UN Climate Delegates Meet Informally on Conference Day Off
Delegates to the 12-day UN climate conference in Copenhagen took a day off Sunday, although several environment ministers met for informal talks on greenhouse emissions cuts and financing to assist poor nations to deal with climate change.
Photo: AP
Danish riot police guards detained demonstrators lined up on a street in Copenhagen Saturday 12 Dec. 2009
pledges on emissions cuts so far are short of the minimum proposed in a draft agreement, stoking fears that the outcome of the conference will be a disappointment.
The early draft of the treaty calls for countries to reduce their emissions by 50 to 95 percent by 2050, with rich countries taking the lead. But so far, industrialized nations have agreed to far less ambitious targets.
The draft treaty circulated Friday would require industrialized countries to cut emissions to below-1990 levels. Developing nations would be expected to keep their emissions from rising much further.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of activists marched through the Danish capital and in cities around the world to demand strong international commitments on climate change.
An estimated crowd of 30,000 people carried banners and shouted slogans, as they walked to the heavily-guarded conference center, where world powers are struggling to hammer out a deal to combat global warming.
The march was mostly peaceful but riot police moved in when a group of youths threw bottles and smashed windows. Police detained 968 people.
Similar protests were also held in Australia, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and other countries.
More than 100 heads of state and government are due to attend the final days of the conference, which ends Friday.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP .