Climate ministers hold out hope for Copenhagen talks
Updated
The world's environment ministers haven't given up hope for a climate change deal in Copenhagen next month but a binding deal may have to wait until the end of next year.
Certainly that was the message coming from the Danish capital overnight after a meeting of 40 climate change negotiators. They had just been given a warning from the International Energy Agency - that the cost of a delay in enacting a global climate deal would cost a half a trillion US dollars a year.
Presenter: Emma Alberici
Speakers: Connie Hedegaard, Danish Climate Minister ; Kumi Naidoo, new head of Greenpeace
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EMMA ALBERICI: For two months now the Danish Prime Minister has been trying to manage expectations for the conference he's hosting next month.
At a meeting of environment ministers preparing for the United Nations summit, Danish Climate Minister Connie Hedegaard said leaders should now be focused on setting a new deadline for the final text, possibly at the talks set for December 2010 in Mexico City.
CONNIE HEDEGAARD: The most important thing to the whole negotiation picture at this stage is that the United States commit to bring numbers, figures to Copenhagen - specific numbers for reductions as well as specific numbers for finance. That is what matters and that matters to the whole world.
EMMA ALBERICI: Environment leaders are disappointed with the latest news coming from Copenhagen. Overnight Kumi Naidoo was named as the new head of Greenpeace.
KUMI NAIDOO: I do think that it ain't over until it's over. We saw in Bali two years ago when we thought there would never be any deal that last minute on the conference floor things moved forward.
So as far as Greenpeace is concerned we will continue to push right until the very last minute and we hope that if developing countries can unite and speak with one unified voice that we might yet still be able to extract something more than what has been promised by particularly the dominant developed countries in the world.
EMMA ALBERICI: Before taking on his new role, Kumi Naidoo was an anti-apartheid campaigner.
He's the first African to head Greenpeace.
He says the pressure is now on President Barack Obama to deliver a deal to save the world from climate catastrophe.
KUMI NAIDOO: President Obama needs to use his political will and his political capital with the American people and it would be extremely unfortunate if he went to Oslo on the 10th of December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and he not attend the Copenhagen summit and he needs to say publicly that he is attending and irrespective of whether the Senate passes a climate bill or not.
EMMA ALBERICI: The chief economist for the Paris-based International Energy Agency warned overnight that the cost of a delay in enacting a global climate deal will cost the world half a trillion dollars a year.
The fear among analysts is now that Copenhagen will start to resemble the failed Doha world trade negotiations. A Doha deal remains elusive after eight years of talks.
