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Paris Climate Change Talks Yield First Draft (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Negotiators at the UN climate talks in Paris released a draft of an agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. No part of the draft has been finalized as many points remain in contention, particularly between developing countries and more wealthy nations. Laurence Tubiana, the French envoy for the talks, said: "We could have been better, we could have been worse. The job is not done, we need to apply all intelligence, energy, willingness to compromise and all efforts to come to agreement. Nothing is decided until everything is decided."

21 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Wealthy nations? Where by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What wealthy nations? All western governments are deep in debt..

    1. Re:Wealthy nations? Where by khallow · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Nations that have debt have no wealth.

      No, it doesn't work that way. While it is worth noting that there is a staggering amount of irresponsible and stupid borrowing at the level of the state, they are able to get away with that because of the wealth of the societies they represent and which they can tap. Even a country like Greece has considerable wealth left. And if they were to reform their governments and societies, that wealth would come forth.

    2. Re:Wealthy nations? Where by tompaulco · · Score: 4, Interesting

      What wealthy nations? All western governments are deep in debt..

      One man is on the street and has nothing.
      Another man lives in a house with a mortgage with negative equity and drives a car in which he is upside down on the loan.
      Which one is poorer?
      I'm not making a point, I think it is a legitimate question and the answer is not an easy one. But it certainly is relatable to nations and debt.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
  2. Re:Where's the link to the draft? by MightyDrunken · · Score: 5, Informative

    The draft and addendum .

  3. It won't please anyone and it won't work by NotDrWho · · Score: 2

    The environmentalists are going to complain it doesn't go far enough and the politicians in all of the countries that matter are just going to ignore it or cheat it.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    1. Re:It won't please anyone and it won't work by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

      But they had a nice vacation in Paris, traveling by private jet, not the least bit ironic

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:It won't please anyone and it won't work by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 2

      The environmentalists are going to complain it doesn't go far enough and the politicians in all of the countries that matter are just going to ignore it or cheat it.

      You're mistaken. The main goal of this treaty is to stop TERRORISM, because you know, global warming caused the Paris attack. Feel the Burn!

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  4. Re:Where's the link to the draft? by NotDrWho · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm too lazy to read it, but does it even MENTION nuclear power? Because any climate change plan that doesn't include nuclear as a major component of a carbon-neutral energy policy isn't worth using as toilet paper.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  5. still advocating for extreme mitigation by khallow · · Score: 3, Insightful
    I see this in the draft:

    To hold the increase in the global average temperature [below 1.5 ÂC] [or] [well below 2 ÂC] above preindustrial levels by ensuring deep reductions in global greenhouse gas [net] emissions; (

    They are still emphasizing an extreme effort rather than a rational one. There are three obvious rebuttals to this. First, too many parties simply don't have an interest in this. For example, most oil subsidies come from countries whose economies have a significant dependence on exporting oil. Other large fossil fuel-consuming nations, particularly, the US, China, and India have long expressed disinterest in such levels of reduction.

    Second, humanity doesn't generate greenhouse gases arbitrarily. Instead it is in pursuit of other priorities. From past missteps, I see strong indications that any serious attempt to meet the requirements of an extreme mitigation effort will result in a global-scale mess.

    Third, we still don't have actual evidence that there is a serious problem. We just have, yet again, strongly worded assertions. It really should be a warning sign to everyone when the people pushing this aggressive strategy can't back their claims with facts.

    1. Re:still advocating for extreme mitigation by hort_wort · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Third, we still don't have actual evidence that there is a serious problem. We just have, yet again, strongly worded assertions. It really should be a warning sign to everyone when the people pushing this aggressive strategy can't back their claims with facts.

      That's the real tough part about it... By the time we know for sure what will happen, it'd be too late. The risk is just SO HIGH that most scientists recommend playing it safe. Humanity could have a tough time surviving if we get into the "runaway climate change" scenario. Will that happen if the global temperature goes up 1 degree C? 10?

      Aside from all that though, poison ivy grows faster with more CO2. Eeks. Just another reason to stay in my basement.

    2. Re:still advocating for extreme mitigation by khallow · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Honestly the defeatism and lack of ambition is disheartening.

      Good. Are you going to worry about real problems now?

      There is plenty of evidence going back decades now that global warming is a serious issue.

      Good. Show the seriousness of the problem then. It's worth noting here that no one has yet shown that global warming has short term consequences or that it is an urgent problem. They have merely asserted these things.

      It is hard to address but to not even try is a serious dereliction of duty to our descendants. Is this a paid shill?

      Because you have yet to show that the extreme mitigation measures proposed are less of a dereliction of duty than doing absolutely nothing is. Remember current mitigation efforts are already remarkably ineffective and costly. We are already doing this and it is already a net loss for our descendants.

      But sure, I must be a shill.

    3. Re:still advocating for extreme mitigation by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The goal of keeping the rise below 2C is based on scientific evidence, the interpretation of which is widely accepted, that suggests any more than 2C will cause problems so severe we really don't want to go there. To suggest otherwise is just burying your head in the sand.

      I really don't understand the objections to this goal. Even if you are absolutely convinced that there is no climate change, or that it is natural and unavoidable, or that nothing bad will happen or whatever, it's still worth cleaning up the environment. Clearly Beijing has a smog problem, and clearly LA did have one and was able to fix it in a way that ultimately saved money and improved everyone's lives.

      It's undeniable that developing nations want to pollute as much as we did in the past, and that pollution will affect us as well. Doesn't it therefore seem worth trying to do some deals that push those countries towards clean energy, with help from developed nations to make it happen as quickly as possible.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:still advocating for extreme mitigation by CaptainLard · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Second, humanity doesn't generate greenhouse gases arbitrarily. Instead it is in pursuit of other priorities.

      Care to provide examples of some non-arbitrary "other priorities"? Continued existence for the sake of existence surely meets some definition of arbitrary.

      As for evidence howsabout the following:

      - Green house effect. Easily demonstrated in a closed car parked in the sun. Check
      - CO2 is a green house gas. Surface of venus is hotter than the surface of mercury. Check
      - Warmer oceans mean stronger storms. Check
      - Warmer poles means melting land ice. Check
      - 40% of all humans live within 100km of an ocean....

      Arguing time frame is rearranging the deck chairs. If anyone cares about society as is, the sooner we reduce CO2 emissions, the better.

    5. Re:still advocating for extreme mitigation by james_shoemaker · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Arguing time frame is rearranging the deck chairs. If anyone cares about society as is, the sooner we reduce CO2 emissions, the better"

            So how are YOU reducing your CO2 emissions since you have decided it's such an important thing to do.

    6. Re:still advocating for extreme mitigation by khallow · · Score: 2, Informative

      Suppose 97% of your military commanders came forward and told you they believed that a country would invade.

      This is not analogous. The 97% consensus is fraudulent. At best, it is agreement only among climate scientists that there is global warming and that it is mostly human-caused. Once you get away from the sliver of scientists who while most knowledgeable about the situation are also the most beholden, then the consensus drops significantly (for example, Earth scientists had agreement of 90% with the assertion that climate had warmed since 1850 and 82% consensus that most of this change was due to humans).

      In particular, this is not a consensus on action to fight climate change or the even stronger target of holding global warming at 2C since 1850! It is interesting how so many people, including you, conflate agreement that most global warming is human-caused (which incidentally I agree with), with some hardcore policy decisions. I am part of the "97%", but I don't agree.

      Moving on, there is a great deal of hidden disagreement among climate researchers on the reliability of paleoclimate data, the adjustments made while aggregating that data, and the reliability of climate models to predict future climate. For example, cherrypicking from this survey of climate researchers (from 2008), they found that 26% of those surveyed had absolutely no confidence (a "1" on a scale of 1 to 7) in precipitation predictions for the next 50 years and 33% had a similar absence of confidence in extreme weather predictions over the next 50 years. You don't hear about that when the dire warnings of famine and extreme weather come around, do you?

