Word: summits
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...response by government to the threat of global warming has been underwhelming so far, a fact that remains little changed despite the political agreement negotiated at the U.N. summit in Copenhagen in December. But at least one business leader, the British billionaire and founder of the Virgin Group Richard Branson, says he has heard the alarm from scientists and environmentalists about climate change, and believes that the world must not waste time shifting away from oil and other fossil fuels. (See the Copenhagen climate conference...
...There are some of us who believe that the problem of warming is as bad as the First and Second World Wars combined," Branson told TIME in a recent interview at the climate summit in Copenhagen. "It's that serious, and you know the key is carbon, [but] there's no war room coordinating the attack on carbon...
Branson's presence in Copenhagen earlier this month was about more than just the U.N. summit. The city is home to the A.P. Moller-Maersk group, the largest container ship operator in the world. Get it on board, and others in the industry might follow. "That's the spirit behind the Carbon War Room," says José María Figueres, the former President of Costa Rica and a member of the group's executive board. "We want to be an assembling and rallying point for all those who want to bring market solutions to bear on carbon emissions...
...Because the U.N. body that oversees the climate negotiations works by consensus, every country present had an opportunity to voice their disproval of the proposed deal. And many took full advantage of that opportunity. The summit's final negotiating session dragged on for more than 30 straight hours, concluding on Saturday afternoon with the parties agreeing simply to "take note" of what had become known as the Copenhagen Accord. Although the refusal of several nations to endorse the deal meant it fell short of formal approval, according to the U.N. the outcome was enough for aspects of the agreement...
...deal within reach. For that, of course, he will also get the blame. Outside the Bella Center as delegates departed, a small group of protesters against the deal carried photos of Obama, with the words "climate shame" across his forehead. That may not be how many had expected the summit to conclude, but it may have been the only ending that was possible...