Page 2 - Aruba Today

A2

UP FRONTThursday 3 December 2015

UK votes to launch airstrikes on IS in Syria India, Brazil resist global push for
long-term carbon emission goals
JILL LAWLESS ian civil war. well as members of the
DANICA KIRKA Cameron has long wanted smaller Liberal Democrat KARL RITTER
Associated Press to target IS in Syria, but had party and others. SETH BORENSTEIN
LONDON (AP) — British law- been unsure of getting ma- Labour, the main opposi- Associated Press
makers voted by a wide jority support in the House tion, was divided. Labour LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Attempts to inscribe a
margin Wednesday to join of Commons until now. He leader Jeremy Corbyn long-term goal to phase out carbon emissions in an
the international cam- suffered an embarrassing — who represents the left envisioned global climate pact are facing pushback
paign of airstrikes against defeat in 2013 when law- wing of the party — spoke at U.N. talks from big developing countries including
the Islamic State group in makers rejected a motion against what he called a India and Brazil.
Syria, after Prime Minister backing attacks on the “reckless and half-baked Negotiators from both countries said Wednesday
David Cameron asserted forces of Syrian President intervention.” But more they favor sticking to the already established goal of
that bombing the “me- Bashar Assad. than 60 Labour lawmak- limiting global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F)
dieval monsters” in their The mood has changed ers, including senior party above pre-industrial times — a level that scientists say
heartland would make Brit- following the Nov. 13 Paris figures, voted in support could avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
ain safer. attacks, claimed by IS, of airstrikes, a move likely That goal was formally introduced in the U.N. talks in
The 397-223 vote in the that killed 130 people. to make fissures between 2010. But many countries are calling for the Paris deal
House of Commons means Both France and the U.S. the right and the left of the to include a road map on how to achieve it, such
Royal Air Force fighter jets — have urged Britain to join party even worse. as a joint target for phasing out the emissions of car-
already operating against their air campaign in Syria, Labour foreign affairs bon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for
global warming.
Protesters hold placards protesting against Britain launching airstrikes on the Islamic State group Various options have been proposed. The United
States and other members of the Group of Seven
inside Syria, during a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Wednesday, wealthy countries earlier this year endorsed a “decar-
bonization of the global economy over the course of
Dec. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland) this century.”
“Decarbonization is something that has appeared
IS in Iraq from a base in and Cameron said Brit- spokesman Hilary Benn recently. We don’t even know what that means,”
Indian delegate Ajay Mathur told reporters. “Does it
Cyprus — could be flying ain should not let its allies said Britain could not “walk mean zero carbon? Does it mean net zero carbon?”
The term is generally understood to mean sharp re-
over Syria within hours. For- down. by on the other side of the ductions of carbon emissions from the burning of fossil
fuels, but it hasn’t been defined precisely.
eign Secretary Philip Ham- He said Britain was already road” when international Brazil’s lead negotiator Antonio Marcondes told The
Associated Press that there was no need to come up
mond told Channel 4 news a top target for IS attacks, allies were asking for help with a new joint climate goal.
“The long-term goal is already there: It’s 2 degree
that the strikes would begin and airstrikes would reduce against IS “fascists.” Celsius,” he said.
Marcondes added that Brazil would consider op-
“very quickly ... probably the group’s ability to plan Britain already conducts tions that emphasize that phasing out fossil fuels will
be easier for some countries than others. He referred
not tonight but it could be more Paris-style carnage. airstrikes against IS tar- to a joint Brazilian-German declaration in August that
backed a “decarbonization of the global economy”
tomorrow night.” “Do we work with our allies gets in Iraq, and in August while noting that some countries will need financial
and technological help to make the transition to
Anti-war protesters outside to degrade and destroy launched a drone strike cleaner energy. The long-term goal is one of the is-
sues that split the larger group of developing coun-
Parliament booed as they this threat and do we go that killed two British IS mili- tries in the climate talks. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia opposes
wording calling for a phase-out of carbon emissions,
learned the result of the after these terrorists in their tants in Syria. while small island nations that face an existential risk
vote. The decision came heartlands, from where British officials say Royal Air from rising seas are among the strongest advocates.
China has largely stayed silent.
after an emotional 10 they are plotting to kill Brit- Force Typhoon and Torna- It’s among the crunch issues that need to be resolved
before negotiators can ink what would be the first
1/2-hour debate in which ish people?” he said. “Or do fighter jets, armed with climate deal to ask all countries to limit their green-
house gas emissions. Another is how to ramp up the
Cameron said that Britain do we sit back and wait for Brimstone missiles capable individual emissions targets that nations have pro-
posed because scientific analyses show they’re not
must strike the militants in them to attack us?” of hitting moving targets, consistent with the 2-degree target.
“We must speed the process up because we have
their heartland and not “sit He said that attacking IS would bring the campaign much work to do,” French Foreign Minister Laurent
Fabius told a news conference on Wednesday.
back and wait for them to was not anti-Muslim but “a highly accurate firepower Fabius said negotiators need to come up with a new
draft agreement by noon Saturday so that environ-
attack us.” defense of Islam” against and help minimize civilian ment and foreign ministers have something to work
with when they arrive for the second week of talks.
Opponents argued that “women-raping, Muslim- casualties. Speaking at a NATO conference in Brussels, U.S. Sec-
Britain’s entry into Syria’s murdering, medieval mon- President Barack Obama retary of State John Kerry said he thought the climate
talks “got off to an encouraging start” with 150 world
crowded airspace would sters.” welcomed the British vote leaders — the biggest ever gathering of heads of
state and government — attending the opening day.
make little difference, and Cameron was backed by to join the air campaign Kerry is expected to join the meeting next week.q

said Cameron’s military most members of his gov- in Syria, saying the Islam-

plan was based on wishful erning Conservative Party ic Stategroup “is a global

thinking that overlooked — which holds 330 of the threat that must be defeat-
the messy reality of the Syr- 650 Commons seats — as ed by a global response.”q