Scientists called for ‘unprecedented’ action. But the global climate talks aren’t built for that

KATOWICE, Poland — Negotiators from nearly 200 nations drew close to a deal Friday that would nudge the world toward stronger targets for reducing carbon emissions and enshrine a clearer set of rules for how to get there.

A group of Polish youths staged a protest in the U.N.
climate conference venue in Katowice on the last
scheduled day of talks to urge negotiators from
almost 200 countries to reach an agreement on ways
of keeping global warming in check.

But even amid the glimmers of progress at this year’s climate summit, where more than 25,000 people have gathered in the heart of Poland’s coal mining region, there was a deeper undercurrent of dismay. The world’s best efforts, some participants concluded after two weeks of nonstop talks, would not nearly match the urgency of a problem that scientists have said will bring catastrophic consequences without major action over the next 12 years.

“Climate change is not something in our future. It’s happening to us now,” said Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives and chief of the island nation’s negotiating team here. “We will not survive if business goes as usual.”

Read the story from The Washington Post by Griff Witte and Brady Dennis - “Scientists called for ‘unprecedented’ action. But the global climate talks aren’t built for that.”