[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]
[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 09:56 GMT, Friday, 27 November 2009
Commonwealth summit in Trinidad targets climate change
{The Queen will open the summit on Friday}
Commonwealth leaders are meeting in Trinidad with climate change high on the agenda in the last major summit before the Copenhagen climate talks.
For the first time, a number of other world leaders have been invited to take part in the biennial meeting.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Danish PM Lars Rasmussen are attending to give weight to any statement on climate change.
Another key issue will be Rwanda's bid to join the Commonwealth.
The 60th anniversary Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Port of Spain will also discuss the issue of the venue for the 2011 Commonwealth summit - with the UK vowing to block Sri Lanka's bid.
Rising sea levels
The global summit on climate change is due to start in Copenhagen on 7 December, and the topic is the only issue on Commonwealth summit's agenda for the first day.
{About half of members, like the Maldives, are island states}
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has described the meeting as "an important springboard towards Copenhagen".
About half of the Commonwealth's members are island states, many of them threatened by rising sea levels.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who is hosting the three-day meeting, said he hoped the summit could boost momentum for an agreement on carbon emissions at Copenhagen, amid "concerns about the way the negotiations were going".
"We hope to arrive at a political statement that can add value to the process that will culminate in Copenhagen next month... what we can do is raise our voices politically," he said.
The Commonwealth's 53 nations comprise about two billion people, a third of the planet's population.
The leaders are meeting days after pledges by the US and China to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns that the Copenhagen meeting could fail to agree substantial cuts.
India has admitted that China's decision to unveil emissions targets two weeks before the Copenhagen summit has put it under pressure.
Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said China's decision was a "wake-up call to India".
But in another Commonwealth country, Australia, the government's plans to enact a law for an emissions trading scheme have been thrown into chaos by a revolt within the opposition Liberal Party, whose support is required to pass the bill.
Rwanda membership
The summit will also discuss Rwanda's entry into the English-speaking club.
The Francophone nation has been seeking membership following disagreements with France over events leading up to the 1994 genocide.
The issue is likely to be controversial. The nation's entry bid has received strong backing from some member states.
However, some rights activists are angry that entry would reward a nation they say is guilty of abuses dating back to the 1994 genocide.
BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins, in Trinidad, says the leaders are expected to admit Rwanda.
He says most of the leaders apparently believe that if Rwanda is admitted, then they will be able to apply peer pressure to improve the lives of its people.
Zimbabwe's possible re-entry could also be brought up at the meeting.
Sri Lanka controversy
The UK has indicated it will try to block Sri Lanka's bid to host the next Commonwealth summit over its handling of the recent war.
{Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans are still displaced}
A UK government source said Mr Brown had "real concerns about Sri Lanka's bid".
The source said: "We simply cannot be in a position where Sri Lanka - whose actions earlier this year had a huge impact on civilians, leading to thousands of displaced people without proper humanitarian access - is seen to be rewarded for its actions."
The UN estimates the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels left at least 7,000 civilians dead with 150,000 people still displaced and living in camps.
At a state dinner ahead of the summit, the Queen acknowledged her hosts by wearing a gown featuring two of the Caribbean nation's national birds and its national flower.
At the banquet in the grounds of President George Maxwell Richards' official home in Port of Spain, she paid tribute to Trinidad's efforts to combat drug trafficking.
[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 13:14 GMT, Thursday, 26 November 2009
China unveils emissions targets ahead of Copenhagen
{The Copenhagen talks aim to seek a successor to the Kyoto Protocol}
China has unveiled its first firm target for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, two weeks before a global summit on climate change in Copenhagen.
Beijing said it would aim to reduce its "carbon intensity" by 40-45% by the year 2020, compared with 2005 levels.
Carbon intensity, China's preferred measurement, is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of GDP.
But our correspondent says it does not mean China's overall levels of carbon dioxide will start falling.
Its economy is still growing and is mostly fuelled by polluting coal, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing.
It will be at least a couple of decades before China's emissions peak, so it is likely to remain the largest polluter for some time to come, he adds.
But greenhouse gas emissions in China have not been rising as fast as its economy has been growing.
The Copenhagen UN summit - between 7-18 December - aims to draw up a treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, although observers say this is unlikely.
