from the BBC

Mr Miliband said the vast majority of countries wanted a legally-binding treaty to protect the planet and he said that it appeared four or five countries were keen to "shelve the accord".

Developing countries

He wrote of a legally-binding treaty: "Some leading developing countries currently refuse to countenance this.

"That is why we did not secure an agreement that the political accord struck in Copenhagen should lead to a legally binding outcome.

"We did not get an agreement on 50% reductions in global emissions by 2050 or on 80% reductions by developed countries.

"Both were vetoed by China, despite the support of a coalition of developed and the vast majority of developing countries."

The accord was reached between the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, but is not legally binding.

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See toon above...

From the Guardian

Gordon Brown today said a new global treaty on climate change had been "held to ransom" by some countries opposed to a deal in Copenhagen, and called for reform of the way such negotiations take place, including an international body to handle environmental stewardship.

The prime minister said the weak agreement reached in Copenhagen at the weekend after all-night deliberations was a "first step towards a new alliance to overcome the enormous challenges of climate change". He called on all countries to show greater ambition as part of a campaign over the coming months to turn the agreement into a legally binding treaty.

"The talks in Copenhagen were not easy and as they reached conclusion I did fear the process would collapse and we would have no deal at all," he said. "We must learn lessons from Copenhagen and the tough negotiations that took place. Never again should we face the deadlock that threatened to pull down these talks. Never again should we let a global deal to move towards a greener future be held to ransom by only a handful of countries."

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From Monbiot...

The last time global negotiations collapsed like this was in Doha, in 2001. After the trade talks fell apart, the World Trade Organisation assured delegates that there was nothing to fear: they would move to Mexico, where a deal would be done. The negotiations ran into the sand of the Mexican resort of Cancún, never to re-emerge. After eight years of dithering, nothing has been agreed.

When the climate talks in Copenhagen ended in failure last week, Yvo de Boer, the man in charge of the process, urged us not to worry: everything will be sorted out "in Mexico one year from now". Is Mexico the diplomatic equivalent of the Pacific garbage patch: the place where failed negotiations go to die?

De Boer might pretend that this is just a temporary hitch, but he knows what happens when talks lose momentum. A year ago I asked him what he feared most. This is what he said. "The worst-case scenario for me is that climate becomes a second WTO … Copenhagen, for me, is a very clear deadline that I think we need to meet, and I am afraid that if we don't then the process will begin to slip, and like in the trade negotiations, one deadline after the other will not be met, and we sort of become the little orchestra on the Titanic.

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from Gus

THE CYCLE WE'VE ENTERED IS PROBABLY THE 120 MILLION YEAR CYCLE... THEN THERE WAS MORE CO2 IN THE ATMOSPHERE. THE SEA LEVEL WAS AT LEAST 200 METRES ABOVE PRESENT SEA LEVEL.

HUMANS HAVE OPENED THE (PANDORA) CARBON BOX, CARBON THAT HAD BEEN MORE OR LESS SEQUESTERED UNDERGROUND SINCE THAT TIME PLUS THE  CARBON SEQUESTERED BEFORE THAT. THE QUESTION IS HOW MUCH CAN WE BURN BEFORE WE START DESTROYING SOME OF THE PLACE. NOTE: GLOBAL WARMING IS NOT "THE END OF THE WORLD". BUT A CHANGE OF DYNAMICS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WITH CONSEQUENCES...

ONE NEEDS TO ALSO NOTE THAT CYCLES ARE NOT EASY SOFT PROGRESSIVE UP AND DOWN CURVES, BUT CHANGES SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE CAN (AND HAS) HAPPEN "IN A JIFFY". THEN IT CAN "STABILISE" OR CHANGE SLOWLY ONLY WITH FLUCTUATIONS. THE COMPLEXITIES OF OBSERVATION ARE MULTIPLE. THE RESULTS ARE COMPLEX. THE SIMPLE FACT IS THAT CO2 IS A GREENHOUSE GAS. ADDING GREENHOUSE GASES TO THE GREENHOUSE IS LIKELY TO WARM THE PLACE UP.

China has dismissed allegations made by a British minister that it was responsible for the near collapse of climate negotiations in Copenhagen.

Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband had singled out China for vetoing an agreement on limiting emissions.

Beijing said his comments were part of a political scheme to "provoke discord among developing countries".

The Copenhagen summit ended without the 192 countries present reaching a firm agreement on climate change.

The delegates simply committed to "taking note" of a deal recognising the need to limit temperature rises to 2C.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu did not mention Mr Miliband by name, but in comments reported by the Xinhua state news agency, she said statements from "certain British politicians" were "plainly a political scheme".

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see toon at top...

from the SMH

News arriving from the Danish capital paints a picture of chaos. After planning an event in which about 40,000 people were to participate, the hosts have no way of keeping their promise. Bolivian President Evo Morales, who was the first of the presidents from the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas to arrive there, expressed certain profound truths emanating from the millenary culture of his people.

According to the news agencies, he affirmed that he had received a mandate from the Bolivian people to oppose any agreement if the final declaration fails to meet expectations. He explained that climate change is not the cause but the effect, that we have an obligation to defend the rights of Mother Earth against the model of capitalist development, the culture of life against the culture of death. He spoke of the climate debt that the rich countries must pay to the poor countries, and the return of atmospheric space seized from the latter.

Morales described as 'ridiculous" the figure of $10 billion offered per year up until 2012 when, in reality, hundreds of billions of dollars are needed every year. He also accused the US of spending trillions of dollars on exporting terrorism to Iraq and Afghanistan and establishing military bases in Latin America.

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see toon at top...

