The UN climate talks in Copenhagen have ended in failure as world leaders couldn’t agree to a binding deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Instead of reaching a global consensus, the US, China, South Africa, Brazil and India met behind closed doors and drafted a non-binding document known as the Copenhagen accord. The agreement seeks to limit global warming to a maximum of a two degree Celsius rise in temperature. But it does not specify targets for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. President Obama described the non-binding deal as an unprecedented breakthrough. Delegates from around the world denounced the US-led deal as an undemocratic sham that sacrificed the interests of poor countries. Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, the chair of the G-77 group of developing countries, compared the agreement to the Holocaust. Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica described the US-led climate deal as a cover-up. On Friday night, climate protesters rallied in Copenhagen, where they carried torches forming the word “Shame.” Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the site of the talks and chanted “Climate Justice Now.” Watch/Listen/Read Democracy Now!’s Full Coverage of Copenhagen talks
UN Climate Talks End in Failure Without Binding Deal
HeadlineDec 21, 2009