December International Climate Talks Offer Glimmer of Hope

A binding international treaty on climate change is what will truly help avert the worst impacts of global warming.  Major treaty talks last year in Copenhagen didn’t get us there, and it would overstate things to say that hopes are high in the next round of talks in Cancun in December.  Nonetheless, U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern recently sound an optimistic note while in Beijing.

Can we get a climate treaty this year? NWF is working to put the building blocks in place for successful international talks in December. (Photo by istock)

He told Reuters today, “It’s incumbent on all of us working in this area to try to bend all efforts over the course of the next few weeks to find compromises and language necessary to get a deal.”

He said this in the midst of difficult talks with the world’s other largest carbon emitter: China. Among the major sticking points with china is development of mandatory and verifiable cuts in carbon pollution.

NWF will be working hard to ensure that the U.S. is doing all it can to open up some room for a binding treaty this year, and we’ll be at the December talks reporting live.  Stay tuned here at Wildlife Promise!

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Published: October 22, 2010