BBC - Précis

Copenhagen summit urged to take climate change action
In their article the BBC quotes that the conferences in Copenhagen are an 'opportunity the world cannot afford to miss'. This metaphor underlines the importance to take action against climate change. 192 countries take part in the Copenhagen conferences and about 100 leaders are attending, and countries already agreed to make emission cuts. The Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen says about the conferences 'for the next two weeks, Copenhagen will be Hopenhagen'. This pun is used to show the intention of the summit and that it represents 'hope for a better future.'
Experts say in the article, that decisions need to be made now and that action also need to be of great enough extent to solve this issue. The conference president said that "this is our chance." Naming is used to make clear that the climate change is an issue affecting everybody and that everybody should be involved and act against its occurrence.
South Africa is the latest country that said they want to cut their carbon emissions by one-third over the next decade but only they get funding from wealthier countries. The African Union also announced an ultimatum that they would only reduce their pollution if they also get help. This shows that the wealthier countries need to give money to the poorer countries in order to assure pollution reductions.
By using statistics the article shows that by far more people are concerned about climate change than 11 years ago. This is also shown by the fact that newspapers are more and more warning about climate change and that protests are planned for Copenhagen to achieve the best possible outcome.
The three main discussion areas according to the article are: 1. Targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions, in particular by developed countries, 2. financial support for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change by developing countries, 3. a carbon trading scheme aimed at ending the destruction of the world's forests by 2030.



Copenhagen summit urged to take climate change action
The summit began with a filmed plea from children, and a welcome from Denmark's PM
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen has described the UN climate summit in Copenhagen as an "opportunity the world cannot afford to miss".
Opening the two-week conference in the Danish capital, he told delegates from 192 countries a "strong and ambitious climate change agreement" was needed.
About 100 leaders are to attend the meeting, which is intended to supplant the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
The UN says an unprecedented number of countries have promised emissions cuts.

Mr Rasmussen told delegates that the world was looking to the conference to safeguard humanity.
"For the next two weeks," he said, "Copenhagen will be Hopenhagen. By the end, we must be able to deliver back to the world what was granted us here today: hope for a better future."
Later, Rajendra Pachauri, who heads the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), criticised the "climategate" affair - the recent publication of e-mails among scientists assessing global warming at Britain's University of East Anglia.
He said the breaches showed "that some would go to the extent of carrying out illegal acts, perhaps in an attempt to discredit the IPCC".
Saudi climate negotiator Mohammad Al-Sabban, who has been resisting emissions curbs, told the conference that trust in climate science had been "shaken" by the leaked e-mails.
UN climate convention head Yvo de Boer said the time had come to deliver cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
"The time for formal statements is over. The time for re-stating well-known positions is past," he told delegates.
"Copenhagen will only be a success if it delivers significant and immediate action."
Connie Hedegaard, conference president and Denmark's former climate minister, said: "This is our chance. If we miss it, it could take years before we got a new and better one. If we ever do."

Tougher targets?
Mr de Boer said offers of finance for clean technology for poor countries were also coming through and that talks were progressing on a long-term vision of massive cuts by 2050.



At the deal's heart must be a settlement between the rich world and the developing world

Jointly written editorial in 56 newspapers in 45 countries

On Monday, South Africa became the latest country to make an offer - saying it would cut by one-third the growth of its carbon emissions over the next decade, subject to getting more funding and help from wealthier countries.
In July, the G8 bloc of industrialised countries and some major developing countries adopted a target of keeping the global average temperature rise since pre-industrial times to 2C.
However now the G77/China bloc - which speaks on behalf of developing countries - is discussing whether to demand a much tougher target of 1.5C.


Rajendra Pachauri, IPCC chairman: "These e-mails don't change anything"
A number of African delegations are backing the argument made by small island states that 2C will bring major impacts to their countries.
BBC environment correspondent Richard Black says this would raise a huge obstacle, because none of the industrialised countries have put forward emission cuts in the range that would be required to meet a 1.5C target.
The African Union has threatened to walk out of the talks if industrialised countries do not agree to help poor ones pay for the transition to cleaner economies.

Tougher targets?
Meanwhile, a new poll commissioned by the BBC suggests that public concern over climate change is growing across the world.

