[News] from [guardian.co.uk]
[Environment > Copenhagen Climate change conference 2009]
Copenhagen: World leaders 'face public fury' if agreement proves impossible
Miliband warns heads not to stall on technicalities as some progress is made between the biggest polluters US and China
Suzanne Goldenberg, Jonathan Watts and John Vidal in Copenhagen
The Guardian, Thursday 17 December 2009 Article history
World leaders arriving at the Copenhagen climate change summit today and tomorrow face public "fury" if they fail to inject crucial new momentum into the talks, according to climate secretary Ed Miliband.
Talks resumed late last night following many hours of delay as negotiators wrangled over the form a treaty to fight global warming should take. "People will find it extraordinary that this conference is being stalled on points of order," said Miliband. "People will be rightly furious if agreement is not possible."
The row centres on the draft treaty texts the Danish presidency of the summit must produce for leaders to finalise and whether they end the existing Kyoto protocol, signed in 1997. Rich nations want a new treaty to reflect a much-changed world economic order, while poorer nations insist the legal demands Kyoto makes on industrialised polluters must be preserved.
Yesterday began badly, with Connie Hedegaard, Danish environment minister and chair of the summit, resigning to allow her prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to take over. She called the move "appropriate" with so many heads of state and government attending, though it had not been signalled in advance. Some delegates speculated it was to smooth the way for the introduction of a draft treaty by the Danish presidency that would sideline Kyoto.
But if, as Miliband believes, it will be possible to reassure developing countries over Kyoto, there were some positive steps to build on in other areas.
The most significant of these was progress between the US and China, the world's biggest polluters and whose actions will determine the fate of summit.
US senator John Kerry gave a packed conference hall a "100%" guarantee to get climate change laws passed through Congress if the countries at the summit managed an overall deal.
"With a successful deal, next year, the US Congress – house and Senate – will pass legislation," Kerry said to applause. "I will tell you right now, 100%, we are going to pass major climate and energy legislation that is going to have an impact on emissions."
A critical part of the Copenhagen deal the US wants is "transparency" from China on the curbs on carbon emissions Beijing has promised – an inspection regime. "To pass a bill, we must be able to assure a senator from Ohio that steelworkers in his state won't lose their jobs to India and China because those countries are not participating in a way that is measurable, reportable and verifiable," said Kerry, who heads the Senate foreign relations committee and is guiding climate laws through the Senate.
After talks with Kerry, the chief Chinese negotiator, Su Wei, held out an olive branch. He said China would be more open and improve the quality of information about its measures to improve energy efficiency and curb emissions.
"I believe through these measures, we can see that China will only do better in terms of effectiveness, openness and transparency in implementing the goals we set," Su said.
While stopping short of American demands for independent verification, Su said more data would be made available through existing mechanisms. He was confident this would be enough to end one of the disputes. "I don't see any further necessity to worry about this," he said. It is uncertain if other countries will be willing to accept China's offer, but Su's comments show China's efforts to help the Obama administration pass a climate bill through the senate.
Such a bill is crucial if the US is to join a global treaty, while a global treaty would be crippled by the absence of the US. The uncertainty about whether America is prepared to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, and by how much, has dogged the negotiations. It has allowed developing countries, such as China and India, to stall on committing to action and has bred resentment from African and poor countries that will suffer the most from climate change.
India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, was unimpressed by Kerry's rhetoric. He said India was already prepared to introduce some of the reporting mechanisms America was demanding. A strong offer on climate change finance would help ease the resentment of developing countries, he added.
"If the US comes up with a generous financial offer, the chemistry of Copenhagen would entirely change," Ramesh told the Guardian. "But they can't do it on Friday morning when Obama gets here. They must change the atmosphere now."
Tackling deforestation, which contributes up to 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions, took a step forward, with the UK, along with Japan, Norway, America, France and Australia, agreeing that by 2010 a total of $3.5bn would be spent on saving trees. The money comes from the so-called "fast start" fund worth $30bn to poorer countries over three years.
On the vexed issue of longer term finance, the Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi presented an offer to reduce developing country demands by 75% to $100bn a year from 2020, in return for guarantees of how the money would be distributed. But his offer was derided as a sellout by some nations.
[News > UK news]
Workington to get two-lane road bridge by springCrossing at flood-hit Cumbrian town will end misery of 14-mile detour for commuters
Martin Wainwright
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 December 2009 11.07 GMT Article history
More than a month of misery for commuters in flood-stricken Cumbria is to end in the new year with the building of a temporary road link between the two halves of Workington.
Two-hour round-trips at rush hour between the north and south of the port, which were severed when three bridges across the river Derwent collapsed or were closed, should be no more than a memory by the spring.