{{ANALYSIS}
Richard Black, BBC News environment correspondent
The 40-45% target for cutting carbon intensity is ambitious - more ambitious than many observers had expected.
But it doesn't mean China's emissions will fall - in fact they are still likely to rise, with the rate at which economic growth rises outstripping the rate at which carbon intensity falls.
This is exactly the kind of plan that major developing countries were supposed to take to the Copenhagen summit.
Coming on the heels of President Obama's decision to put numbers on the table for cutting US emissions, it is likely to make discussions in Copenhagen a lot more straightforward.
But whether developing countries are impressed by the size of the US commitment is another matter.}
Beijing also said on Thursday that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would attend the talks.
That confirmation came a day after US President Barack Obama said he would go to the summit.
The US - the second largest polluter after China - said President Obama would offer to cut US emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020.
But the offer was less than hoped for by the EU, Japan and UN scientists - most other countries' targets are given in comparison with 1990 figures.
BBC environment correspondent Richard Black says that on that basis the US figure amounts to just a few percentage points, as its emissions have risen by about 15% since 1990.
This is much less than the EU's pledge of a 20% cut over the same period, or a 30% cut if there is a global deal; and much less than the 25-40% figure that developing countries are demanding.
President Obama's offer reflects figures in a bill narrowly passed by the House of Representatives in June, but yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
{{This is definitely a very positive step China is taking, but we think China can do more }
Yang Ailun
Greenpeace China}
He will arrive at the summit after it opens and will not stay until the end, when delegates hope to stitch together a deal. While in Europe, he will also collect his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
Thursday's announcement by China marks the first time it has issued numerical targets for plans to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.
A statement from Beijing's State Council, or cabinet, said: "This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change," Xinhua news agency reported.
Our Beijing correspondent says this is a commitment to make Chinese factories and power plants use fuel more efficiently and get better results.
China is showing that it wants to play a leading role in tackling global climate change, he adds.
It has already made a pledge to increase its renewable energy targets to grow more forests and develop green industries.
Yang Ailun, Greenpeace China's climate campaign manager, told AFP news agency: "This is definitely a very positive step China is taking, but we think China can do more than this."
[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 09:56 GMT, Friday, 27 November 2009
Commonwealth summit in Trinidad targets climate change
{The Queen will open the summit on Friday}
Commonwealth leaders are meeting in Trinidad with climate change high on the agenda in the last major summit before the Copenhagen climate talks.
For the first time, a number of other world leaders have been invited to take part in the biennial meeting.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Danish PM Lars Rasmussen are attending to give weight to any statement on climate change.
Another key issue will be Rwanda's bid to join the Commonwealth.
The 60th anniversary Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Port of Spain will also discuss the issue of the venue for the 2011 Commonwealth summit - with the UK vowing to block Sri Lanka's bid.
Rising sea levels
The global summit on climate change is due to start in Copenhagen on 7 December, and the topic is the only issue on Commonwealth summit's agenda for the first day.
{About half of members, like the Maldives, are island states}
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has described the meeting as "an important springboard towards Copenhagen".
About half of the Commonwealth's members are island states, many of them threatened by rising sea levels.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who is hosting the three-day meeting, said he hoped the summit could boost momentum for an agreement on carbon emissions at Copenhagen, amid "concerns about the way the negotiations were going".
"We hope to arrive at a political statement that can add value to the process that will culminate in Copenhagen next month... what we can do is raise our voices politically," he said.
The Commonwealth's 53 nations comprise about two billion people, a third of the planet's population.
The leaders are meeting days after pledges by the US and China to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns that the Copenhagen meeting could fail to agree substantial cuts.
India has admitted that China's decision to unveil emissions targets two weeks before the Copenhagen summit has put it under pressure.
Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said China's decision was a "wake-up call to India".
But in another Commonwealth country, Australia, the government's plans to enact a law for an emissions trading scheme have been thrown into chaos by a revolt within the opposition Liberal Party, whose support is required to pass the bill.
Rwanda membership
The summit will also discuss Rwanda's entry into the English-speaking club.
The Francophone nation has been seeking membership following disagreements with France over events leading up to the 1994 genocide.
The issue is likely to be controversial. The nation's entry bid has received strong backing from some member states.
However, some rights activists are angry that entry would reward a nation they say is guilty of abuses dating back to the 1994 genocide.
BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins, in Trinidad, says the leaders are expected to admit Rwanda.
He says most of the leaders apparently believe that if Rwanda is admitted, then they will be able to apply peer pressure to improve the lives of its people.
Zimbabwe's possible re-entry could also be brought up at the meeting.
Sri Lanka controversy
The UK has indicated it will try to block Sri Lanka's bid to host the next Commonwealth summit over its handling of the recent war.
{Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans are still displaced}
A UK government source said Mr Brown had "real concerns about Sri Lanka's bid".
The source said: "We simply cannot be in a position where Sri Lanka - whose actions earlier this year had a huge impact on civilians, leading to thousands of displaced people without proper humanitarian access - is seen to be rewarded for its actions."
The UN estimates the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels left at least 7,000 civilians dead with 150,000 people still displaced and living in camps.
At a state dinner ahead of the summit, the Queen acknowledged her hosts by wearing a gown featuring two of the Caribbean nation's national birds and its national flower.
At the banquet in the grounds of President George Maxwell Richards' official home in Port of Spain, she paid tribute to Trinidad's efforts to combat drug trafficking.
[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 13:14 GMT, Thursday, 26 November 2009
China unveils emissions targets ahead of Copenhagen
{The Copenhagen talks aim to seek a successor to the Kyoto Protocol}
China has unveiled its first firm target for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, two weeks before a global summit on climate change in Copenhagen.
Beijing said it would aim to reduce its "carbon intensity" by 40-45% by the year 2020, compared with 2005 levels.
Carbon intensity, China's preferred measurement, is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of GDP.
But our correspondent says it does not mean China's overall levels of carbon dioxide will start falling.
Its economy is still growing and is mostly fuelled by polluting coal, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing.
It will be at least a couple of decades before China's emissions peak, so it is likely to remain the largest polluter for some time to come, he adds.
But greenhouse gas emissions in China have not been rising as fast as its economy has been growing.
The Copenhagen UN summit - between 7-18 December - aims to draw up a treaty to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, although observers say this is unlikely.
{{ANALYSIS}
Richard Black, BBC News environment correspondent
The 40-45% target for cutting carbon intensity is ambitious - more ambitious than many observers had expected.
But it doesn't mean China's emissions will fall - in fact they are still likely to rise, with the rate at which economic growth rises outstripping the rate at which carbon intensity falls.
This is exactly the kind of plan that major developing countries were supposed to take to the Copenhagen summit.
Coming on the heels of President Obama's decision to put numbers on the table for cutting US emissions, it is likely to make discussions in Copenhagen a lot more straightforward.
But whether developing countries are impressed by the size of the US commitment is another matter.}
Beijing also said on Thursday that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would attend the talks.
That confirmation came a day after US President Barack Obama said he would go to the summit.
The US - the second largest polluter after China - said President Obama would offer to cut US emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020.
But the offer was less than hoped for by the EU, Japan and UN scientists - most other countries' targets are given in comparison with 1990 figures.
BBC environment correspondent Richard Black says that on that basis the US figure amounts to just a few percentage points, as its emissions have risen by about 15% since 1990.
This is much less than the EU's pledge of a 20% cut over the same period, or a 30% cut if there is a global deal; and much less than the 25-40% figure that developing countries are demanding.
President Obama's offer reflects figures in a bill narrowly passed by the House of Representatives in June, but yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
{{This is definitely a very positive step China is taking, but we think China can do more }
Yang Ailun
Greenpeace China}
He will arrive at the summit after it opens and will not stay until the end, when delegates hope to stitch together a deal. While in Europe, he will also collect his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
Thursday's announcement by China marks the first time it has issued numerical targets for plans to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.
A statement from Beijing's State Council, or cabinet, said: "This is a voluntary action taken by the Chinese government based on its own national conditions and is a major contribution to the global effort in tackling climate change," Xinhua news agency reported.
Our Beijing correspondent says this is a commitment to make Chinese factories and power plants use fuel more efficiently and get better results.
China is showing that it wants to play a leading role in tackling global climate change, he adds.
It has already made a pledge to increase its renewable energy targets to grow more forests and develop green industries.
Yang Ailun, Greenpeace China's climate campaign manager, told AFP news agency: "This is definitely a very positive step China is taking, but we think China can do more than this."
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