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Headwinds for climate change conference

Monday, November 06, 2017 - 01:35

A UN-led climate conference in Bonn begins this week with President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement potentially an awkward sticking point. Laura Frykberg reports.

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It's the location of these cities around the world that makes them so vulnerable to climate change. They're all on islands, and first affected by rising sea levels. That threat, and the historic Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 is being addressed this week at a UN-led climate conference in Bonn. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WMO SECRETARY-GENERAL, PETTERI TAALAS, SAYING: "By changing this composition of the atmosphere, we have changed the climate and we have seen not only warming, but we have seen changes in the rainfall patterns, drought, flooding, and we have also seen a change in the amount of the most intense tropical storms like the recent hurricane season in the Caribbean was demonstrating." A draft seen by Reuters shows island cities will present a plan at the conference. For richer ones like New York to help poorer ones like Suva through the sharing of expertise. But the elephant in the room will be the U.S. federal government. Sending a few delegates, despite President Trump's withdrawal in June from the Paris climate deal. Which saw 195 countries pledge to keep global warming, well below 2 degrees Celsius this century. The UN has warned greenhouse gas emissions are on course to be about 30 percent above the 2030 global target. But says the world is also at a turning point. With a plateau in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, due to slower growth in coal use in China and the United States. Suggesting while the White House says one thing, not everyone is following suit.

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Headwinds for climate change conference

Monday, November 06, 2017 - 01:35