COPENHAGEN IN BRIEF
• 192 countries attending talks, including about 100 heads of state
• To discuss emissions cuts and financial measures to combat climate change
• Danish PM urges delegates to deliver "hope for the future"
• South Africa is the latest country to make emissions offer
• Due to end 18 December

In the survey, by Globescan, 64% of people questioned said that they considered global warming a very serious problem - up 20% from a 1998 poll.
To stress the importance of the summit, 56 newspapers in 45 countries are publishing the same editorial on Monday, warning that climate change will "ravage our planet" unless action is agreed, the London-based Guardian reported.
The editorial - to be published in 20 languages - was thrashed out by editors ahead of the Copenhagen talks, the newspaper said.
"At the deal's heart must be a settlement between the rich world and the developing world," the editorial says.
Environmental activists are planning to hold protests in Copenhagen and around the world on 12 December to encourage delegates to reach the strongest possible deal.

Any agreement made at Copenhagen is intended to supplant the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which expires in 2012.
World leaders who have pledged to attend include US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The main areas for discussion include:
• Targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions, in particular by developed countries
• Financial support for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change by developing countries
• A carbon trading scheme aimed at ending the destruction of the world's forests by 2030.










BBC - Précis 2

Climate change around the world

Africa: water shortages/scarcity, rising sea levels - threat to bigger cities

Asia: Glacier melting will affect water supply, increase in diseases associated with floods

Australia and New Zealand: water shortages, reduced wildlife, possibility of droughts and fires

Europe: health issues due to increased temperature, reduced water supplies, lower crop production, more wildfires

Latin America: replacement of tropical forests by savannahs, species extinction, more flooding, glacier melting

North America: heat waves, economic losses, warming of mountains

Polar regions - Arctic and Antarctica: reduction of glacier, ecosystems in danger

Small Islands: sea level rise - floods, reduced tourism, water shortages

Water: in some areas its availability will increase in others decrease

Ecosystems: will be challenged

Food: crop yields are likely to decrease

Coasts: sea level rise, coasts in danger

Industry: vary from area to area, but global warming is more likely to bring negative consequences

Health: increase in malnutrition and diseases





Climate change around the world

AFRICA

Some regions are likely to experience water shortages. Coupled with increasing demand, this is likely to result in large increases in the number of people at risk of water scarcity. It is likely to affect livelihoods, the report by the International Panel on Climate Change says.
Projected reductions in the area suitable for growing crops, and in the length of the growing season, are likely to produce an increased risk of hunger. In some countries, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50% by 2020.
Rising sea levels threaten large cities. Degradation of coral reefs and mangroves is likely, with impacts on local fisheries and tourism.
Rising temperatures, coupled with over-fishing, will decrease the supply of fish from large lakes, with important impacts on food supplies.

ASIA

Glacier melting in the Himalayas is virtually certain to disrupt water supplies within the next 20 to 30 years. Floods and rock avalanches are virtually certain to increase. Heavily- populated coastal regions, including the deltas of rivers such as the Ganges and Mekong, are likely to be at risk of increased flooding.
Economic development is likely to be impacted by the combination of climatic change, urbanisation, and rapid economic and population growth.
Forecast changes in temperature and rainfall are likely to reduce crop yields overall, increasing the risk of hunger.
The presence of lethal diarrhoeal diseases associated with floods and droughts is expected to rise in East, South and Southeast Asia and rises in coastal water temperature could exacerbate cholera in South Asia.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

Ongoing water shortages, notably in southern and eastern Australia, are likely to get worse by 2030.
Ecologically important regions such as the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu National Park are likely to lose a significant part of their wildlife before then, by 2020.
Some coastal communities are very likely to see an increased risk of coastal storms and flooding.
Temperature rises of 1C-2C are likely to bring benefits to cooler areas, such as New Zealand, in the form of longer growing seasons and reduced energy demand. Greater warming is likely to bring a net negative impact - such as increased risk of drought and fire.

