Earth Equity News

U.S., U.K. Insist that a Deal in Copenhagen is Still Feasible. By Andrew C. Revkin, NYTimes, October 20, 2009. "A two-day meeting of officials from countries responsible for the bulk of the world's greenhouse gas emissions ended Monday in London with hints that rich and developing nations might be able to bridge at least some of their differences on issues hobbling agreement on a new climate treaty. The session was the sixth in a string of informal meetings of 'major economies' -- 16 countries plus the European Union -- initiated by the Obama administration last spring. The meetings, building on an earlier series of sessions started by the Bush administration, focused on the world's biggest emitters of heat-trapping gases to build momentum toward a new climate treaty when formal negotiations take place in December in Copenhagen. At a news conference after the meeting, officials from the United States and Britain rejected the idea that a deadline set by the world's countries to negotiate a new climate agreement by December would slip. Todd Stern, the State Department's special envoy on climate change, said all major countries were committed to seeking 'a strong, pragmatic and solid agreement' in Copenhagen."