The big climate push
The most keenly anticipated and heavily scrutinised climate change negotiations in history are taking place over the next two weeks in Copenhagen.
Delegates are under enormous pressure to reach fair, ambitious and binding targets to reduce greenhouse emissions and bring the carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million – the level science says we must reach to avoid catastrophic warming.
Environmental activists plan protests in Copenhagen and around the world on 12 December to pressure world leaders to reach the strongest possible deal.
On the even of the conference, South Africa pledged to reduce the growth of its greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020 and to begin reducing them from 2025. The offer is conditional on receiving financial assistance from developed countries.
The offer has been both praised as a positive step, and criticised for lacking ambition and being too dependent on handouts.
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