Copenhagen Update -- Dec.18

A very brief update on what is going on inside by Soumya Dutta

US president Barak Obama's speech just finished -- real bad. Brazilian president Lula was better - his speech included a criticism of IMF and World Bank and their negative roles in climate issues.

This morning has been chaotic with almost that was scheduled not happening as per time.

A multi-lateral meeting Barak Obama had with the following country's heads of States, has just ended:

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown
French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Danish Prime Minister Lars L. Rasmussen
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
Bangladesh Prime Minister Fakruddin Ahmed
Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
South African President Jacob Zuma
Mexican President Felipe Calderon
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe

A speech from Obama went without any substance in it, and press conferences from the EU, the US, China and Bolivia were all scheduled for around now (Bolivia at 2pm) but these as well be delayed.

There is a sense prevailing here that there will be an announcement and things wrapped up quickly, and all work on the texts and working groups seem to have stopped as of this morning, with the focus shifting to cobbling together some final political statement only -- without any substantial agreement -- so that Obama has something to say and show to the world and his country people.

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EXCLUSIVE:
Leaked Internal UNFCCC Document:
Global Temperatures Will Rise by More than Two Degrees Celsius

A leaked internal document from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change states that current targets on emissions reductions from countries around the world will cause global temperatures to rise above two degrees Celsius. According to the UNFCCC document, current emissions reduction targets could lead to a three degree Celsius rise -- French journalist Jade Lindgaard.
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Voices from Small Island States: Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, a Tuvaluan Delegate and a Youth Activist from the Solomon Islands
in a collective voice says -- For us, this is more than just another meeting, said President Nasheed. This is a matter of life and death. Eighty percent of the Maldives lies three feet or less above sea level. The predicted rise in sea level caused by global warming could wipe our countries off the map. The islands of Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands face a similar crisis.
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US secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on 17th Dec - dangled the uncertain carrot of 'up to $100 billion' in aid by the year 2020 to 'developing countries' - subject to the condition that major developing countries agree to 'transparency' related MRV proposals of the developed countries, while the highest polluters are not coming up with the proposals of emission reductions required by science.

This is a A Naked Form of Blackmail , says journalist Naomi Klein on Secretary of State Clintons Proposal to Set Up $100 Billion Climate Aid Fund for Developing Countries
Secretary Clinton said the 'US would consider contributing' to an international $100 billion annual climate aid fund for poorer nations beginning in 2020 if the Copenhagen talks resulted in a comprehensive deal. It is unclear how much money the US would give to the fund. Aid groups say the $100 billion would be insufficient.
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Bolivian President Evo Morales: Shameful for West to Spend Trillions on War and Only $10 Billion for Climate Change --

Bolivian President Evo Morales in a press conference in Copenhagen, said, The budget of the United States is $687 billion for defense. And for climate change, to save life, to save humanity, they only put up $10 billion. This is shameful.