Brown said climate catastrophe would occur if world leaders fail to agree on a climate protection deal at a major climate conference this December in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"If we do not reach a deal at this time, let us be in no doubt: Since once the damage from unchecked emissions growth is done, no retrospective global agreement, in some future period, can undo that choice. By then it will be irretrievably too late," Brown told the Major Economies Forum, a conference bringing together representatives from the world's 17 biggest polluters in London.

World leaders are gathering this December in Copenhagen for a U.N.-mandated conference that is aimed at producing a comprehensive climate protection deal.

The accord to be born at Copenhagen -- to feature binding emissions-reductions targets, adaptation measures and their funding -- is due to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which runs out in 2012. Several meetings have tried to prepare a negotiation text for Copenhagen, but Brown admitted that a lot of work still needs to be done.

"We must frankly face the plain fact that our negotiators are not getting to agreement quickly enough," Brown said. "So I believe that leaders must engage directly to break the impasse."

He urged leaders of the world's major economies to lead in combating climate change and reminded developing countries not to make the West's mistakes again.

Carbon-intense economic growth, he said, "would be unsustainable, and soon overwhelmed by its inevitable consequences: greater energy insecurity, greater pollution and ill-health and -- as a result of climate-induced migration and poverty in the poorest countries -- almost inevitably, greater conflict."

Brown said that for the major economies represented in London, it should be a priority to help poorer countries adapt to the effects of climate change -- a phenomenon they have done the least to create.

On Saturday the president of the Maldives held a Cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the threats to his islands, which are facing catastrophe if ocean levels continue to rise because of melting arctic ice.

But the effects of climate change are not confined to developing countries.

The heat wave of 2003 caused 35,000 extra deaths in Europe, Brown said, and the future looks even bleaker.

"In Britain, we face the prospect of more frequent droughts and a rising wave of floods."

The London conference brings together the world's two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, China and the United States, several leading European economies and major emerging players including India and Brazil.

earlier related report
PM: Cambodia is 'victim' of climate change
Cambodia is a "victim" of climate change, and developed countries should shoulder more responsibility in reversing the effects of global warming, said Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Developing countries like Cambodia have been severely affected by climate change and lack the resources to tackle the problem on their own, Hun Sen said at the opening ceremony Monday at the country's first National Forum on Climate Change.

"The rich countries should be more responsible, as they have more resources to settle this matter. Cambodia is not the country responsible for climate change but is the victim. … The huge countries should not blame less-developed countries," he said.

Hun Sen said rising temperatures, shifts in rainfall patterns and surging sea levels would only continue to hit developing countries like Cambodia the hardest.

"Developed countries certainly must accept most of the blame for causing the problem," Geoffrey Blate, climate change coordinator for the Greater Mekong program of the conservation group WWF, told the Phnom Penh Post. "At the same time, Cambodia can and should take immediate steps to address climate change. The problem is global in scope."

Hun Sen noted that in 2006 Cambodia implemented a program of climate change adaptation, which includes 39 projects to respond to the immediate needs of its communities. The premier said he was encouraged that the European Union is considering a budget of $2 billion to $15 billion annually to help poor countries implement their climate change adaption measures.

Hun Sen's comments come ahead of December's climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, in which world leaders will attempt to strike a new global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

Observers at the Cambodia forum said they hoped it would help bolster the country's bargaining position ahead of the Copenhagen talks. Ministry of Environment officials are expected to present Cambodia's draft position on climate change at the forum's conclusion on Wednesday.

"Cambodia needs to have a strong voice in international negotiations and demand that developed countries meet their historical responsibility and provide financing for adaptation," said Brian Lund, regional director of Oxfam's East Asia office, the Post reports.

Cambodia's Environment Minister Mok Mareth linked climate change to devastating weather events over the past two decades.

From 1987 to 2007 the country experienced 12 floods that claimed the lives of 1,125 people and caused $300 million in damages, Mareth said. The country also faced five severe droughts, causing $140 million in damages, he said.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News