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                                                                                         WORLD NEWS Tuesday 11 december 2018












































            Protesters disrupt US fossil fuel event at UN climate talks




            By FRANK JORDANS                                                                                                    gestad. Even as the Trump
            Associated Press                                                                                                    administration   promoted
            KATOWICE,  Poland  (AP)  —                                                                                          coal  abroad,  new  figures
            Protesters  disrupted  a  U.S.                                                                                      show coal consumption by
            government event at Unit-                                                                                           the U.S. power grid this year
            ed  Nations  climate  talks                                                                                         will be the lowest since 1979
            Monday,     criticizing   the                                                                                       as  a  wave  of  coal-fired
            Trump administration’s pol-                                                                                         power plants shut down.
            icy  of  backing  the  extrac-                                                                                      Andrew Light, a former U.S.
            tion of fossil fuels that con-                                                                                      State  Department  official,
            tribute to global warming.                                                                                          said  the  U.S.  event  was
            About  100  people  from                                                                                            unlikely to affect the land-
            groups  representing  indig-                                                                                        mark  Paris  agreement  to
            enous  peoples  and  youth                                                                                          limit global warming.
            stood  up  and  chanted                                                                                             Most  of  the  world’s  coun-
            “Keep  it  in  the  ground”                                                                                         tries  are  signatories  to  the
            near  the  beginning  of  the                                                                                       2015   agreement,    while
            American  presentation.  As                                                                                         President  Donald  Trump
            cameras  swarmed  around                                                                                            has  said  he  will  withdraw
            them, some of the protest-                                                                                          the United States from it.
            ers  explained  the  extrac-                                                                                        “This  event  has  the  audi-
            tion of coal, oil and natural                                                                                       ence  of  one  person  and
            gas affects their communi-                                                                                          that  is  President  Trump,”
            ties.                        Youth and indigenous groups protest against fossil fuels during US-hosted event at the UN climate   said  Light,  who  is  now  a
            The  U.S.  event,  titled  “U.S.   talks in Katowice, Poland, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, as the COP24 UN Climate Change Conference   senior  adviser  with  the  en-
            Innovative    Technologies   takes place in the city.                                                               vironmental  group  World
            Spur Economic Dynamism,”                                                                           Associated Press  Resources Institute.
            took place on the sidelines  sil  fuels,  including  through  soon as possible or risk cat-  brand,  a  Norwegian  fund  He  said  the  U.S.  govern-
            of  the  ongoing  U.N.  meet-  hydraulic  fracking.  Speak-  astrophic  levels  of  global  that manages $85 billion in  ment’s  arguments  were
            ing in Katowice, Poland. Af-  ing  at  the  event,  Griffith  warming by the end of the  assets, said even highly effi-  more  likely  to  upset  than
            ter several minutes, the ac-  warned against “alarmism”  century.                      cient coal plants are highly  win  over  other  govern-
            tivists  left  the  room  chant-  over climate change, add-  Investors, too, have backed  damaging  to  the  environ-  ments  represented  at  the
            ing  “Shame  on  you.”  Their  ing that “all energy sources  a shift away from fossil fuels.  ment and carbon capture  talks in Katowice.
            actions  mirrored  a  similar  are  important,  and  they  On  Monday,  415  pension  technology  —  touted  by  Over  the  weekend,  the
            protest during a U.S.-hosted  will be utilized unapologeti-  funds  and  insurance  com-  some as a way to pull emis-  United States, Russia, Saudi
            panel  at  last  year’s  U.N.  cally.”                    panies, with over $32 trillion  sions out of the air again —  Arabia  and  Kuwait  pre-
            climate  talks  in  Bonn,  Ger-  The panel’s premise — that  in assets, called on govern-  isn’t economical.        vented  endorsement  of  a
            many.                        fossil  fuels  can  be  made  ments  to  phase  out  coal-  “Investors  are  not  going  scientific  report  on  keep-
            Wells  Griffith,  a  Trump  ad-  “clean”  through  innova-  fired power plants and put  to  be  sold  fake  news  on  ing  global  warming  below
            ministration  adviser  at  the  tion — stands at odds with  a meaningful price on car-  coal,  which  seeks  to  mask  1.5  degrees  Celsius  (2.7
            Department of Energy, said  recommendations        from  bon to help tackle climate  the  rapid  decline  of  the  degrees Fahrenheit) — the
            after  the  interruption  that  scientists  who  say    coun-  change.                 U.S.  coal  industry  and  dis-  most  ambitious  target  in
            the  United  States  would  tries should transition to re-  Jan  Erik  Saugestad,  the  regards the solar and wind  the  2015  Paris  climate  ac-
            continue  extracting  fos-   newable energy sources as  chief  executive  of  Store-   growth markets,” said Sau-   cord. q
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