      67% do believe strongly (score 6 or 7) that without mitigation or adaption, there will be catastrophic consequences in the next 50 years.

      Moving on, the survey asked an interesting question "The best approach to resolving the problems related to climate change is:" Here, pure mitigation would be "1" and pure adaptation would be "7". A full 30% straddle the fence at "4". 43% favored mitigation to some degree and 27% favored adaptation. Where is the consensus on holding the line at 2C increase since 1850? It doesn't look like 97% to me.

      For those who wish to pay attention and learn something about science, this is what happens when you have a manufactured consensus which doesn't actually consider the opinions of the people supposedly polled and stretches the actual claims to claim far more than was actually asked. It's not science, it's an argument from authority fallacy.

  6. Re:Where's the link to the draft? by NotDrWho · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I actually did take the time to look at it, and nope, no nuclear. Just a bunch of vague pie-in-the-sky bullshit. No real practical solutions, just repeating that man-made climate is bad and we must do something about it (the "something" being unspecified). Just some meaningless bullshit for countries that will affirm it wholeheartedly, but actually *do* fuck all.

    Be it resolved that bad things are bad and good things are good.

    Nothing to see here. Move along.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  7. Re:Why do "wealthy" nations have to help the other by alvinrod · · Score: 2

    We don't have to, but we probably should to some degree. No matter how much any one country cleans up its own act, it still faces the consequences from the decisions of the rest of the world.

    Of course helping doesn't have to mean throwing money at the problem that's likely to disappear into the pockets of corrupt leadership. It could be as simple as shouldering the R&D burden for find solutions that reduce pollution and then giving those away to the developing nations so that they minimize their environmental impact.

  8. BS- china is building coal plants like crazy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    China has 2363 coal power plants, and is building or has in plan 1171 more. That does not sound like a country reducing its CO2 emmissions (like the US where emissions are declining).
    India has 589, and is building or has in plan 446 more.

    If you would like a detailed report with references on China's energy politics and activity, go here:

    http://www.thegwpf.org/new-report-the-truth-about-china/

    You think China is the largest investor in renewables, they are also the biggest burner of coal and importer of oil.
    So what?

  9. Re:Too lazy by tompaulco · · Score: 2

    > I'm too lazy to read it, but does it even MENTION nuclear power?

    Yeah, right. That's because you're not paid for that, you're only paid for shilling nuclear here.

    If shilling nuclear on slashdot is a paid job, I want to know where I can sign up.

    --
    If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
  10. Re:Too lazy by thegarbz · · Score: 2

    Don't get too excited. Slashdot's collective IQ has dropped so low that a large portion of people legitimately think the definition of a shill is "Someone who disagrees with me".

  11. advocating for (usless) extreme mitigation ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Even of all the INDCs (countries pledges to reduce CO2) are met, and the cuts are extended from 2030 to 2070...get this, ONLY 0.2 degrees C of warming will be averted by 2100 !

    That's right, trillions of dollars and two tenths of a degree of warming is averted.
    That's according to the UNIPCC "MAGICC" model used to model climate mitigation effects.
    As Bjorn Lomborg wrote in his peer review paper details the actual temperature consequences of Paris if all goes according to their projections.

    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/11/17/lomborg-pushes-back-against-joe-romms-over-the-top-screed-about-the-true-vale-of-cop21/

    This is a colossal wast of time and money.
    They will be screaming for even more draconian cuts in a few years.

    The whole enterprise is a socialist plan for wealth transfer from the indebted wealthy countries to the third world.
    The UN Official Ottmar Edenhofer said in an interview the truth...this is about wealth redistribution.

    -This does not sound anymore like the climate policy that we know. (Interviewer)
    -(Edenhofer) "Basically it’s a big mistake to discuss climate policy separately from the major themes of globalization. The climate summit in Cancun at the end of the month is not a climate conference, but one of the largest economic conferences since the Second World War..... But one must say clearly that we redistribute de facto the world’s wealth by climate policy"