Contractors were today given a deadline of 4 January by Cumbria county council to tender for the two-lane crossing, which will be capable of supporting lorries up to 44 tonnes. Last month's unprecedented floods, which claimed the life of PC Bill Barker when Northside bridge collapsed as he directed traffic, have seriously affected links with major local employers, including the nuclear complex at Sellafield.
Council engineers have surveyed a suitable site for the temporary bridge, and tender details will be published before the weekend. Jim Buchanan, Labour leader of Cumbria county council, said that the timescale envisaged was "almost unheard of in a civil engineering project of this size".
The crossing will be built between the Northside bridge and the listed stone Calva bridge, built in the 18th century, which was wrenched by the flood more than a foot off its foundations, and now lies at an angle. An Army team installed a temporary footbridge two hundred yards upstream from Calva two weeks ago, completing the work in 10 days.
Contractors will be required to work around the clock, seven days a week, on the bridge, which will restore the main north-south link on the Cumbrian coast. Business in central Workington, on the south bank of the Derwent, has been severely affected by the traffic chaos, which has also hit traders in Cockermouth, seven miles away, where flooding damage was even more severe.
Buchanan said: "We're fully aware of the impact that the disruption is having on local people and businesses in west Cumbria and every second counts to get this job done as soon as possible. In the meantime we'll continue to work with the government and underline how important it is that additional public transport continues until a bridge is in place."
Extra buses have been provided for the 14-mile diversion, a journey that took seconds when the Northside and Calva bridges were open. Special train services are also running on the rail bridge over the Derwent which survived the floods, calling at a temporary North Workington station, which was built earlier this month in a weekend.
The temporary road bridge will be paid for by the government as part of its emergency package for Cumbria. Sadiq Khan, the junior transport minister, said: "We pledged after the floods to give the council the funds it needed to build temporary bridges and to help the area recover in the longer term. We have already funded the temporary footbridge and additional train services.
"The new road bridge will make such a difference to the people of Workington and Cumbria more widely, and we are delighted to help the council ensure that contractors deliver the bridge quickly and effectively."
Rob Johnston, chief executive of Cumbria chamber of commerce, said: "This is one of the biggest threats to west Cumbria's economy we have faced. The longer it goes on the more businesses we are at serious risk of losing. It's very positive news that this temporary bridge will take HGVs as this is a key requirement for businesses. And we welcome the fact that it will be two-lane, which will have a huge impact on the traffic that can be carried."
Tim Heslop, leader of Allerdale borough council, said: "This is a great early Christmas present for the people of Allerdale. Workington residents and business owners can now look forward to the new year with renewed hope."
[Environment > Copenhagen Climate change conference 2009]
Copenhagen: World leaders 'face public fury' if agreement proves impossible
Miliband warns heads not to stall on technicalities as some progress is made between the biggest polluters US and China
Suzanne Goldenberg, Jonathan Watts and John Vidal in Copenhagen
The Guardian, Thursday 17 December 2009 Article history
World leaders arriving at the Copenhagen climate change summit today and tomorrow face public "fury" if they fail to inject crucial new momentum into the talks, according to climate secretary Ed Miliband.
Talks resumed late last night following many hours of delay as negotiators wrangled over the form a treaty to fight global warming should take. "People will find it extraordinary that this conference is being stalled on points of order," said Miliband. "People will be rightly furious if agreement is not possible."
The row centres on the draft treaty texts the Danish presidency of the summit must produce for leaders to finalise and whether they end the existing Kyoto protocol, signed in 1997. Rich nations want a new treaty to reflect a much-changed world economic order, while poorer nations insist the legal demands Kyoto makes on industrialised polluters must be preserved.
Yesterday began badly, with Connie Hedegaard, Danish environment minister and chair of the summit, resigning to allow her prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to take over. She called the move "appropriate" with so many heads of state and government attending, though it had not been signalled in advance. Some delegates speculated it was to smooth the way for the introduction of a draft treaty by the Danish presidency that would sideline Kyoto.
But if, as Miliband believes, it will be possible to reassure developing countries over Kyoto, there were some positive steps to build on in other areas.
The most significant of these was progress between the US and China, the world's biggest polluters and whose actions will determine the fate of summit.
US senator John Kerry gave a packed conference hall a "100%" guarantee to get climate change laws passed through Congress if the countries at the summit managed an overall deal.
"With a successful deal, next year, the US Congress – house and Senate – will pass legislation," Kerry said to applause. "I will tell you right now, 100%, we are going to pass major climate and energy legislation that is going to have an impact on emissions."
A critical part of the Copenhagen deal the US wants is "transparency" from China on the curbs on carbon emissions Beijing has promised – an inspection regime. "To pass a bill, we must be able to assure a senator from Ohio that steelworkers in his state won't lose their jobs to India and China because those countries are not participating in a way that is measurable, reportable and verifiable," said Kerry, who heads the Senate foreign relations committee and is guiding climate laws through the Senate.
