Tim Flannery: leaders now understand need to cut emissions 'hard and fast'

(guardian-, 29 Nov 2015) Climate scientist says the world has come a long way since the failed Copenhagen climate conference and now accepts the urgency of tackling rising temperatures.

The world has “come late” to realising the potential devastation of climate change, Prof Tim Flannery says, but the former Australian of the Year believes there is now a global understanding of the need to cut emissions “hard and fast” to avoid calamitous global warming.

Flannery, also formerly the chairman of the Copenhagen Climate Council, said world leaders were more committed now to thrashing out a binding global climate agreement than they were at the Copenhagen climate summit five years ago.

The 2009 conference achieved a broad commitment from countries to lower emissions by 2020, but derailed over disagreement between developed and developing countries over the strength of the cuts. The conference was condemned as a failure because countries would not sign a full treaty.

External link

guardian-, 29 Nov 2015: Tim Flannery: leaders now understand need to cut emissions 'hard and fast'