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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Observers Slam 'Lackluster' Lima Climate Deal
2014-12-16
[AnNahar] A carbon-curbing deal struck in Lima on Sunday was a watered-down compromise where national intransigence threatened the goal of a pact to save Earth's climate system, green groups said.

The hard-fought agreement sets out guidelines for the submission of national greenhouse-gas pledges next year.

But, the groups said, initially ambitious standards became weaker the longer the talks wound on.

In a tug-of-war between rich and developing nation interests, the end result was a "lackluster plan with little scientific relevancy," said WWF's climate expert, Samantha Smith.

"Against the backdrop of extreme weather in the Philippines and potentially the hottest year ever recorded, governments at the U.N. climate talks in Lima opted for a half-baked plan to cut emissions," she added.

NGOs and developing nations alike had hoped the agreement would compel rich countries to include information in their pledges on climate adaptation and other financial help.

They had also sought a robust assessment of the pledges' aggregate effect and a mechanism for ramping up contributions, if they were judged inadequate to meet the U.N. goal of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels.

But expectations were mostly disappointed.

The talks, which spilled more than 30 hours into overtime, got bogged down early on in a fight over "differentiation" -- how to divide responsibility for carbon cuts between rich and poor nations.

The outcome, said the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists, reflected "the bare minimum" to keep negotiations on the road to inking a climate-saving pact in Gay Paree next December that will have the pledges at its heart.

Rather than imposing a requirement, the text merely "urges" parties to "consider including an adaptation component" in their pledges, and on finance similarly "urges" developed countries to provide support.

In a nod to poor country concerns, the new text did reintroduce a reference to "common but differentiated responsibilities" that had been dropped from earlier drafts.

- Political expediency 'won' -
"The package... puts in place a draft of a Gay Paree agreement without narrowing down any of the difficult political issues that have plagued global efforts to address climate change for more than 20 years," said Oxfam.

"The deal does not require that the initial pledges parties make in 2015 reflect their fair share, does not guarantee that these offers will use common or comprehensive information, or have any mechanism to review whether they will prevent catastrophic warming or not."

To give the process a boost, rich nations will have to bring detailed plans for how they intend to meet a promise to ramp up their climate funding to $100 billion per year by 2020, said the observers.

"The limited progress that was achieved in Peru, in particular on the provision of financial support to poor countries to adapt to climate change or repair the damages from extreme weather events, is a big letdown," said Wendel Trio of Climate Action Network (CAN).

These critics also feared guidelines were too vague for cutting fossil-fuel emissions leading up to 2020, when the Gay Paree pact will enter into force.

"The science is clear that delaying action until 2020 will make it near impossible to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, yet political expediency won over scientific urgency," said WWF's Smith.
Unless the "Pause" continues, of course, which might require the development of new models capable if predicting the past and present.
Posted by:trailing wife

#8  "potentially the hottest year ever recorded"

Now THAT is bullshit.

No surprise there. Consider the source. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara   2014-12-16 20:15  

#7  "Againstthe backdrop of extreme weather in the Philippines and potentially the hottest year ever recorded, governments at the U.N. climate talks in Lima opted for a half-baked plan to cut emissions,"

Hey, Samantha. Don't kill the job...
Posted by: tu3031   2014-12-16 18:03  

#6  How about compensation for Canada, Alaska, Siberia, North Dakota, etc, if climate change DOESN'T happen? By the same logic, they certainly would deserve it, since human intervention resulted in damage to their presumed future climate.

It's beyond my comprehension why the Canucks don't encourage CO2 emissions, in fact, why they aren't out there day and night manufacturing methane in an effort to speed the whole climate change thing up. Setting up little methane stills in their backyards... :-)


Posted by: DLR   2014-12-16 13:27  

#5  Greeshirts slam personal responsibility.

Own it effers. Each and everyone who particpated in the selfie show up for your arrest or you are tyrant clowns. And I know usunzabzthcs carry the Native Cultural Rights slapjack in your other pocket you red nosed greened hair cowards, pennywise children scaring @holes. You profess your diety of Gaia yet flick her right in the tits and claim so sorry drunk with money and myself. I suggest a hike from San Mateo to Lima with nothing but a loin cloth, grass sandals, a handful of coca leaves, and 5 potatoes.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2014-12-16 11:21  

#4  The heavy snowfall was due to... Yahtzee!
Posted by: M. Murcek   2014-12-16 10:03  

#3  

Low cost Climate model
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2014-12-16 06:06  

#2  Weren't we all supposed to be backstroking already? I've kept some water wings in the car since 2012.
Posted by: Super Hose   2014-12-16 00:34  

#1  Oh, go stomp some petroglyphs!
Posted by: Whaish Hatfield9815   2014-12-16 00:27  

00:00