Free Speech TV ch. 9415 and Link TV ch. 9410; DIRECTV: Free Speech TV ch. 348 and Link TV ch. 375); and on the internet. DN!’s podcast is one of the most popular on the web.
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COP17 UN Climate Change Conference updates from Democracy Now!
The 17th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) takes place in Durban, South Africa from Nov. 28 through Dec. 9. Democracy Now! is covering the official proceedings as well as the events outside the conference.
see also
what next: COP17 UN Climate Change Conference (MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2011)
what next: Global warming
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