Archive - Dec 17, 2009

• As climate conference nears end, countries push to find an agreement
• Indigenous groups demand recognition of rights at climate talks
• Rise of sea level threatens Nigeria’s coastal city, Lagos
• With key elements stripped from bill, progressive Democrats face decision on health care
• Scientists recommend Congress take action on health safety in farm industry

• Transportation security officers push for collective bargaining rights
• Major Mexican cartel leader killed in military bust
• Pakistan resists US pressure to fight militants
• Follow up: Migrants settle in Arkansas guest worker abuse case
• Sex workers in Canada rally for decriminalization of prostitution

With less than 24 hours to go, climate change negotiators in Copenhagen are scrambling to reach an agreement. UN climate chief Yvo de Boer.

"I would say hold tight and mind the doors, the cable car is moving again."

After two days of stalled talks, today rich countries agreed to one demand from developing countries - to continue negotiating the Kyoto Protocol, while also pursuing the current Climate Change Convention. G77 countries and NGOs were concerned that Kyoto would be scrapped by rich nations who didn't want to be held to the legally binding commitments. But other questions remain, including whether rich countries will make steep enough reductions.

More than 100 world leaders are meeting today and tomorrow, from Monoco's Prince Albert to Iranian President Ahmadinejad. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also spoke today and laid out US commitments:

"First, we have announced our intention to cut our emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020 and ultimately in line with final climate and energy legislation. In light of the President’s goals, the expected pathway in pending legislation would extend those cuts to 30 percent by 2025, 42 percent by 2030, and more than 80 percent by 2050.

Second, we also recognize that an agreement must provide generous financial and technological support for developing countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, to help them reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. That’s why we joined an effort to mobilize fast-start funding that will ramp up to $10 billion in 2012 to support the adaptation and mitigation efforts of countries in need."

Clinton also offered a carrot - helping to raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help poor countries adapt to climate change, but she also demanded transparency from all countries before moving forward on the ambitious fundraising initiative.

The move was welcomed by the G77 group of developing nations. Lumumba Stanislaus-Kaw Di-Aping is the chief negotiator for the G77 group.

He spoke to FSRN by cell phone minutes after giving a press conference this evening in Copenhagen. He said though the funding was important it was still not enough.  As for the negotiations, he said  that leaders should not be pressured to compromise on an agreement.

"I think we should not just sign a deal which is political rhetoric. We have to sign something that is meaningful and that would  transform and actually really launch a global effort commensurate with the risks that we face."

Another voice to emerge this week at the Copenhagen Climate talks, is that of the world's indigenous communities, who call for a recognition of indigenous rights as part of the negotiations.

We're joined from Copenhagen by Nikke Alex, a Navajo youth who works with the Black Mesa Water Coalition, that’s a group based in Flagstaff Arizona that was founded by Hopi and Navajo youth in 2004.

In Copenhagen one of the key concerns for both politicians and environmentalists is rising sea levels. Now, a new study has found that polar ice sheets are melting even faster than previously believed. The study was published this week in the journal Nature and the scientists - from Princeton and Harvard - say that just a two degrees Celsius rise in global temperature could lead to disastrous outcomes. They say that a one-meter rise in sea level would immediately affect 145 million people around the world. And coastal areas would be particularly vulnerable.

To get a picture of what is at stake in Copenhagen and how the negotiations could have a direct impact on the ground, we go to Lagos, Nigeria. The country's economic capital has been identified as one of the most vulnerable coastal cities in the world. Amidst this danger the city’s population - especially at the ocean front -  continues to soar. Sam Olukoya reports.

In health care on Capitol Hill, the public option is now off the table after it was scrapped earlier this month to appease conservative members of Congress. And critics of the Senate bill, including Howard Dean, are saying that the real winners are the insurance companies. Now, progressive Democrats are deciding which way to go - and what can be salvaged from the health care bill. FSRN's Karen Miller has more.

In the farm industry, antibiotics aren’t only used to treat disease.  In the United States, food animals are routinely treated with antibiotics in order to grow animals fatter and faster.  Now, scientists are finding that these practices on farm animals are the cause of some illnesses in humans, and they are recommending that Congress take action. FSRN’s Matt Pearson reports.