From the Voice of America

The United Nations Climate Change Conference got underway in the Mexican beach resort of Cancun Monday with calls for decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide as part of an effort to curb global warming. But participants are looking for advances on a handful of issues rather than an overall agreement that would legally bind nations to reduce emissions.

Delegates from more than 190 nations, and representatives of various non-governmental groups, are in Cancun for two weeks of discussion aimed at forging a comprehensive agreement not now, but at some future meeting.

But in his opening remarks, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said the world may not be able to wait much longer for decisive action.

He said climate change is already a reality for Mexico and the whole planet. He cited recent deadly floods in Mexico, Guatemala and Pakistan, as well as disasters in Russia and Africa as evidence that climate change is already disrupting life for many of the world's people.

from Le Monde

Translation by Google (cleaned up by GL)

Cancon, hazelnut capital in France, with 1300 souls, has been chosen to echo the climate conference, in Cancun — resort of the Caribbean coast, with 526 700 inhabitants.

But the event leaves an impression of déjà-vu. In September 2003, when the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Cancun on the platform of "multilateral trade" and the implementation of the Doha Development, people went a little mad to hold an anti-summit in Cancon. "It was funny," remembers Christian Crouzet.

At that time, José Bové, then spokesman for the Confederation Paysanne, just out of jail for destroying genetically modified corn, was prohibited to leave France. Therefore it was impossible for him to present the cause "alter-globalist" in Cancun. "We offered him to come to Cancon and he came." About 5000 people also turned up.

The village still remembers the invasion of activists and media personel. Journalists from around the world had made the trip. "This spin has been a popular success," says Christian Crouzet, who doubt he can quite repeat the feat of 2003, though buses from Bayonne and Bordeaux are announced.

The initiative of the anti-summit on December 4 goes back to the "Via Campesina" international peasant movement, which appealed to the organization of "Cancun 1000" and to the world. "Immediately, it was redesigned in Cancon," said Christian Crouzet. Attac, Friends of the Earth, the Confederation Paysanne, the global justice movement Basque Bizi! have therefore initiated the rally on December 4. On the theme of "ecological and social transition": "Let's change the system, not the climate."

A Local SHOWCASE

The detailed statement, jointly signed by the organizers, is that "beyond the framework of international negotiations, climate change is a problem experienced daily locally, around the world."

Cancon therefore wish to be a more modest echo, to "highlight the struggles and experiences, locally, meet the environmental crisis, climate in the energy, construction, agriculture, Industry, transport ... " Hence the participation of people opposed to the high speed rail (TGV) for example.

From midday to midnight, there will be conference tables, carbon-balance stands, local cuisine, workshops and discussions to address the issue of climate change in terms of local movements. There will be musical entertainment, street theater and concerts to mark the day as a "colorful and festive gathering. " This will showcase the locality as a place of exchanges, individual responses of growth objectors at any price," promises Christian Crouzet.

A link is provided with Mexico. "Our delegates will deliver their impression of the summit." As in 2003, José Bové, now MEP, confirmed his attendance.

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Meanwhile it's raining records in the dry country:

The weather bureau says Australia has had its wettest spring on record, with an average of about 160 millimetres of rain falling across the country.

The figure is about 100mm more than last year's average.

The bureau says Queensland and the Northern Territory received record spring rainfall.

South Australia, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, and Western Australia also ranked higher than average.

The bureau's Darren Ray has attributed the good rains to an optimal combination of tropical influences which are expected to continue until the end of summer.

"The Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, with their tropical influences, are two major climate influences on Australian rainfall," he said.

"And we're seeing the most conducive combination of those two influences."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/01/3081027.htm?section=justin

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see toon at top and see also:

http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/9147

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Meanwhile in the land of cocky whingers:

FOR Peter Mailler, the sound of rain on his roof means one thing: his wheat crop is losing a little more value. After a decade of drought, it is painfully ironic that farmers' hopes for a season of recovery are being drenched.

''The really sad thing is that most people were gearing up for essentially a really good rebound year,'' Mr Mailler said from his beef and grain property just south of the Queensland border, near Goondiwindi.

''In our business, it's seasonal income and we rely on getting at least one good crop every five years … You can handle a few shockers but you need to get the rebound years.''

The grain industry, from central Queensland to Victoria, has been affected by unseasonal rain at harvest time.

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/farmers-come-a-cropper-as-it-rains-on-grain-20101130-18fe5.html

Gus: nature cannot get it right, can it?

Days of torrential rain have brought widespread flooding to Venezuela, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 20 people.

A state of emergency has been declared in four states, including the capital, Caracas.

Many of the deaths occurred in poor areas of the capital, where landslides have swept away houses built on steep hillsides.

The government says at least 5,600 people have been left homeless.

Flights have been disrupted at the main international airport and the road linking it to Caracas has been cut by landslides.

Worst hit have been the coastal states of Falcon, Miranda and Vargas, as well as the capital district of Caracas.

Thousands of people are living in temporary shelters, including schools, universities and army barracks.

President Hugo Chavez has offered to put people up in the presidential palace, but it is not known if anyone has taken up the offer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11882965

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Gus: see toon at top and read all articles below it. One thing that people should know is that global warming is actually speeding up. The extra heat energy in the atmosphere is creating more evaporation from the sea, leading to more humidity worldwide, leading to snow, rain, hail and clouds that "give the illusion of cool". But in the pockets of dry or humid without cloud-cover over lands, the temperature are soaring — like they did this northern summer in Russia. Records are now being broken daily by climate anomalies or climate extremes. Read article above this one re Australia being rained like NEVER before, since records have been kept...