Tierramérica talks to Frode Gjedrem from IPS Inter Press Service on Vimeo.

President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, Dec. 17, 2009. Credit: White House Photo/ Pete Souza

Analysis by Matthew Berger

SAN FRANCISCO (IPS/TerraViva) When then-U.S. Vice President Al Gore arrived in Kyoto in 1997, the climate – of both the planet and the climate change debate – was much different. The biggest sign of how this issue has evolved in the 12 years since is the presence of U.S. president and newly-anointed Nobel laureate Barack Obama at Copenhagen’s Bella Centre Friday.

Since 1997, the world has sweated through the hottest decade on record, starting in 1998, which the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organisation has said was the hottest year ever recorded. But the pressure against addressing these climatic changes – and their consequences – has been just as stifling as the weather. Continue Reading

Tierramérica talks to Tommy von Pein from IPS Inter Press Service on Vimeo.

By Athar Parvaiz

COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) – Unless the world comes to its aid, Bangladesh says the vulnerability of its agriculture sector to climate change could spell severe consequences for its millions of people, who stand to lose their main source of livelihood.

“As a poverty-stricken and densely populated country, we cannot cope with these challenges unless we have a proper financial and technological support from the developed world,” said Sabir Hassan Chowdhary, one of the delegates from Bangladesh to the Copenhagen climate talks, in an interview with TerraViva. Continue Reading

By Darryl D’Monte

COPENHAGEN  (IPS/TerraViva) – People living in the Himalayan region are increasingly confronted by rising temperatures and glaciers melting at an unprecedented rate, threatening their very survival. This much the world already knows.

Yet, experts say, there is still no accurate and reliable data on the Himalayan glaciers and many aspects of its ecosystem, which should facilitate determining mitigation measures addressing current and future impacts of climate change on the Himalayas.

Continue Reading

Copenhagen demonstrators and police. Credit: Claudia Ciobanu/IPS

By Mantoe Phakathi*

COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) – “It’s clear now – we’re not getting a binding deal at the end of tomorrow,” said the president of Friends of the Earth-United States, Erich Pica.

Industrialised nations are burying their heads in the sand and poor countries seem set to be forced to continue bearing the burden of global warming. The demonstrations, flyers, news media and all kinds of pressure to get the Western countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and compensate poor countries with financial resources and technology seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Continue Reading

Crédito: Fabricio Vanden Broeck

Por Mario Osava

RÍO DE JANEIRO (IPS/TerraViva)  “El archipiélago de Japón se hundirá dentro de un año”. El anuncio oficial se produjo tras una violenta erupción del monte Fuji, y luego se multiplicaron los terremotos por todo el país, desafiando al mundo a acoger a 110 millones de personas en pocos meses.

Una furiosa batalla diplomática logró una dubitativa solidaridad para evacuar a 65 millones de japoneses. Veinte millones se hundieron con las islas, muchos de ellos voluntariamente, por amor a la Patria o para ceder lugar en la fuga a los más jóvenes. Los demás, se supone, murieron antes, víctimas de temblores, tsunamis y otros cataclismos. Continue Reading

Claudius

By Claudia Ciobanu

COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) – An internal note from the UN Secretariat dated December 15 states that the current emission reduction pledges made by Annex 1 countries and the voluntary actions and policy goals announced by non-Annex 1 states “could lead to concentrations equal or above 550 ppm with the related temperature raise around 3 degrees.”

The UN note was leaked to some media and NGOs on Thursday evening, further emphasising the deadlock in negotiations. Continue Reading

Adriana Marquisio and Maude Barlow at the Klimaforum09. Credit:Stephen Leahy/IPS

Stephen Leahy* – Tierramérica

COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) Similar market-based solutions will be used to “solve” the growing water crisis, warned experts at the Klimaforum09, a parallel meeting a few kilometres away from the official COP15 talks. Continue Reading

Yasuni-ITT Initiative from IPS Inter Press Service on Vimeo.

Activists inside the Bella Centre on Dec. 16, 2009. Credit: A. Libisch/TerraViva

By Stephen Leahy

COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) Canada bears a large share of responsibility for any failure to make a breakthrough in reducing greenhouse gas emissions here in Copenhagen, say participants and civil society activists.

Canada is the only country to ignore its international obligations under the previous Kyoto climate treaty. It has blocked all attempts to get a new treaty to significantly cut carbon emissions, the activists and delegates from other countries charge.

“Canada is the dinosaur at these talks,” said Canadian David Cadman, president of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, an international association of local governments that hosted this week’s Mayor’s Conference on climate change here. Continue Reading

Activistas reunidos en el Klimaforum. Crédito: Daniela Estrada/IPS

Por Daniela Estrada

COPENHAGUE (IPS/TerraViva) Antes de develarse el resultado de la COP-15, organizaciones sociales latinoamericanas discutieron sus estrategias de cara a la próxima cumbre climática, que se celebrará en México en 2010.

“El primer desafío es profundizar, expandir, ampliar, fortalecer nuestra capacidad y nuestras articulaciones en la región. En estos momentos hay distintos movimientos, distintas redes, y nuestro reto es articular esos esfuerzos”, dijo TerraViva Beverly Keene, coordinadora internacional de Jubileo Sur. Continue Reading

Nancy Pelosi with colleagues Ed Markey (left) and Steny Hoyer. Credit: Raúl Pierri/IPS

Raúl Pierri

COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) – With only one day to go to the end of the climate change talks and no agreement in sight, it looks like it will ultimately be up to national legislators to effectively implement whatever agreement is forged here in the Danish capital.

That is the view taken at the COP15 by representatives of GLOBE (Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment) International. Continue Reading

Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development Erik Solheim. Credit: Rajiv Fernando/IPS

COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) Norway is the world’s third largest donor in terms of development aid as a percentage of GDP. Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development Erik Solheim spoke to IPS about the initiatives promoted by his country on environmental protection and its role during the Copenhagen negotiations.

Like most participants in the CoP15, Solheim declared himself not very optimistic about the fate of the talks, speaking to TerraViva on Thursday night, with just one day of negotiations remaining. Continue Reading