Monday, November 28, 2005

CLIMATE CHANGE - U.N. CONFERENCE BEGINS TODAY WITHOUT U.S.


CLICK TO READ: World Leaders to Discuss Strategies for Climate Control - Washington Post

When it comes to dealing with the very real problem of climate change, the White House strategy is simple: don't deal with it. Close your eyes, and maybe it will just go away. The rest of the world, obviously, thinks otherwise and is stepping up to the task at hand.

About 10,000 delegates from 189 governments, environmental lobby groups and businesses are attending the talks on climate change in Montreal beginning today, November 28-December 9. 'We do have a little time, but not much. ... If we don't get a serious program in place for the long term in this second post-Kyoto phase, we will simply not make it and we will be crossing limits which will basically produce impacts that are unacceptable,' Princeton University's Michael Oppenheimer said. Despite overwhelming global agreement on urgency, the Bush administration has refused to participate. Despite the administration's view, politicians, corporate representatives and other U.S. participants are attending the conference. 'Most people are ready to take the dialogue forward,' said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. 'The only place where that is not the case is the administration.'

PHOTO: In Thokoza township, near Johannesburg, electricity is not widely available. South Africa, currently exempt from Kyoto Protocol emissions caps, says it does not want to commit to reductions as it tries to bring power to poorer citizens. (By Iqbal Tladi -- Reuters)

RELATED ARTICLE: Tiny bubbles, rising seas point to warming - Environment - MSNBC.com

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