EUROPE

Nearly all European regions are expected to be negatively affected by some future impacts of climate change.
Central and Eastern European countries could face less summer rainfall, causing higher water stress. Health risks due to heat waves are expected to increase. Forest productivity is expected to fall and the frequency of peatland fires to increase.
Southern European countries are very likely to see reduced water supplies, lower crop production, more wildfires and health impacts from increased heatwaves.
Northern countries are likely to benefit from increased crop yields, forest productivity, and food supplies from the North Atlantic. By 2020, most areas of Europe are likely to see an increased flood risk.

LATIN AMERICA

Increasing temperatures and decreases in soil water in the eastern Amazon region would lead to replacement of tropical forest by savannah. Species extinctions are likely.
Drier areas are likely to see salinisation and desertification of agricultural land, with falling crop yields and livestock productivity reducing food security. However, soybean yields are likely to increase in temperate zones.
Sea level rise is very likely to bring flooding to low-lying regions such as the coast of El Salvador, Guyana and the Rio de la Plata estuary. Increasing sea temperatures are likely to impact coral reefs and south-east Pacific fish stocks.
Changes in rainfall patterns and the disappearance of glaciers are projected to significantly affect water availability for human consumption, agriculture and energy generation.

NORTH AMERICA

Warming in western mountains is very likely to reduce snowpack, bringing more floods in winter and reduced water supplies in summer.
Increases in problems with pests, diseases and forest fires are likely.
Cities with a history of heat waves are likely to experience many more, with potential health impacts, especially for the elderly.
Rising sea levels, severe weather and storm surges, combined with population growth in coastal areas, are very likely to increase economic losses.

POLAR REGIONS: ARCTIC AND ANTARCTICA

Reductions are likely in the thickness and extent of glaciers and ice sheets, and the extent of sea ice and permafrost.
The depth of summer permafrost melting is likely to increase.
Changes to natural ecosystems are likely to impact migrating birds, mammals and higher predators adversely. Specific ecosystems and habitats are expected to be vulnerable, as climatic barriers to species invasions are lowered.
There are virtually certain to be both negative and positive effects on Arctic peoples. Detrimental impacts would include those on infrastructure and traditional indigenous ways of life while beneficial effects would include reduced heating costs and more navigable northern sea routes.

SMALL ISLANDS

Sea level rise is likely to worsen floods, storm surges and coastal erosion, with impacts on the socio-economic wellbeing of island communities.
Beach erosion and coral bleaching are likely to reduce tourism.
There is strong evidence that water resources in small islands are likely to be seriously compromised.
Increased invasion by non-native species is likely.

WATER

The supply of water is very likely to increase at higher latitudes and in some wet tropics, including populous areas in east and southeast Asia. It is very likely to decrease over much of the mid-latitudes and dry tropics, which are presently water-stressed areas.
Drought-affected areas will likely increase. Instances of extreme rainfall are likely to increase in frequency and intensity, raising the risk of floods. Increases in the frequency and severity of floods and droughts will have implications on sustainable development.
Water volumes stored in glaciers and snow cover are very likely to decline, reducing summer and autumn flows in regions where more than one sixth of the world population currently live.

ECOSYSTEMS

Many ecosystems are likely to be challenged beyond their capacity to adapt over the course of the century by an unprecedented combination of climate change, associated disturbances such as wildfires, and other aspects of modern-day global change.
In the second half of this century, ecosystems on land are likely to become a net source of carbon rather than a net absorber. This extra carbon will amplify climate change.
Roughly 20-30% of species are likely to be at high risk of irreversible extinction if the global average temperature rises by 1.5-2.5C beyond 1990 levels. For increases in global average temperature exceeding 1.5-2.5C, there are very likely to be major changes in ecosystems which will adversely effect the environmental goods and services which humans use.

FOOD

Crop yields are likely to increase at higher latitudes for global average temperature increases of up to 1-3C (depending on the crop), and then decrease beyond that. This is even after allowing for effects of CO2 fertilisation.
At lower latitudes, especially the seasonally dry tropics, crop yield potential is likely to decrease for even small global temperature increases, which would increase risk of hunger.
Global agricultural production potential is likely to increase with increases in global average temperature up to about 3C, but above this it is very likely to decrease.
Increased frequency of droughts and floods would affect local production negatively, especially in subsistence sectors at low latitudes.

