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West Eases Off Carbon Demands for China, India

Copenhagen deal closer, but 2050 goal less likely

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 20, 2009 10:51 AM CDT

(Newser) – Industrialized nations backed away from long-term carbon cut demands on developing nations yesterday, in the hopes of reaching a deal at December's Copenhagen summit. The US and EU have pushed for a 50% reduction in global carbon emissions by 2050, but China and India refused to sign up, wary of binding themselves to future cuts. As the Financial Times reports, dropping the 2050 demand and focusing on more short-term goals will make it easier to strike a deal even if it disappoints environmentalists and Western governments.

"Discussions on 2050 have been eating up time that could be more usefully spent determining what we do before we’re all dead,” said a senior official. China and India have agreed to hit targeted cuts by 2020, as have all Western nations except the US. Another snag: Developing nations want aid to fund climate change adaptation, which the UN's environment chief worries may be a "deal-breaker" for the recession-hit West.

Campaigners wave a flag to call for action against the climate change, from the roof of the Houses of Parliament in central London, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009.
Campaigners wave a flag to call for action against the climate change, from the roof of the Houses of Parliament in central London, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009.   (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to the media Friday, Oct. 9, 2009.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to the media Friday, Oct. 9, 2009.   (AP Photo/UN Photo, Mark Garten)
In this Sept. 18, 2009 photo a man works at the ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas. Texas' oil and chemical industries are worried about a crackdown on pollution permits in the state. The Environmental Protection Agency has scrapped the state's flexible permits. Those permits have allowed about 140 plants and...
In this Sept. 18, 2009 photo a man works at the ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas. Texas' oil and chemical industries are worried about a crackdown on pollution permits in the state. The Environmental...   (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
Todd Stern, US Special Envoy for Climate Change, speaks during a press conference following the conclusion of the Major Economies Forum in London, Monday, Oct. 19, 2009.
Todd Stern, US Special Envoy for Climate Change, speaks during a press conference following the conclusion of the Major Economies Forum in London, Monday, Oct. 19, 2009.   (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 8 comments
riffran
Oct 20, 2009 10:52 AM CDT
running out of oil?......well maybe in a few hundred more years.....then we have other means at our disposal now...thermal depolymerization, a proven tech....but with no real infrastructure as of yet, it's even kinda green.....take any carbon based feed stock grind it up, cook it with H2O at a high temp and high pressure, and viola.....what was landfill waste, is turned into steam, methane and number two grade refinable crude oil...carthage missouri has been turning turkey guts and yuk into oil for a while..plastics and tires and rubber yeild even better results than slaughter slime, per ton....but unfortunately, due to lack of support (not effectiveness) still cant compete with regular crude
freethemall
Oct 20, 2009 7:51 AM CDT
Not long ago Newser posted an article about China's investing in "green technology". They and India need to be encouraged to do so. And as PosterNut indicates, we need to lead by example.
freethemall
Oct 20, 2009 7:42 AM CDT
You are correct in your assessment, PosterNutbag.

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