After talks with Kerry, the chief Chinese negotiator, Su Wei, held out an olive branch. He said China would be more open and improve the quality of information about its measures to improve energy efficiency and curb emissions.
"I believe through these measures, we can see that China will only do better in terms of effectiveness, openness and transparency in implementing the goals we set," Su said.
While stopping short of American demands for independent verification, Su said more data would be made available through existing mechanisms. He was confident this would be enough to end one of the disputes. "I don't see any further necessity to worry about this," he said. It is uncertain if other countries will be willing to accept China's offer, but Su's comments show China's efforts to help the Obama administration pass a climate bill through the senate.
Such a bill is crucial if the US is to join a global treaty, while a global treaty would be crippled by the absence of the US. The uncertainty about whether America is prepared to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, and by how much, has dogged the negotiations. It has allowed developing countries, such as China and India, to stall on committing to action and has bred resentment from African and poor countries that will suffer the most from climate change.
India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, was unimpressed by Kerry's rhetoric. He said India was already prepared to introduce some of the reporting mechanisms America was demanding. A strong offer on climate change finance would help ease the resentment of developing countries, he added.
"If the US comes up with a generous financial offer, the chemistry of Copenhagen would entirely change," Ramesh told the Guardian. "But they can't do it on Friday morning when Obama gets here. They must change the atmosphere now."
Tackling deforestation, which contributes up to 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions, took a step forward, with the UK, along with Japan, Norway, America, France and Australia, agreeing that by 2010 a total of $3.5bn would be spent on saving trees. The money comes from the so-called "fast start" fund worth $30bn to poorer countries over three years.
On the vexed issue of longer term finance, the Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi presented an offer to reduce developing country demands by 75% to $100bn a year from 2020, in return for guarantees of how the money would be distributed. But his offer was derided as a sellout by some nations.
[News > UK news]
Workington to get two-lane road bridge by springCrossing at flood-hit Cumbrian town will end misery of 14-mile detour for commuters
Martin Wainwright
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 17 December 2009 11.07 GMT Article history
More than a month of misery for commuters in flood-stricken Cumbria is to end in the new year with the building of a temporary road link between the two halves of Workington.
Two-hour round-trips at rush hour between the north and south of the port, which were severed when three bridges across the river Derwent collapsed or were closed, should be no more than a memory by the spring.
Contractors were today given a deadline of 4 January by Cumbria county council to tender for the two-lane crossing, which will be capable of supporting lorries up to 44 tonnes. Last month's unprecedented floods, which claimed the life of PC Bill Barker when Northside bridge collapsed as he directed traffic, have seriously affected links with major local employers, including the nuclear complex at Sellafield.
Council engineers have surveyed a suitable site for the temporary bridge, and tender details will be published before the weekend. Jim Buchanan, Labour leader of Cumbria county council, said that the timescale envisaged was "almost unheard of in a civil engineering project of this size".
The crossing will be built between the Northside bridge and the listed stone Calva bridge, built in the 18th century, which was wrenched by the flood more than a foot off its foundations, and now lies at an angle. An Army team installed a temporary footbridge two hundred yards upstream from Calva two weeks ago, completing the work in 10 days.
Contractors will be required to work around the clock, seven days a week, on the bridge, which will restore the main north-south link on the Cumbrian coast. Business in central Workington, on the south bank of the Derwent, has been severely affected by the traffic chaos, which has also hit traders in Cockermouth, seven miles away, where flooding damage was even more severe.
Buchanan said: "We're fully aware of the impact that the disruption is having on local people and businesses in west Cumbria and every second counts to get this job done as soon as possible. In the meantime we'll continue to work with the government and underline how important it is that additional public transport continues until a bridge is in place."
Extra buses have been provided for the 14-mile diversion, a journey that took seconds when the Northside and Calva bridges were open. Special train services are also running on the rail bridge over the Derwent which survived the floods, calling at a temporary North Workington station, which was built earlier this month in a weekend.
The temporary road bridge will be paid for by the government as part of its emergency package for Cumbria. Sadiq Khan, the junior transport minister, said: "We pledged after the floods to give the council the funds it needed to build temporary bridges and to help the area recover in the longer term. We have already funded the temporary footbridge and additional train services.
"The new road bridge will make such a difference to the people of Workington and Cumbria more widely, and we are delighted to help the council ensure that contractors deliver the bridge quickly and effectively."
Rob Johnston, chief executive of Cumbria chamber of commerce, said: "This is one of the biggest threats to west Cumbria's economy we have faced. The longer it goes on the more businesses we are at serious risk of losing. It's very positive news that this temporary bridge will take HGVs as this is a key requirement for businesses. And we welcome the fact that it will be two-lane, which will have a huge impact on the traffic that can be carried."
Tim Heslop, leader of Allerdale borough council, said: "This is a great early Christmas present for the people of Allerdale. Workington residents and business owners can now look forward to the new year with renewed hope."
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