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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
In Copenhagen, Denmark, the United Nations Climate Change Conference opened this week. Around fifteen thousand delegates and observers from nearly two hundred countries are there. Some call it "the last best chance" for an agreement to fight climate change.
This week, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. From nearly 200 countries, about 15,000 delegates and observers gathered in Copenhagen. Some call it the most likely to reach a final opportunity to address climate change agreement.
Yvo de Boer is the top climate official at the United Nations.
Yvo de Boer is the senior United Nations official on climate change
YVO DEBOER: "The time for formal statements is over. The time for restating well known positions is past. The time has come to reach out to each other. I urge you to build on your achievements, take up the work that has already been done and turn it into real action."
Yvo de Boer: to make a formal statement of the era has ended; reiterated well-known positions is over; the era of touch everyone has come. I urge you to continue to work hard on the existing achievements, continue the work already done and the real action.
But there are questions about how much can be done, and how an agreement would be put into action.
But to what extent we can do and how to implement agreements are still many problems.
The twelve-day conference ends next Friday. Late next week, leaders from more than one hundred countries are expected at the talks, including President Obama.
The 12-day meeting ending next Friday. Large Next week, leaders of more than 100 countries, including President Obama, will attend the meeting.
Delegates hope to set new targets to reduce greenhouse gases -- the pollution blamed for trapping extra heat in the atmosphere. An existing agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, ends in two thousand twelve. Many countries have offered new proposals for cuts, including the United States and China.
Representatives wish to set a new target to reduce greenhouse gases, that is because absorbs additional heat in the atmosphere to become contaminated gas. Tokyo existing agreement is a treaty, which expires in 2012. Many countries, including the United States and China have proposed scheme to reduce emissions.
China is now the leading producer of greenhouse gases. But the United States and other industrialized nations were the top polluters for years. So they are under extra pressure to reduce emissions from cars, factories and other sources.
Now China is the main temperature gases; but the United States and some other countries work over the past many years has been the largest emitter. Therefore, these countries face enormous pressure reduction from cars, factories and other sources of pollution emissions on.
In Washington, the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday declared carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases a threat to public health. That clears the way for the administration to set limits, unless Congress acts first.
Environmental Protection Agency in Washington on Monday announced the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public our health. This put an end to the government to set limits, unless Congress legislate against earlier.
But developing countries are also being urged to do more. And they, in turn, want help. They criticized a proposal for industrialized nations to pay developing countries ten billion dollars a year over three years. The World Bank says dealing with climate change will require hundreds of billions a year in public and private financing.
But developing countries are also being urged to make more efforts. Of course, developing countries want to help. They criticized the developed countries to provide $ 10 billion in three-year program each year to developing countries. The World Bank believes need hundreds of billions of dollars in public and private funds each year to combat climate change.
In New York, the United Nations secretary-general reacted to a dispute over e-mails stolen from the University of East Anglia in England. Critics say the messages show climate change scientists discussing ways to discredit other theories about global warming. But Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday that the evidence is "quite clear" that humans are the main cause of temperatures rising faster than expected.
UN Secretary-General on e-mail response from the University of East Anglia in Britain was stolen debate in New York. Critics say that the information is displayed to discuss climate change scientists suspect that other methods of climate warming theory. However, Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that there is sufficient and clear evidence that human activity is the main reason for climate change speed faster than people originally expected.
Modern climate records date back to eighteen fifty. The United Nations weather agency says two thousand to two thousand nine was the warmest decade on record. And it said this week that final results will likely show two thousand nine was the fifth-warmest year on record.
Modern climate records dating back to 1850. The United Nations weather agency believes that 2000 to 2009 was the warmest since records began a decade. The agency said this week the final results may indicate that 2009 was the warmest since records began in the 15th year.
Current estimates show record warmth this year in large parts of southern Asia and central Africa . The agency reported that the only parts of the world with cooler than average conditions this year were the United States and Canada.
Current estimates indicate that most parts of southern Africa and Central Asia have the greatest warming. The agency reported that the only lower than the world average level of global warming is the United States and Canada.
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. For the latest news from Copenhagen , go to www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.
Reproduced in: https: //www.cnblogs.com/licheng/archive/2009/12/15/1624262.html