Page 10 - aruba-today-20181215

A10 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 15 december 2018

Climate talks extended as island nations demand action

By FRANK JORDANS which amassed large piles
Associated Press of carbon credits under the
KATOWICE, Poland (AP) — 1997 Kyoto treaty’s rules —
Weary officials from almost against industrial countries
200 countries faced an- such as those in the Euro-
other day of negotiations pean Union, which believe
at the U.N. climate talks to the older credits aren’t
bridge their last remaining worth the paper they were
differences as small island printed on.
nations on Friday demand- Economists believe a func-
ed an ambitious stance tioning carbon trading
against global warming. system could be an ef-
The talks in Poland were fective way to drive down
supposed to end Friday emissions and raise large
but Michal Kurtyka, a se- amounts of money for
nior Polish official chairing measures to curb global
the negotiations, told del- warming.
egates to resume talks on a Alex Hanafi, lead coun-
revised draft text at 4 a.m. sel at the New York-based
Saturday (0300 GMT). Environmental Defense
“All parties, with the sup- Fund, said Brazil was try-
port of the presidency, are ing to weaken the rules in
working very hard right now such a way that would al-
in order to solve outstand- low countries to count their
ing issues and in order to emissions reductions twice,
find the balanced pack- Polish teenagers stage a protest in the U.N. climate conference venue on the last days of talks undermining the carbon
age here in Katowice,” Kur- to urge negotiators from almost 200 countries to reach an agreement on ways of keeping global markets.
tyka told reporters. warming in check in Katowice, Poland, Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. “This loophole needs to be
After two weeks of talks in Associated Press closed so zombie credits
the southern Polish city, dip- catastrophic consequenc- cord. But this would require themselves on the front from the old (Kyoto) Clean
lomats have come closer es for life on Earth. a drastic overhaul of the lines of global warming, Development Mechanism
to agreeing on the rules A recent report by the In- global economy, including would veto the current cannot infect the climate
that govern the 2015 Paris tergovernmental Panel ending the use of almost all draft because it lacks a integrity of the Paris Agree-
climate accord. These in- on Climate Change con- fossil fuels. clear commitment to the ment,” he said.
clude how countries should cluded that it’s possible to The United States, Russia, 1.5 C-target. “Brazil is currently work-
transparently report both cap global warming at 1.5 Saudi Arabia and Kuwait “If necessary, we will rebel ing with other parties on
their greenhouse gases degrees Celsius (2.7 de- have refused to “wel- against the negotiations,” a bridging proposal,” said
emissions and their efforts grees Fahrenheit) higher come” the IPCC report, an- Nasheed told reporters. the country’s chief nego-
to reduce them. by the end of the century gering other countries and Another issue haunting ne- tiator, Antonio Marcondes.
Scientists say global emis- compared to pre-industrial environmentalists. gotiators is the rules for an Aid for poor countries, and
sions need to drop dramat- times. That’s the lower end Former Maldives Presi- international market in car- whether they could benefit
ically by 2030 and reach of the 1.5-to-2 degrees C dent Mohamed Nasheed bon credits. from a levy on the carbon
near-zero by 2050 in order (2.7-3.6 degrees F) scale warned that nations such The clash pits emerging market, is another key issue
to prevent the potentially mentioned in the Paris ac- as his, which consider economies such as Brazil — at the talks.q

13 young miners feared dead in India’s remote northeast

By WASBIR HUSSAIN The area in Meghalaya India.
Associated Press state is about 130 kilome- Migrants from poorer parts
GAUHATI, India (AP) — Thir- ters (80 miles) north of Shil- of the country come to
teen young miners were long, the state capital. work illegally in the coal
missing and feared dead “It was absolutely an illegal mine area, where they
following the collapse of mining activity,” said Con- earn enough money to
a shaft and flooding of a rad Sangma, the state’s pay off powerful people
coal mine they were dig- top elected official. who make sure the mines’
ging illegally in India’s re- He said authorities would guards don’t interfere.
mote northeast, police said crack down on illegal min- People carrying baskets
Friday. ing groups. filled with stolen coal on
Rescuers were attempt- Last month, an activist, carts or bicycles are a com-
ing to pump water out of Rescuers work at the site of a coal mine that collapsed in Ksan, Agnes Kharshiing, was as- mon sight in these areas.
the mine, which flooded in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya, Friday, Dec. 14, saulted by people involved In 2016, six illegal miners
Wednesday, police said. 2018. in illegal mining when she died when a section of a
National Disaster Response Associated Press visited the area to protest closed mine collapsed in
Force workers joined local the mine. They said digging at the their activities. Burdwan district in India’s
authorities in the rescue ef- Those missing are believed mine was banned four She remains hospitalized West Bengal state.
fort. to be teenage boys used years ago, but illegal and with life-threatening head The accident occurred
Police said rescuers can by illegal mining groups to unsafe activity by private and other injuries. when about 200 illegal min-
only reach the miners after enter “rat hole’” mines with landowners and the local Demand for coal has in- ers were extracting coal
the water is removed from small openings. community is rife. creased in energy-hungry from the mine.q