COASTS

Coasts are very likely to be exposed to increasing risks due to climate change and sea level rise, and the effect will be exacerbated by increasing human-induced pressures on coastal areas.
It is likely that corals will experience a major decline due to increased bleaching and mortality due to rising seawater temperatures. Salt marshes and mangroves will also be negatively affected by sea-level rise.
Many millions more people are expected to be flooded every year due to sea-level rise by the 2080s, especially in densely populated and low-lying settlements which already face other challenges such as tropical storms or local coastal subsidence. The numbers affected will be largest in the mega-deltas of Asia, but small islands face the highest relative increase in risk.

INDUSTRY

The benefits and costs of climate change for industry, settlement, and society will vary widely by location and scale. Some of the effects in temperate and polar regions will be positive, and others elsewhere will be negative. Generally, a higher degree of warming is more likely to bring negative consequences.
The most vulnerable industries, settlements and societies are those in coastal and river flood plains, those whose economies are closely linked with climate-sensitive resources, and those in areas prone to extreme weather events, especially where rapid urbanisation is occurring.
Poor communities can be especially vulnerable because they tend to be concentrated in relatively high-risk areas, have more limited coping capacities, and can be more dependent on climate-sensitive resources such as local water and food supplies. Where extreme weather events become more intense, the economic costs of those events will increase, and these increases are likely to be substantial in the areas most directly affected.

HEALTH

Projected climate change is likely to affect millions of people, particularly those with low capacity to adapt, through increases in malnutrition and consequent disorders.
This will have implications for child growth and development; increased deaths, disease and injury due to heat waves, floods, storms, fires and droughts, the altered burden of water- related diseases; the increased frequency of cardio-respiratory diseases due to higher concentrations of ground level ozone, and the movement of some infectious disease carriers into new regions. vectors.
Climate change is likely to have some mixed effects, such as the expansion and contraction of the range of malaria in different regions. In some places, climate change is likely to bring some benefits to health such as fewer deaths from cold exposure.










Climate change: Copenhagen in graphics

Where do greenhouse gas emissions come from?
Which countries are most responsible for causing human-induced climate change?
And have governments pledged tough enough cuts so far to keep the global average temperature rise within "safe limits"?
As the UN summit in Copenhagen approaches, we look at the past, present and possible futures of climate change.

Growing populations and rising living standards helped drive emissions ever upwards during the second half of the 20th century. In the first years of the new century, China's emissions overtook those of the US.

Global emissions have risen steadily in recent decades.

CLIMATE CHANGE GLOSSARY
Select a term from the dropdown:
Carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent - Six greenhouse gases are limited by the Kyoto Protocol. Each gas has a different global warming potential.
The overall warming effect of this cocktail of gases is often expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent - the amount of CO2 that would create the same amount of warming.
CO2 equivalent is often measured in kilotonnes (Kt) or thousands of tonnes, and gigatonnes (Gt) or billions of tonnes.

But when trying to assign "responsibility" for causing climate change, how should they be measured?
Populous developing countries such as China and India have relatively high overall emissions - comparable with many developed countries.
But each of their citizens produces a much smaller amount than counterparts in regions such as North America or Western Europe.
Countries that industrialised early and grew rich early because of that industrialisation, such as the UK, Germany and the US, have a higher "historical footprint".
In some peoples' eyes, this gives them a higher responsibility for curbing the problem.

A number of academic teams have calculated how emissions are likely to rise in the next few decades, and what that is likely to mean in terms of rising temperatures.

Their projections are not exact because there are many sources of uncertainty in the calculations, including the exact relationship between greenhouse gas levels and temperature rise.
A number of developed countries and blocs have set targets for cutting their emissions, some of which depend on what other countries do.
The EU, for example, will cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels - but if there is a global deal, that will rise to 30%.
Some developing nations have also pledged to reduce the rate at which their emissions are growing.
If implemented, are these curbs enough to keep the global average temperature rise below 2C - the target adopted by G8, the EU and a number of major developing countries?

Analysts project that if no further action is taken on emissions, man-made warming will go beyond the relative safety of 2C above pre-industrial levels.

According to the European Climate Foundation analysis - and others - commitments made so far are probably not enough to meet the G8 target.
This shortfall is one of the issues likely to be highlighted during the Copenhagen conference.