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Meet: Act now to cut climate harm
Associated Press
Bangkok, May 4: International delegates today agreed that the world has the technology and money to limit catastrophic global warming, but that it must act now to reduce the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Promptly adopting biofuels, renewable energy sources, greater energy efficiency and other steps can mitigate world-wide disaster, according to a report adopted by government-appointed delegates from more than 120 countries at a conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
Coming out of the meeting early today, delegates said science appeared to have trumped politics, especially opposition from China, which wanted language inserted allowing for a greater buildup of greenhouse gases in the environment before action would be taken.
China, the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter after the USA, took a strong stance during the four-day meeting in Thailand. Along with India and other developing countries, it had pushed to raise the lowest target for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, delegates said. Beijing and its supporters had argued moves to make deep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions risked stifling its spectacular economic growth, delegates said.
According to a partial version of the final document China’s efforts failed to remove mention of a stringent emission target from the report. The Chinese delegation could not be reached for comment. The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN network of 2,000 scientists, makes plain that the world must act immediately to cap the global temperature increase at 2 degrees Celsius over preindustrial-age levels. “It’s all done,” said Mr Peter Lukey, a member of the South Africa delegation. “Everything we wanted to see was there and more. The message is: We have to do something now.”
Varsity summit
Mr Pratim Biswas, chairman of Washington University’s department of energy, environmental and chemical engineering, will serve as the chief organiser of a Washington University-sponsored global summit of university leaders on energy and the environment this weekend. Presidents and faculty from 20 of the most prestigious research universities in Asia and the Middle East are gathering here today through Monday at the university’s invitation. They are meeting to try to find ways to collaborate in tackling such global challenges as climate change, air quality, potable water and environmentally benign energy sources.
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