US fears climate talks will focus on compensation for extreme weather

[dipsydoodle]

US officials fear that international climate change talks will become focused on payouts for damage caused by extreme weather events exacerbated by global warming, such as the category 5 Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines last week killing thousands of people and causing what is expected to be billions of pounds of damage.

An official US briefing document obtained by the Guardian reveals that the country is worried the UN negotiations, currently under way in Warsaw, will "focus increasingly on blame and liability" and poor nations will be "seeking redress for climate damages from sea level rise, droughts, powerful storms and other adverse impacts".

At last year's climate talks in Doha, the US fought off calls from African nations, the Pacific Islands and less developed nations for a "loss and damage mechanism" to channel finance to help nations cope with losses resulting from climate change, such as reduced crop production due to higher temperatures.

The member nations of the G77+China, which includes most African and some Latin American countries, cannot leave Warsaw without agreement on a loss and damage mechanism, said G77 lead negotiator Juan Hoffmaister.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/13/climate-talks-typhoon-haiyan-philippines

[malaise]

1. There should be blame and liability

[dipsydoodle]

2. Good mornin'

[malaise]

3. Hi there

How's the weather?

Are you watching the Tendulkar test match?

[dipsydoodle]

4. Weather is pretty much ok.

Bright skies and yet to have frost at night. Light sprinkle of rain forecast for next Monday. Currently much better than last year when temps plummeted late October and stayed so through to April. Its pot luck as to " whether " or not the jet stream causes a holding pattern this year.

Just searched and found this though : HEAVY SNOW WARNING: Shock long range UK weather forecast for winter 2013.

Winter 2013 into 2014 is forecast to be “exceptionally severe” with above-average snowfall and plunging temperatures.

Long-range weather forecasts warn of bitter Arctic gales leading to feet-deep snow drifts right up until February.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/442873/Coldest-winter-in-modern-times-on-way-with-snow-forecast-for-Britain-starting-next-week Express which I don't normally even look at does get a bit excited at times.

Snow doesn't bother me none anyway - got a very large Jeep

I'm not really into cricket - just try to look interested when friends I'm out with who are so chat about it.

[malaise]

11. Ha re the cricket

I adore cricket but I hate snow - hate winter, hate the cold and I'm about to brave all those elements for a family reunion in two weeks.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. I keep misplacing that violin

I think it's the size of it.

[rosesaylavee]

6. If it stays focused on blame, there will be no forward movement...

What a damn shame if it fails because we can't move beyond that point.

[seveneyes]

7. Not so fast

We are not even close to that yet. There would need to be decades of scientific studies to even guess at the contribution levels of cause and effect. Much more money will be going in to studies before any comes out of them. Not to mention that we all share any blame. Including those with their hands out.

[KoKo]

8. I wonder if some of the fear of liability is "Monsanto."

And, talking about reparations for Climate Change is just a red herring. It's mostly that the Big Corporations are afraid of having to pay for damages to crops from GMO Seeds, and destruction/deforestation of land for extraction of water, oil, minerals, etc.

[dipsydoodle]

9. Historic data

Since carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere can stay there for centuries, historical emissions are just as important – or even more important – than current emissions. The tricky question of historical responsibility is one of the key tensions in the process of negotiating a global climate deal. The following figures from the World Resources Institute show the top 10 nations as measured by their cumulative emissions between 1850 and 2007. The US tops the list by a wide margin – though Chinese emissions have risen significantly since these data were assembled.

1. US: 339,174 MT or 28.8%
2. China: 105,915 MT or 9.0%
3. Russia: 94,679 MT or 8.0%
4. Germany: 81,194.5 MT or 6.9%
5. UK: 68,763 MT or 5.8%
6. Japan: 45,629 MT or 3.87%
7. France: 32,667 MT or 2.77%
8. India: 28,824 MT or 2.44%
9. Canada: 25,716 MT or 2.2%
10. Ukraine: 25,431 MT or 2.2%

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/apr/21/countries-responsible-climate-change

The US is fractionally more than China, Russia, Germany and the UK combined.

[on point]

10. So start oil and coal companies already. Make them pay for damages

Since they are such market fans make them capture all their costs

[Junkdrawer]

12. Translation: US exhales "Whew" as climate talks focus on compensation for extreme weather