World leaders gather to try to save Earth from overheating

LE BOURGET, France — With dramatic vows to save future generations from an overheated planet, the largest gathering ever of world leaders began two weeks of talks Monday aimed at producing the most far-reaching pact yet to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and avert environmental havoc.

“We should ask what will we say to our grandchildren if we fail,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said as the U.N. climate summit opened under heavy security on the outskirts of Paris, two weeks after the terrorist attacks that left 130 people dead. “Instead of making excuses tomorrow, let’s take action today.”

Even before the gathering, more than 180 countries pledged to cut or curb their emissions, but scientific analyses show that much bigger reductions would be needed to limit man-made warming of the Earth to 2 degrees Centigrade (3.8 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial times, the internationally agreed-upon goal.

The biggest issue facing the 151 heads of state and government at the summit is who should bear most of the burden of closing that gap: wealthy Western nations that have polluted the most historically, or developing countries like China and India that are now the biggest and third-biggest emitters of greenhouse gases?

“Addressing climate change should not deny the legitimate needs of developing countries to reduce poverty and improve living standards,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping told the conference.

The last major climate agreement, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, required only rich countries to cut emissions, and the U.S. never signed on. Since then, global temperatures and sea levels have continued to rise, and the Earth has seen an extraordinary run of extreme weather, including severe droughts and storms.

This new round of talks seeks to produce an agreement that would require all countries, rich and poor, to take action.

While the specifics have yet to be worked out, the pact is meant to chart a path toward reduced reliance on coal, oil and gas and expanded use of renewable energy such as wind and solar power.

The negotiations will focus on whether emissions targets should be binding or voluntary and how to monitor and verify that countries are hitting their targets. Another big issue will be how to provide the finance and technology that developing countries will need to reduce their emissions and cope with the effects of rising seas, intensifying heat waves and floods.

“The future of the people of the world, the future of our planet, is in your hands,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told negotiators in his opening remarks. “We cannot afford indecision, half measures or merely gradual approaches. Our goal must be a transformation.”

China and India say they want the agreement to clearly reflect that industrialized nations bear the biggest responsibility for the problem.

President Barack Obama offered assurances that the U.S. isn’t trying to shirk its duty.

“I’ve come here personally, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and the second-largest emitter, to say that the United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it,” Obama told the conference.

Statistics since 1959 from the U.S. Department of Energy show the United States has been by far the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the top man-made greenhouse gas. It has released about 258 trillion tons of carbon dioxide over the past half-century, compared with China’s 158 trillion tons, the figures show.

China is catching up, though, and is now the world’s biggest greenhouse gas polluter, accounting for 28 percent of the world’s current emissions — twice as much as the United States. Beijing has pledged to put a ceiling on its emissions around 2030 as part of the latest negotiations.

Developing countries say they need financial support and technology to make the transition to cleaner energy. On the bustling first day of the conference, a number of such initiatives were announced, including one backed by 19 governments and 28 leading global investors, including Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

Their initiative would provide billions of dollars in investments to research and develop clean energy technology, with the ultimate goal of making it cheaper and more reliable.

Separately, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande unveiled an initiative of rich and poor countries to cooperate on expanding solar power.

“It’s making the dream of universal access to clean energy become more real,” Modi said.

Many of the leaders said the world must keep the average temperature within 1 degree C (1.8 degrees F) of current levels — and, if possible, to half that, to spare island nations threatened by rising seas. The world has already warmed nearly 1 degree Celsius since the beginning of the industrial age.

Beijing on Monday reported one of the worst spells of air pollution in years, saying levels of soot were 25 times what the World Health Organization considers safe. That’s a different pollution from carbon dioxide, but both come from burning fossil fuel, especially coal.

Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, which had binding emissions targets for wealthy nations, the new deal will be based on a bottom-up approach where countries set their own targets. One of the things being negotiated is a ratchet-up mechanism that would encourage countries to review and improve their targets every five years.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.