It now seems that we don’t have to rely on reports from people who were in the room at Copenhagen — we have recordings.

Leaked tapes show EU leaders’ frustration at climate summit:

Angela Merkel expressed her frustration at India’s representative who refused to commit to precise overall CO2 emission reduction figures. “Then you don’t want anything legally binding!” she said, only to be countered by the Indian side: “Why do you make presumptions? That is not fair!”

When she presented Europe’s demand to have a commitment for a global reduction of 50 percent in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, China’s negotiator intervened abruptly and said: “Thank you for all your proposals. We’ve already said we cannot accept the long-term goal of 50 percent.”

At that point, French President Nicolas Sarkozy jumped in. “With all due respect and friendship for China,” he said, the West had already committed itself to an 80 percent reduction by the mid-century mark. “And China, who will soon be the biggest economy in the world, now tells the world ‘these engagements are for you, not for us.’ This is unacceptable. One has to react to this hypocrisy,” he scoffed.

Please see the above article for more detail.

On the international front, this is by far the biggest single issue related to climate change: How do we find a way for politicians in China, India, and the US to agree on a plan that will stay in effect long enough and reduce our emissions aggressively enough to avoid an almost unimaginable catastrophe. And let us not forget that in one of those countries (the US), the fossil fuel industries wield astonishing power thanks to the sheer throw-weight of money they can employ to “enlighten” our elected officials, meaning we need not just far-sighted politicians, but ones willing to bite the hand that helps fill their campaign war chests.

See also:


Visit Lou's Graphs Page.

TCOE is on Twitter, too


Link to original post